I need guidance from people with experience with high school politics. I live in a school district known to be very political concerning sports. I have two sons (one in high school, one in middle) who has had to fight for every position they ever earned on all stars and then later travel ball. We aren't as wealthy as most people in our area and even if we were are unwilling to buy our kids a spot on a team. We honestly always thought the fact our kids have had to work harder than the coaches kids to make the teams would benefit them over the daddy ball kids when it came time to making the high school team. We were dead wrong. My kid was cut from the high school team on the last day of try outs when even the coaches admitted he was far superior to most of the kids that were not cut. It came down to someone had to be cut and my son was the only one whose parents had not been stuck up the associations bottoms and loaded enough to make very large donations, nor are we personal friends of most of the coaching staff. I truly never deluded myself into thinking my kid would ever be able to play beyond high school, untill this past season. He is superior to every one on the field, and to make it better, he is a great sport and very humble. Believe me when I say these are thoughts I do not share with him. I don't want my kid to be what he calls "a jerky jock". My question is this. Since he was cut, how do I get him noticed by the college or pro scouts? I really want to be able to provide him with all the opportunity he was robbed of.

Justice,

Heard of this happening in a couple of the affluent areas around Atlanta. Lot of new HS built trying to play catch up with the established programs. Some schools have been able to do it successfully, some have not.

Ultimately, the program must win on the field. While fund-raising is probably the lifeblood for long term success, at some point you have to have talent on the field and a system to maintain a steady flow of talent.

As far as your son,I don't know what county you live in but several have good travel teams in the Atlanta area at the HS level ( Cobb and Gwinnett quickly come to mind). There is also Legion ball you can explore along with attending some showcases.

Is there any chance/position where your son can stay associated with the HS program? Not the easiest thing for your son's ego, but we kept a couple kids last year as bullpen catchers,etc.; both kids made the JV this year. I can't help but think it helped them being around the coaches who got to see the kids over a period of time versus a tryout. The kids did infield, outfield, etc. during practices, just weren't scheuled to play ( both actually got into a couple games as pinch runners and defensive replacements late in the season). Yes, they had to pay the same dues but not the fund raising.

Our HS just started a new fund raising system that helps all the families save money on the cost of their son playing baseball; granted those with deep pockets have an easier time but the method works very well. For example, normally it costs $450 dues plus $550 (fund raisng the players do) for each player....if my son does the fundraising as asked, it will cost me $50 for him to play this year due to donations/banner/field improvements I was able to arrange with outside companies. Some schools have a flat fee of $1000 so all our parents like the new sliding scale.

Thank you for your input. I had fleetingly thought maybe he could be a bat boy or something. I wasn't certain if that was something you could do in high school ball. He really just loves to be around baseball and part of a team. He would hate not getting to play but would love to be a part of the team and around all his pals in some way. He plays travel (his travel team held a spot for him just in case as they know how political our school is and hoped he made HS but hoped he didn't - worked out for them). I have a question about the "showcase". Do you have to play for a high school to sign up or just be in high school?

Justice, all a player needs to attend is a glove, cleats, maybe a bat, a burning desire to show his skills. Another thing usually required is prior registration.

For the son in high school if he's a sophomore or junior, you should get him in a Perfect Game showcase. They hold these typically in the summer time over at East Cobb. (www.perfectgame.org). For the money, it's worth every penny.

Good luck.

There is a player on our Summer team who pitched to 6 batters last year on his HS team. After playing for our team this past summer he committed to playing baseball at the Universtiy of Tennessee, and is listed as one of the top prospects in the state of TN. So no it is not "mandatory" to play for your school team.

It sounds like he is still pretty young if he is able to play travel now that he did not make the school team. Be patient. His time will come.

Good luck.

I feel your pain, our son was cut also this year form the team. He has been playing ball since he was 5. I can not understand how you can look at a player for 10 mins and deceide that he "will not be an asset to the team". We are looking for a traveling team or something for him to play on this summer.

