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crzdirector
48 Posts |
 Posted - 09/04/2012 : 17:14:50
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My ex wife asked me the other day about HS baseball...now I brushed it off really b/c our son is in the 4th grade but it did get me to thinking...
Both HS baseball programs and specifically the school my son would go to have horrible programs. I attended and played at the same school and we had some reasonable success in the early 90's. The schools are in a tough, tough region right now with Loganville and the Gainesville schools. Neither public school is competitive. Add to that there really aren't a ton of kids playing the game in the 4-6th grades. We watched his friend who plays JV ball for one of the high schools and I can honestly say there was better baseball being played at 10aaa tournaments than what was going on out there.
I guess I could move in a couple of years to a location where he would have a better program, but isn't that me putting sports above school (it is a good public HS). All this is obviously assuming he will still want to play in HS and doesn't fall in love with something else.
I'm sure someone out there has been playing Major ball and now have a hs kid that has a 3-21 program. What did you do? How did you manage? |
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AllStar
762 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2012 : 21:01:52
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The people that I know in that situation make sure their sons are in a good travel program and that is what they look forward to. They never considered changing schools as far as I know. They take their lumps (at least their sons usually play just about every inning) and look forward to Summer for their dose of good baseball.
There is a lot more to a school than the baseball, or any sport for that matter.
Easy for me to say because we are not in that position. |
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Orangepower
19 Posts |
Posted - 09/05/2012 : 21:43:36
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| Their is a lot to High School other than ball but when you are in a district like my oldest son and then you see the facilities at a Hillgrove it makes you wish the real estate market would allow you to enjoy the school and baseball facilities. Allatoona is beautiful as well but Hillgrove has separated itself. Our older schools do not have the resources. |
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b@s3b@11
23 Posts |
Posted - 09/06/2012 : 09:03:39
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| On a similar note, what are the baseball powerhouse schools in the area? |
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nastycurve
244 Posts |
Posted - 09/06/2012 : 13:40:57
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Hillgrove is definitely one of the most beautiful fields out there and they put a lot of work and time into it.
With that said, I would recommend a high level travel team and playing it by ear when he gets nearer to highschool. I coach my sons travel team and assisted during their middle school season which I ended up using as a farm club and picking up some players from. Over the years they developed very well and all ended up playing JV in 8th grade. Now that they are in 8th grade, I think they could definitely compete with their varsity squad. |
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RACGOFAR
208 Posts |
Posted - 09/06/2012 : 17:12:16
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quote:
Originally posted by nastycurve
I think they could definitely compete with their varsity squad.
Come on Nasty, Really? 8th graders, even those that are physically more developed than their age, are going to have a hard time competing with Jr's and Sr's who are physically older than their age. |
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PeachFuzz
76 Posts |
Posted - 09/06/2012 : 17:54:50
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| My two cents...you play HS ball for the pride of playing for your HS (along with the benefits that come with it....being known as a jock, girls, friends, etc). The HS regular season is 26 games. Most of your good travel programs are going to play at least 2X as many games (most will play more than that). If the school is good, safe, your kid has friends there and he'll get a great education...don't even think about moving for baseball. |
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CoachDad
52 Posts |
Posted - 09/06/2012 : 21:11:16
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quote:
Originally posted by PeachFuzz
My two cents...you play HS ball for the pride of playing for your HS (along with the benefits that come with it....being known as a jock, girls, friends, etc). The HS regular season is 26 games. Most of your good travel programs are going to play at least 2X as many games (most will play more than that). If the school is good, safe, your kid has friends there and he'll get a great education...don't even think about moving for baseball.
Plus, your kid will learn to sell cookie dough and magazines in addition to learning to rake the infield and take care of the field so just in case the whole playing ball thing doesn't pan out.
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Steel Bats
15 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2012 : 09:17:52
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We have just gone through this same situation this past Spring. Without naming names or locations, the best thing I can tell you is that we have a new coach that HOPEFULLY will right the wrongs that occurred this past year. To top it off, our travel ball coach was assigned to our team and he was horrible as well. Not a good Spring.
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? We use this in motivating our son...we are determined to NOT let horrible coaching ruin his love of the game and end his time playing baseball.
The best advice I can give depends on what his/your goals are....does he plan to play beyond HS? If so, the advice you have received below is accurate....find and stay with a good travel team/teaching academy that will help him grow mentally as he grows physically stronger. If his plans are to try out for colleges, he will get more looks from a good travel team situation than HS. If he just wants to play for HS because of pride or friends, then he needs to understand that the caliber of play will be less than he's used to and that he can do what he can to lift it up. Good luck!
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sharkattack
40 Posts |
Posted - 09/11/2012 : 12:12:19
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As someone that has seen a good HS program up close, I would like to offer my two cents on the topic.
First, GOOD HS coaches work with their kids on a year round basis to improve their programs not to make $$$. They lift weights, condition, do 2 on 1 sessions, practice and play games in season and practice and play in the summer. Most have 8th grade programs that develop the incoming players. Do travel coaches do this...not so much. These guys are sacrificing family time for peanuts because they LOVE the game and teaching young men.
