How do you as a parent or parent/coach REALLY know if your son is any good? Are we looking at his play through rose colored "glasses" on or is he just that good?
I am asking the question to generate some discussion so folks will get some ideas on how to actually tell.....just how good your son really is.
We have all different levels of baseball, youth baseball, HS Baseball, Travel Baseball, Select Team Baseball, Babe Ruth baseball, Legion Baseball, College Baseball or any other level I have left out.
How do we know?
Posts: 460 | Location: WV, USA | Registered: December 30, 2002
The only way to tell is by how well he does against the best competition. If your son is playing above his level and against the higest level you will get a pretty good idea. All players have off days so expect them. You should look for consistanly good play over a reasonable time period. You also shold get independant advice but even that can be miss leading.
Posts: 3724 | Location: Canada | Registered: October 13, 2005
I know some people do it based off of stats but that does not begin to tell the whole story or perhaps even a relevant story imho. For instance, some kids are unbelievable hitters until the velocity goes above 75 mph. Obviously, stats will also support the better players as well.
I used my own eyes to compare my son with other kids and ABSOLUTELY kept my opinions to myself. It was no one elses business and many people only wanted to offer negatives in the first place.
My technique was basically to observe what happened when we faced better competition. Some kids were afraid when the harder throwers showed up. Others could not produce against better pitchers. Still yet others could not play consistent defense or throw consistent strikes if there was pressure. Another thing I observed was I would see my son make plays that I did not see other kids make. That might have been the best evidence I had for things.
When he tried out for his college team, I saw him stand out above all other kids at the camp. We could have stuck around to see what the coaches opinions were but I already knew what the answer was based off what I had observed. Also, I already believed we had made a good faith effort to demonstrate our interest in the program so I wanted any further contact with the program to be unsolicited on their part. About a week later, the Coach called with an offer and the rest is history. At that time, he asked why we did not hang around to discuss things. I told him I wanted to see if their interest was genuine and I turned out to be right.
I would tell any parent not to wear rose-colored glasses but at the same time, they need to continually and objectively compare their son's talent to other kids who are also considered talented. For me, I didn't seem to need someone to tell me "Watch this kid, he can really pitch." I could tell when some kid could pitch and would use that information when my son played them. Obviously, high-level showcases are a place where you can find the truly talented to measure your kids by but even then the whole story is often not told. At the end of the day, it is you and your son who have to make the decisions and no one else can do that for you imho.
One other point that some people use (often times incorrectly imho) is one-time anecdotal evidence. For instance, just because your pitcher just struck out a nationaly ranked hitter does not then mean in and of itself that your pitcher should also be so ranked. Evaluation needs to be made over time imho where performance plus consitency is measured. Similarly, even though you may have not gotten the showcase ranking you might have liked does not necessarily define a player over the long haul. Sometimes you just have to believe in yourself when there are forces who may see otherwise.
At the risk of getting yelled at, I am going to link this topic into the main forum because it seems interesting and relevant.
I like watching my sons play more than any other players at any level. Since I only like top quality things, they must be as good as I think they are!
I'm not out of order! You're out of order! The whole freakin' system is out of order! You want the truth? You want the truth?! You can't HANDLE the truth!
Posts: 1288 | Location: Cambridge, MA | Registered: January 03, 2003
This is very interesting. I always felt I knew quite a bit about baseball, quite a bit about our son's ability and quite a bit about how the two merge. In reality, though, I honestly believe the only way you really know how good your son is as a player is when his coaches, at each level to which he progresses, has his name on the line up card. The coaches are the ones who see players 5-7 days per week and judge their talents against their peers at that level. As players progress, and the coaching improves, you can get a better sense of their talents when their name is in the lineup. In our experience, even having his name in the line up in college wasn't a true barometer because of the DIII label. However, when he went to top summer league programs and had his name in the lineup, when they selected All Star teams and his name was in the lineup, you began to know. As CD very accurately emphasizes, it is the combination of consistency and quality of play that measures talent and skill. Most of us, as parents, don't see our son's enough to make the types of judgments with any sense of accuracy. I am not convinced showcases do that either because they are a glimpse in time. For me, looking back, I only "really knew" when the line ups, at every level he played, were posted and his name was on it.
'You don't have to be a great player to play in the major leagues, you've got to be a good one every day.'
Posts: 1986 | Location: ca | Registered: February 11, 2003
On a humorous/sarcastic note (please don't take it too seriously -- though there is some element of truth to it...), when we were at a seminar on college recruiting at our high school with our middle son (back in the late 90's), one of the players asked the presenter how they could know what level would be appropriate for them. The presenter said, "As a rule of thumb, probably one level below where you think you should be, and 2 levels below where your DAD thinks you should be!"
Posts: 543 | Location: The Great Midwest | Registered: February 13, 2004
You need to see him play for and against a wide variety of competition. Being the tiny town we are, the high school coach also coached the summer teams, with always the same kids for competition and teammates. Until we were willing to drive to a larger area and compete for and against stiffer competition, there was no way to tell. In fact we were under the impression other guys were more talented as they never sat. Since then it's been great fun leaving the small town behind and a journey of discovery for the young man. I learned I always underestimated my own kid and to knock that off. He loves proving people wrong. I also believe there is a work ethic that can almost only be instilled by being underestimated.
