The first day of conditioning is over for the eighth-graders that are trying out for the high school team and all is well. Only 2 of them threw up and mine was not one of them. He actually said that it was not as bad as he expected it to be and that he didn't really get that tired. The eighth-graders only go for 2 weeks at our school, so they should be alright. The hard part comes after that - the tryouts. They have 22 players already on the freshman team (true freshman). Some of those may make JV, but not many, and some may get beat out - that will be tough though as team was state runnerup last season. I hope he is able to make an impression and give them a reason to keep him around.
AgentDad tell him good luck and keep us informed. Did they do any conditioning during the fall? Just wandering because the 8th graders that my son played fall ball with (he is 7th grade) were doing conditioning in the fall as well.
Posts: 99 | Location: NORTH GEORGIA | Registered: January 14, 2004
He practiced with the Fall Ball team a couple of times and they did some conditioning during the practicies. He would have loved to have played with them in the fall, but they will not let 7th graders do that normally at his school and they already had 22 players on the team.
Conditioning is over now and he feels like he did good. The coach had his speech today about how only a couple of eight-graders normally make the team and it's an honor to get a uniform. Monday and Tuesday morning are the tryouts, keep your fingers crossed.
Sorry for the long time since posting. I was on vacation and was playing bus driver to and from tryouts. Great news, he made the team!! He was given a spot on the purple team. Eighth graders are generally given the right to dress for Home games (purple shirts). It is a bit intimidating for him because he was assigned to work with the varsity squad in practices - they split the purple shirts up between freshman, JV, and varsity. He was asked to throw with Scott Green (UK signee that throws 92 mph) in practice Saturday - he is 6'7". Needless to say he was a bit nervous.
AgentDad, Last time I threw with a kid with a 90+ arm I was a bit intimidated (and ended up with a very sore arm trying to throw much harder than I was capable of throwing).
Posts: 4703 | Location: Southern CA, USA | Registered: January 02, 2003
They are helping him transition as much as possible. The upperclassmen have been especially nice to him, including him in group conversation and kidding around with him. They have not brushed him off like I was worried might happen. Despite the fact it is a varsity squad that finished 2nd in state last year, the coaches have spent considerable time working with him. Of course, he has spent quite a bit of time "paying dues" (shagging balls from the outfield, etc...), but that is a part of it.
Your boy must be thrilled! Being able to workout with the varsity will give him some great experience, exposure and a whole-lotta confidence down the road. Very nice.