I will be the first to acknowledge that the top flight player is better off playing summer travel than playing with their HS summer team. They can't face the same caliber pitching or anything even close on a steady basis. However, if you kept Hillgrove or Parkview or one of the other premier teams together over the course of the summer, they would certainly compete because they develop their kids top to bottom.
By the way, my boys are 9 and 12 so I too worry about these issues. I just hope they make their HS teams. |
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crzdirector
48 Posts |
Posted - 09/11/2012 : 13:32:25
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My son and I were at the batting cages the other day and started this discussion with another dad/son. His kid is an 8th grader and will not play for the local squad. He's going to play across town but is getting some love from a local private school that is trying to raise its baseball profile.
We have two fairly strong aa/aaa programs one county over but honestly I couldn't afford to live out there anyways. The cost of going to private school would actually be more affordable than moving. Now all this can change with a new coach or an influx of kids (they are building a giant caterpillar plant in town, so who knows what happens).
I'm sure it will work out as God has it planned but I hate the wishy washy that comes with not knowing a clear path. |
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SSBuckeye
575 Posts |
Posted - 09/11/2012 : 15:15:33
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| Sharkattack, if you really believe what you said about travel coaches, then it's clear to me that you've never met a good travel coach. My guess is the ratio of good to bad HS coaches is about the same as the same ratio for travel coaches. |
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sharkattack
40 Posts |
Posted - 09/11/2012 : 16:04:53
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Buckeye - my intent was not to bash travel coaches. I AM a travel coach. However, I also know a lot of outstanding HS coaches that are indirectly smeared by the generalizations on this board.
I'm a frustrated baseball coach that is an attorney in the real world but spend countless hours with the boys that play for me working on their games. I know there are hundreds of travel coaches that do the same thing. I'm simply pointing out the efforts and sacrifices made by good HS coaches. |
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SSBuckeye
575 Posts |
Posted - 09/11/2012 : 18:57:16
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| That's fair, shark. |
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in_the_know
985 Posts |
Posted - 09/11/2012 : 21:09:49
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Shark,
You mention that your boys are 9 & 12 and I can assume that the bulk of your exposure to travel coaches is mostly around the rec park teams and teams between the age groups of your sons.
As you progress to the older ages, mostly 15 and up, you'll see a significant change in how many travel programs approach the boys. I'm not talking about the dad coaches still coaching a team out of a rec park, I'm referring to the travel PROGRAMS such as Team Elite, 643, some ECB, etc.
Those programs provide countless hours working with the players on year round programs to prepare them for both the upcoming high school seasons as well as college recruiting. Most of these programs also educate the players on academic requirements, NCAA regulations, financial options, etc.
I think that you'll better understand the value of some of the travel programs as you experience them yourself when you get to that age. If you're projecting what you see at 12u and below as an indication of what to expect, you'll be in for a big surprise. The goal, game and process changes significantly.
So back to the OP's original dilemma. There are good baseball programs and bad. I guess you need to determine why your son is in high school. If it is a stepping stone to play baseball at the next level, I can tell you that the summer travel program you choose is going to be far more important than the high school baseball program. Like it or not, baseball is going the way of basketball in that basketball recruitment is done out of AAU, not the high schools. Your elite, blue chip players are being scouted at the AAU tournaments around the country. Likewise, Perfect Game and other showcase events are where baseball players are now being recruited.
Why would a coach from Texas, Georgia or Florida travel to Hillgrove to see a junior make a start or to watch a middle infielder play? Especially when the high school season is during the college season. Those guys get more bang for their buck spending a week at a Perfect Game event where they'll see 50 prospects playing against each other within a 20 mile radius. Do high school coaches still have connections and open doors? Yes. Is the the only or even best avenue any longer for players with opportunities at the next level. Not by any stretch.
Now if high school is the end game for your player and the next level for him is church softball games, then perhaps you might want to find a better and more enjoyable HS baseball environment. But if HS is the final level, then it's all the more important to ensure the best education possible since that's what will be opening the doors for your son at the next level. I can tell you this, never, not even once, have I been asked in a job interview what my high school baseball team's win-loss record was. |
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bbmom2
119 Posts |
Posted - 09/13/2012 : 14:49:35
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Interesting topic and has been explored in other threads as well... We had our house on the market for a long time, intending to move to another school within the district and yes, baseball played a part in the decision but was not the main focus. Long story short, house didn't sell. Stayed where we are. Player is die hard travel ball player - has had excellent coaching. HS baseball team may be or may not be up and coming with some really good players on board. (time will tell!) Son is LOVING high school ball. There's something to be said for playing with kids you have grown up with. Playing for the local team. Playing with a sense of school pride. All that matters. Now if they win in the spring, will matter even more!! 
No one has been more surprised than us at his response and feelings toward his high school team. It's been great to watch. |
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What if your HS program sucks?
