Ok Moms- We are about to start offical High School Baseball Tryouts. Can you please give me step by step what to expect since we have never gone through this before. I would have posted this elsewhere but I don't want a full blown political discussion. Also what can we do at home to make this a better experience. My Son has been going to all work outs and open gyms that freshman are allowed at and has even stayed and watched Varsity workouts too. Please Advise. Moms got butterflies.

Isn't your son the one who's 6'3" and throws 85mph? I don't think you have any reason to have butterflies!

LHPMom

Not a mom, but I'll offer some advice.

We parents naturally want to know how our kid is doing, and how he stacks up against the other kids. So it is very easy to pummel the boy with questions. How'd you do? Are there any kids who throw as fast as you? What did the coach say to you? Did you get a hit? Make any errors?

Here's my recommendation: Don't ask for much detail about what has happened at practice. It tends to put too much emphasis on results, and can lead to anxiety.

A parent attending practice, and then telling the son how he did in comparison to other kids is just as bad.

It's hard to do, but your player will do better in high school if you suppress your parental urges.

Well my son is a freshmen in college and just writing that it seems impossible .When my son tried out there were about 35-40 kids just for the freshmen team.The coach made cuts each week ,which he posted in fromt of the office.
The first couple cuts were done on the weekend which was probably better so the kids could go look at list with their parents and deal with the cuts privately.
In my sons exp. I thought it was done fairly and that the right players were cut and kept.From my sons freshmen class six players are playing college ball.Some at a Jc but they are still at the next level.
I hope your son has a great tryout and sounds like from the previous poster he will have no problem.

I sweat and bit fingernails about this time last year. 3FingeredGlove gave great advice. Asking a ton of questions just makes it worse for your son. Ask a few general questions to see what kind of response you get. Sometimes your son will feel like talking. Be there just to listen and offer support.
To alleviate a mom's natural urge to ask a million questions, I found a friend whose son was trying out at another school. As soon as our sons would leave the door in the morning we'd call each other to vent and get out our emotions. LOL. It sure helped me get through it with part of my sanity
intact. Of course, our biggest complaint was: "I can't get him to tell me anything!!!"

The worst part of the experience, besides not being able to ask my son for any meaningful information, was resisting the urge to go watch. I'd arrive early, then sit in the parking lot. I noticed a lot of parents went in to watch, but I forced myself to stay in the car. I think going in to watch would have made him feel even more nervous than he probably already was.

Another word of advice is, many times, ninth graders are not fully mature. Our school, I've found out, prefer to take sophomores who are there for the second time round. It seems like your school has about as many freshmen trying out as ours had. Some really good players were not taken the first time round. Even if you are taken, you'll probably spend a lot of time riding the bench. Sometimes you don't know which is worse!!!!
One of our best pitchers, who wasn't taken as a freshman, was pulled up to varsity mid-season when he tried out as a sophomore.
Remember, whatever the results, there is always next year. And next time you'll have gone through it before.

Very best of luck to your son and this may be the longest week or so of your life!!! LOL

P.S. There's some great articles about making the high school team on this website. I went over them with my son. I think a lot of it sunk in for him.

quote:

Can you please give me step by step what to expect since we have never gone through this before.

Lefty34,
I think the best advice I could give you is to simply do your best to not have expectations. If you can set yourself up to just roll with the flow, you may find the whole process a little easier. Its a nerve wracking situation because we as mom's know how much this means to our son's and everyone's hopes are high.

Seems like everytime, I as a mom, would set an expectation, something would fly out of left field and zap me right in the forehead.
I have found over the years that for me it was better to just stand back,.....offer encouragement, make sure they are eating nutriciously, and watch what happens.

I have my fingers and toes crossed for your son.
I wish him all the best!!! Go get em' Lefty34's son!!!
Just ride it through,.....and remember the moments.

Have a senior this year. For four years, when he gets home from school, I ask two questions: "How was school today? How was practice?" Beyond that, if he wants to volunteer (which he doesn't, usually only responds "fine"), I ask nothing. It can be nerve wracking, but we must learn to "live without" information.....(or get information on a "need to know" basis only, maybe is the better way to say it.)

If I need to remind him of something (like "don't forget to go to your Spanish Club meeting tomorrow"), I do it later in the day after dinner, that kind of thing.

Keep everything crossed as shortstopmom says. Your son will do well, as it sounds from prior posts that he is a strong athlete.

Oh, and this rule of thumb continues on once he makes the team. At our school, communication is from coach to player, not from coach to parent.

Boy do I remember worrying about that freshman tryout and my son is now a sophomore in college. I feel for you and hope things work out for your son.

I had several moms who I talked to during this process that really helped me. The list (posted by tryout number) was posted before school one morning - my son called me on his cell phone to tell me he had made it. I had baseball balloons and a cake waiting for him that night to celebrate.

What I remember most is the kids that didn't make it - how devastated they were (and their parents). Most of them went on to have great high school football careers (one is playing in college). Although this is controversial, some transferred to a private school to play baseball.

I also remember the senior moms inviting the freshman moms to an early dinner/happy hour before the first game to welcome us. Nice gesture on their part.

Good luck and keep us posted!