hey guys, first post here i have been reading posts on here for the last 3 or 4 years now. My son goes to one of the largest schools in the area.He is 16 and did not make jv this year however at the final cuts coach told him if he were anywhere else he could play vs.This just did not make sense to me, he is a pitcher and works very hard at it.At the time of try outs early feb he was crusing right around 80 and peeked out at 84.During tryouts he was at 3rd base the whole time and the did not even look at him pitch.

He played travel ball with everone that made the jv the year before. we were a young team playing 18u tournys so when ever those selected pithers would struggle they would put my son and he would do rather well but still would not earn extra playing time because that belong to hs players(the team would alway carry 3-4 kids that did not make hs team)

So i guess what I wanted to know is can one make a colledge team without playing HS baseball afterall he olny has one more year to tryout cause they don't let seniors tryout. Iam running out of ways to keep his head up,one thing he told after this years tryouts he said "dad no matter what i do they just won't give me a chance"

Tell your son to keep his head up and keep working (easy to say, not as easy to do); a lot can change though and he needs to be ready when he gets his opportunity.

As to college ball, JUCO may end up being the answer, but it is also possible that if (and this is not a small if) his velocity goes up substantially, he could get a look by four year schools (this advice is always good, however; he should pick a college that he would attend whether he played or not). Also, I would strongly suggest that he not neglect his grades. They are always important, of course, but with all the scholarship rules changes over the last couple years; even more so.

Good luck, and I hope you'll keep us posted.

OBC

thanks, thanks for the reply coach I have always told him,sure you can walk on anywhere you go but I realy did not know how much truth there was to that. As far as the grades go he is doubled up on honors (math and science) classes (his choice) and started bio med his freshman year and maintains a B avg. I think he wants to go med school somewhere down the line. It would just be nice to see someone give him a shot.

My son was in the same situation. Just wasn't given a chance. Coach would tell him "get off the mound, you're not a pitcher" or "why do you keep working on pitching when it isn't going to get you anywhere". We left our area of the state and went two hours away to play on a top flight summer/fall team. Son pitched in Jupiter and did extremely well. High school coach caught wind of it and gave him a chance senior season. Due to injury he threw maybe 20 innings. He just signed last week with his dream school D1. So, in my opinion, high school ball stats don't matter one bit. Keep working hard, play the best competition you can during summer and fall and things will work out. Also, I want to publicly thank TPM, Coach May and CPLZ for their advice through private messaging.

Brave,
Baseball is desire..If it is in him, no hs coach can stop him. Have him continue to train and work and walking on is a real possibility, particularly with outstanding grades. Apparently his hs is just totally flush with pitching..not everyone else is so blessed believe me. Mid 80's and a good game will get him on the bump somewhere. SC is good baseball country and plenty of schools in the mid south should be looked at. Start him off. Get him to begin his college search with an eye towards a school with a decent coach..you can find out about reputation if you listen and look. Many of the more northern schools have a very tough time landing someone mid-80's with game because the south, south-east, south-west and west swallows them up...so you have some options. Get serious about helping him in that search now, possibly attend a clinic or 2 and like I said if it's in him he'll get there.
Best wishes..this is a good forum for those schools, clinics and experience to help guide you.
Keep the faith.

Thanks guys, I realy mean it.Maybe we can look for another summer team to join.I would have never dreamed it would be this political.