It's shame this is so widespread and our son's are the victims of it. I wish there were something that could be done about it. Everyone who stayed to watch the try outs just knew not only was my son a shoe in for the team, but that he would be played up. I recently learned my son was cut due to a coach higher up strongly arguing for him not to be on the lower classman team. This is a coach who made it very clear during basketball season that he did not like my son's happy go lucky spirit at all. He'd always been a starter untill playing under this assistant coach who takes it all way too seriously. My son is a natural athlete who can play anything but his love is baseball. Instead of taking all the joy of the game out of him I've tried to teach him to go out there and do his best but have fun too. He is spectacular when he is enjoying himself. Even though he is having fun with it, he plays to win also. My thoughts are if I make him take it too seriously at such a young age he'll grow to hate the game and never do anything with it. This coach in particular argued with the other coaches openly about not putting him on the team and placing another player that wasn't quite as good in his place. This kid is no where near where he should be to be playing HS baseball, but his parents are very good friends of the coach (the one who dislikes my kid), loaded, and not shy about letting it be known they will contribute heavily to the athletic department at our school.

So that leaves me in a quandry. If the upper classman coach adamantly opposed my son playing on the freshman team, I see no way in haiti that he will make it onto his team in the next couple years. Do I stay where I am and keep him playing travel ball or throw in the towel and move to be in a different school district so he will have the opportunity so wrongly denied him?

I'd move.

Moving is nothing but a cop out

Let the kid work harder --get better ---then come back next year and make the team


Or perhaps the kid is not good enough to play at the HS level--it does happen you know


DAD -- has it not happened to you where you did not get a job you interviewed for?

I agree with TR on this one. If you move, you're teaching him that when the going gets tough, leave!

He will use that philosophy as his mantra from here on out. I've seen parents do it here in my area over the past few years and I honestly feel sorry for the boys.

This goes along with another familiar thread that I was involved in just recently but it begs to be brought up again. You have to remember that this team is chosen by the team's coaches, not you the parent. That one coach may have argued to the other coaches unfavorably about your son, but the other coaches had to eventually agree with him... as bad as that sounds.

Your son (not you the parent) has 2 choices from here: work like no tomorrow between now and next year, and make it so the coach(s) have no other choice to keep him, OR, look a gifted cow in the mouth and perhaps choose another sport/activity to participate in and excel in it.

Justice, your last paragraph above after re-reading it several times almost makes me think it is perhaps you that feels wrongly denied and slighted by this coach. Maybe I'm wrong. I know it's hard for you right now but your attitude about this situation can be a valuable learning lesson for your son either positively or negatively.

without seeing your kid play tough to say if he has any talent or not. If so I would get him to some HS Showcases and MLB tryout camps, and get him on a travel team that plays in some major tournaments that are scouted. If he has talent trust me the HS school will hear about it.Transfering would be an option.

Coaches are not always right. Good example a MLB scout heard this story that this guy on a College Club Team was throwing 90's< Yeah have not heard that story before. Anyways had him in a tryout camp, Threw 90's went to a pre draft, 90's again, a MLB team tried to sign him on the spot. he declined but the MLB team helped get him into another college where he was drafted and signed.
The MLB scouts sure let the college who cut him , how much they screwed up.

YGD. You're right but not in the sense you think. I feel wrongly denied, but not for myself but for my son. You're also right the other coaches had to eventually agree with him. I know that as well, but what I know that you don't is that in speaking with the freshamn coach he point blank told me they argued for hours over this, he wanted him but the higher up coach would not relent and this being his first year as the head coach he finally allowed the bigger, louder, older guy to push him in a direction he didn't want to go and he now regrets it.

And, believe it or not, no I've never interviewed for a job I wanted and not gotten it. I've interviewed for a few I didn't want and got 'em though.

quote:

Originally posted by YoungGunDad:
I agree with TR on this one. If you move, you're teaching him that when the going gets tough, leave!

He will use that philosophy as his mantra from here on out. I've seen parents do it here in my area over the past few years and I honestly feel sorry for the boys.

