Dilemma about summer/fall before Freshman season

[azmatsfan]

My son is an 8th grader, so naturally he's interested in preparing for HS baseball. We are looking into a very good baseball club that has teams from 16U through college-level teams. I know one college player who told me the "club" had the best coaching he's had in his baseball career. What I like about it is that they focus on practice and development rather than just playing games. My son is very excited about the prospect of playing with them.

But now my son was asked to play on a team made up of other players that will be Freshmen at his HS next year. I've heard second hand that the Varsity coach at the HS asked him to put this team together. My son played with them for one game this weekend, and they weren't very good. Most of the top kids in his class didn't play, but the coach said he hopes to get more of them during the Summer and Fall. I believe the club team will make him a better player, and he'll get better coaching than the HS feeder team, but I don't want to alienate my son from the HS program. I'm leaning heavily toward sticking with the club team, but thought I'd get a little feedback from those with experience with HS ball. Will choosing another team over the HS feeder team be looked at as a negative? And is it inappropriate to speak with the varsity coach concerning this?

Thanks for any input.

[JJA]

az,

It's a pretty common problem around here too. Most guys attempt to solve it by playing on both teams. Depending on the schedule, this can work especially if you talk with the coaches. The club guy should definitely understand your request, the high school coach may or may not. When push comes to shove, most guys here opt for the club team for all the reasons you stated. But a lot depends on the high school coach who might hold it against him. I would definitely talk with both coaches about your problem and I suspect that will resolve your conflict.

Good luck - JJA

[coops]

I was faced with a similar dilemma last year and my son chose to stay with his summer team.

IMHO… Choosing to go with the club team will not looked at as a negative but do not think that there will not be some favoritism towards the players that are part of the feeder team. My son’s summer team is very good made up of some of the best athletes from five different high schools in the area and every single player made their high school teams. On the other hand… every single kid from the feeder team made the high school team as well.

Bottom line if your son is an above average player who plays for an above average program and is able to display that in tryouts he should make the team. The players on the feeder team will likely be given a little additional leeway during tryouts because they will have more than likely have had additional exposure to the high school coaches.

This is assuming that the information you have heard second hand is accurate.

BTW… speaking with the varsity coach can be a risky proposition unless you already have a relationship with him or the right opportunity presents itself.

[mudvnine]

az,

When push comes to shove, the coach is looking to put the best players on the team and on the field, regardless of where they played in the off-season.

We too have a summer/fall program, but not all of the players selected for the freshman team this season participated in the program, nor did all of the players in the s/f program make the team.

IMO, the HS pre-season program is best for the "borderline" players, who get to show some of their intangibles vs. strictly their skills, for a longer look from the coaches, rather than that that is shown at the much shorter tryout period.

This however, can be a "two-edge sword". Work hard and show us that you have much to contribute to the team besides throwing 90 mph and hitting the ball 400' and you still have a good chance of making the team; but wander around uninspired, looking as though you're lost on the field, or that this is the first time you've ever played ball, and the likelihood of making the HS team at tryouts is slim to none.

So while this may be a bit unfair, it is reality, and what happens in the eyes and minds of the coaches.

In all honesty (at least for us), we can pretty much tell in the first day of tryouts who is "automatically" on the team, and those who are definitely not......it's the "borderline" kids that we struggle with (numbers 11 through 14 or 15), so if we know that a couple of those kids have a great attitude, work hard, and will be an asset on the team regardless of their position or playing time from what we saw in the summer/fall program......than they'll have a leg up on those that we are just seeing for the first time, and trying to make a determination of their physical skills, but also their character, in the few days of the tryouts.

Best of luck to your son, I'm sure you'll make the correct decision no matter what it may be.


mud -

[mudvnine]

BTW… speaking with the varsity coach can be a risky proposition unless you already have a relationship with him or the right opportunity presents itself.

Agreed.....

Unless the incoming freshman has a chance of playing on the varsity squad (which is pretty slim, even at the "not so good" baseball programs), because with most of the programs in our area, the freshman players are selected by the freshman coaches, once the varsity and JV coaches have passed on them.

So speaking to the varsity coach regarding a player who 9 times out of 10 won't be playing for him, is really not helping his cause, but rather being the " oh gosh, here's another one of those " parents type of thing. I would caution against it......