Posts: 83 | Location: anywhere | Registered: February 08, 2007
Very good post! How good is my son? How good will be my son? Is my son a prospect? it is not about performance, it is not about hitting, pitching, or fielding. It is about tools!
How is the strenght of his arm comparing him with the rest of the team? How is his running speed comparing him with the others around? At batting practice, how hard he hits the ball comparing him with the other hitters? At fielding practice, how smooth he catchs it the ball comparing him with the rest of fielders?
If your son is at the top of the list when you answer this questions, your son is good, will be good, and could become a prospect.
Faith is to believe what you don't see; The reward of this faith is to see what you believe.
How do you as a parent or parent/coach REALLY know if your son is any good? Are we looking at his play through rose colored "glasses" on or is he just that good?
He's as good as other knowledgeable people tell you he is.
* You don't lose when you get knocked down. You lose when you choose not to get up. *
Posts: 1317 | Location: Mid-Atlantic | Registered: October 29, 2007
BHD, would that mean that if you don't question/wonder, that means your son is that good? Not sure how the two correlate?
If you have watched your son play high level ball for the last 5 or 6 years I would say that you should know wether he has any ability. How can you go to games , watch your son get picked for teams and not have a clue about his ability and potential ?
Posts: 3724 | Location: Canada | Registered: October 13, 2005
Originally posted by RJM: He's as good as other knowledgeable people tell you he is.
I don't like to brag too much, but at age 8 son was at a winter skills developing event at a local D-1 for all comers 8 to 18 years old. At the end, the head coach was talking to the attendees and used my son as an example in his talk. He said he could see son had the necessary quick-twitch muscles and also had the best arm of all those at the event. I was a little skeptical at the time, but never forgot his words. Son has gone on to prove the coach knew what he was talking about.
Posts: 43 | Location: Virginia and other places | Registered: July 23, 2006
I don't like to brag too much, but at age 8 son was at a winter skills developing event at a local D-1 for all comers 8 to 18 years old. At the end, the head coach was talking to the attendees and used my son as an example in his talk. He said he could see son had the necessary quick-twitch muscles and also had the best arm of all those at the event. I was a little skeptical at the time, but never forgot his words. Son has gone on to prove the coach knew what he was talking about.
Meaning..........he is a good select player now, outstanding high schooler, or is now contributing at the collegiate level?
Anyway congrats!!
Posts: 441 | Location: DFW | Registered: June 13, 2005
Originally posted by thats-a-balk!: Meaning..........he is a good select player now, outstanding high schooler, or is now contributing at the collegiate level?
Anyway congrats!!
Thanks. Two out of the three so far.
Posts: 43 | Location: Virginia and other places | Registered: July 23, 2006
Altough I don't put much stock in the pre 15 yos you certainly get an idea over the years wether your son has any skills. there are too many factors that can come in to side track a young player until they reach college age.
Posts: 3724 | Location: Canada | Registered: October 13, 2005
Play little league and be a stand out Get on to the all star team and be a stand out Join a tournament team and be a stand out Be a stand out on the tournament team which does well in the local area Be a stand out on the tournament team which does well in the regional area Be a stand out on the tournament team which does well on the National basis Go to a high school which has a very strong team in a strong league and be a stand out Be a stand out on the high school team which wins league Be a stand out on the high school team which wins their section Be a stand out on the high school team which wins in strong high school tournaments Go to an elite travel team Be a stand out on an elite travel team which does well in the regional area Be a stand out on an elite travel team which wins national tournaments Participate in local showcase and be a stand out Participate in regional showcase and be a stand out Participate in National showcase and be a stand out Get invited to National Invitational tryouts Get invited to tryout for the USA National team Be a stand out for the USA National team Go to a strong college team and be a stand out…..the cycle continues on.
The one thing for sure; until you get into the MLB HOF, there is usually someone better and you can always improve!
Posts: 742 | Location: CA | Registered: March 12, 2003
Originally posted by Homerun04: Let’s see, some ongoing measurement tools:
Play little league and be a stand out Get on to the all star team and be a stand out Join a tournament team and be a stand out Be a stand out on the tournament team which does well in the local area Be a stand out on the tournament team which does well in the regional area Be a stand out on the tournament team which does well on the National basis Go to a high school which has a very strong team in a strong league and be a stand out Be a stand out on the high school team which wins league Be a stand out on the high school team which wins their section Be a stand out on the high school team which wins in strong high school tournaments Go to an elite travel team Be a stand out on an elite travel team which does well in the regional area Be a stand out on an elite travel team which wins national tournaments Participate in local showcase and be a stand out Participate in regional showcase and be a stand out Participate in National showcase and be a stand out Get invited to National Invitational tryouts Get invited to tryout for the USA National team Be a stand out for the USA National team Go to a strong college team and be a stand out…..the cycle continues on.
The one thing for sure; until you get into the MLB HOF, there is usually someone better and you can always improve!
Short version: He's as good as other knowledgeable people tell you he is. Also, good is a relative term based on what the player aspires to achieve.
* You don't lose when you get knocked down. You lose when you choose not to get up. *
Posts: 1317 | Location: Mid-Atlantic | Registered: October 29, 2007