This goes along with another familiar thread that I was involved in just recently but it begs to be brought up again. You have to remember that this team is chosen by the team's coaches, not you the parent. That one coach may have argued to the other coaches unfavorably about your son, but the other coaches had to eventually agree with him... as bad as that sounds.

Your son (not you the parent) has 2 choices from here: work like no tomorrow between now and next year, and make it so the coach(s) have no other choice to keep him, OR, look a gifted cow in the mouth and perhaps choose another sport/activity to participate in and excel in it.

Justice, your last paragraph above after re-reading it several times almost makes me think it is perhaps you that feels wrongly denied and slighted by this coach. Maybe I'm wrong. I know it's hard for you right now but your attitude about this situation can be a valuable learning lesson for your son either positively or negatively.

I agree with you. Moving does seem like a cop out, but when you know that no matter how good he is the upper coach isn't going to accept him EVER what do you do? I honestly did begin to doubt myself and think, "am I one of those guys that is blind to my own kids talents?". However, I'm not the only parent shocked that my kid was cut. I didn't stay for try outs. I felt he needed to prove himself on his own. Most other parents did stay though, and all swear to me that he was one of the top 10 boys out there.

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
Moving is nothing but a cop out

Let the kid work harder --get better ---then come back next year and make the team


Or perhaps the kid is not good enough to play at the HS level--it does happen you know


DAD -- has it not happened to you where you did not get a job you interviewed for?

Thank you FM. You seem to give really good advise. This is probably the route we'll take. It's just so frustrating it has to be done this way.

quote:

Originally posted by Frank Martin:
without seeing your kid play tough to say if he has any talent or not. If so I would get him to some HS Showcases and MLB tryout camps, and get him on a travel team that plays in some major tournaments that are scouted. If he has talent trust me the HS school will hear about it.Transfering would be an option.

Coaches are not always right. Good example a MLB scout heard this story that this guy on a College Club Team was throwing 90's< Yeah have not heard that story before. Anyways had him in a tryout camp, Threw 90's went to a pre draft, 90's again, a MLB team tried to sign him on the spot. he declined but the MLB team helped get him into another college where he was drafted and signed.
The MLB scouts sure let the college who cut him , how much they screwed up.

My son is a senior and has played for his HS team from ninth grade up, he has been in the middle of the same kind of Politics since they pulled him up in the ninth grade. He started and played JV then toward the end of the season he was pulled up to varisty, big mistake even though he did well according to the coaches and other parents. He then thought he would be a starter in his position next year and from then on, boy have we been shocked for three straight. This coach does not like any of his players to play travel ball (so my first thought is make sure were every he is going to play HS ball the coaches rule on travel) and if you do anything goes. By that I mean he will treat you like, well what ever he wants to do and you have to like or leave it. My son knows he cannot quit something if he starts it. My son played on an East Cobb team last summer and boy was that a big set back,(two fold) his HS coach was so ****ed that not so different from last year he has only played three or four games at his position. He is a tall kid and has played first base since he started in tee ball. Again I say make sure the school coach has no problems with travel ball and second talk with some of the players and parents of the travel ball team that you are thinking about and if you can a multi-year player from the team is best. You should also know that a quality team will cost you some big bucks. My son has had some really good times with his school mates in a team setting but what he has learned from the HS basebal (coaches and their politics) is that no matter how good you are they will do what they think is best. Ever coach is different and his style can be good for him, for the school, good for parents or for the players but never will you have one that's good for all at the HS level. That's why most HS baseball coaches never graduate to the next level, by now I'm sure most of you reading have a pretty good picture of this guy who thinks his kid is better than most, well your dead wrong. When I did coach him for one year as a twelve and under team it was just an assistant, never before and not since. You can get caught up in that daddy ball so I got out. I only going on the stats that I had his HS coach to print for me, he had a batting average over 400 from eighth grade through his tenth grade, then they started to try and change hime. He is 6'5" and is being chased by four colleges and only one of them is a JUCO, two are D1's and one is a small school, so I don't think it is a daddy who thinks more of his son then he truly is. Good luck and I hope things go well for your son.