"Unless you already have a relationship with him" which is one thing and fine, but I can't imagine what could possibly be considered of when the "right opportunity presents itself" could possibly be to bring up such a conversation.


JMO though,
mud -

[coops]

I can't imagine what could possibly be considered of when the "right opportunity presents itself" could possibly be to bring up such a conversation.

Yeah… I probably should have left that part off. I was just thinking back to an opportunity I had to speak with our coach while mingling at a football fundraiser for the school last year. Although at the time all we talked about was how his baseball team was performing.

[Standballdad]

I am in the same exact situation with my 8th grade son. Decided to stay with his current TB team because of the coaching he is receiving. Like Mud said, if he is a good player the HS coaches will know.

[shake-n-bake]

The good thing is that in a year you guys will see that any worries you have now weren't worth a second of your time.

Can your kid play? Does he have size, speed, strength, and what sort of ceiling does there appear to be? Will he compete? Coaches aren't going back to last year when they answer these questions in their mind. The kid that the coaches love the most on my son's team never made an all-star team, played rec. ball last year, and flew way under the radar pre-HS. Big time body transformation plus kept working on his skills even when he wasn't considered a youth baseball god.

Your son could tell the HS feeder coach to go discipline his monkey this year...it's not going to keep him off the HS team if he can play. I'd go with the situation where he has the most fun and improves his skills. Truthfully, he can do a lot of skill building if he didn't play anywhere. Get him in the weight room. Lock the door behind him! Live in that son-of-a-gun. Have him get his meals and his mail there. That's what sets kids apart.

[tg643]

When my son was in 8th grade he played for his travel team due to the coaching and the competition versus the local Jr Legion team. The Jr Legion coach had one year of experence twenty times over. He provided the high school coaching staff with his schedule. They knew who the prospects in the middle school were. I had the three best 8th graders on my travel team. The coaches showed up at games for the most local tournament. After starting on the JV team as a freshman my son passed on fall travel ball soph year to play for the high school fall ball team. His performance made spring tryouts a formality. He went into tryouts with a position that was his to lose.

[Ursa Major]

AZmat, I can understand the dilemma, and it's not so easy as you think. At my son's school, we had exactly the same dilemma but a knowledgeable baseball parent who knew him said what he needed was the TB coach, and she (yes, she - we actually coached together at 9-10 ball) was right, as he taught at a higher level and, because he'd actually played MLB ball, didn't have anything to prove other than teaching. But it has impacted playing time - the HS coach clearly allots more playing time and opportunities to kids who played for his "pay for play" summer team, even though everyone played on his Fall team (which wasn't so lucrative for him, I guess). But, even in hindsight, I'm glad that UMinor went the TB route, as he probably would not have improved enough to make the team without that experience, and he's had a much better time. So, I'm guessing you ought to go with your gut on this one and go with the TB. Maybe you can see if the two teams can play each other over the summer so the coach sees him there.

What I'd do is to ask the TB coach what his relationship and experience with the HS coach is. Hopefully, the HS coach treats him as a resource and a feeder, rather than as a competitor.

[shake-n-bake]

Seems to me that there's not usually a distinction made between "preparation" and creating a resume. You'll find when they do get to HS that preparation beats resume.

[songtitle]

You'll find when they do get to HS that preparation beats resume.

Well said.

[Standballdad]

Seems to me that there's not usually a distinction made between "preparation" and creating a resume. You'll find when they do get to HS that preparation beats resume.

Another way to say it is "Talent trumps a lot of things"

[skipper5]

- the HS coach clearly allots more playing time and opportunities to kids who played for his "pay for play" summer team, even though everyone played on his Fall team (which wasn't so lucrative for him, I guess). .

I'd enjoy hearing the expressions of outrage if the above statement was read aloud at a convention of HS coaches.

I'm sympathetic to your point of view, Ursa, and suspect that you're correct.

[azmatsfan]

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. I really appreciate hearing all the opinions from parents and coaches who have been through this (or are going through it now.). Although I don't know the HS Varsity coach, I do know the Freshman coach well. I talked with him and he assured me that whether or not he plays on the "feeder" team (my word, not his) it won't have any bearing on playing time next Spring. I think we'll try the Club team this summer and see what develops with the feeder team. Our commitment would only be through the summer initially, so we can always switch in the fall if it seems like a better opportunity.