As they get older your perspective may change - my kids took up volleyball last February when things were still pretty much locked down as they could practice outdoors - at least at the high school level it is very exciting. Now, boys vs. girls in terms of how the game gets played at that level is very different - Boys is very much a power game and it is incredible not just how high these kids get not how hard they are hitting, but how the back row reacts so quickly to many of these hits to make the dig, but, generally, boys games do not contain as many long rallies - the girls game is more about the longer rallies and working to get the other team to make a mistake, but that is because at the typical high school level, there are not a ton of girls that are soaring over the net to make the powerful spikes. The more I have learned about the game, the more interesting it becomes, but I readily admit I have not had to sit through the 8-10 year olds trying to play phase.
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Collectively, A Thread To Celebrate Our Kids Athletic Accomplishments (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter Anarchy99
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As they get older your perspective may change - my kids took up volleyball last February when things were still pretty much locked down as they could practice outdoors - at least at the high school level it is very exciting. Now, boys vs. girls in terms of how the game gets played at that level is very different - Boys is very much a power game and it is incredible not just how high these kids get not how hard they are hitting, but how the back row reacts so quickly to many of these hits to make the dig, but, generally, boys games do not contain as many long rallies - the girls game is more about the longer rallies and working to get the other team to make a mistake, but that is because at the typical high school level, there are not a ton of girls that are soaring over the net to make the powerful spikes. The more I have learned about the game, the more interesting it becomes, but I readily admit I have not had to sit through the 8-10 year olds trying to play phase.
Charlie Steiner
Footballguy
Part I
Charlie Steiner
Footballguy
Part II
The conference tournament started last Wednesday with my son's team, the #2 seed, taking on the #3 seed. Looking to extend the bullpen, the coach gave my son the start. He went 8 innings, struck out 9, walked 4 and got the win in his last ever game on his home field, squeaking out a 22-2 nail-biter*. He hadn't thrown that many pitches since 9th grade but he got the job done and the rest of the pitching staff, save 1 little-used freshman, were available for potentially 3 games in the next 2 days. The #1 seed had also taken care of business and only used one pitcher, albeit their stud, to set up the showdown on Thursday. Their #2 pitcher out-dueled our #1 en route to a 6-0 shutout. They immediately faced the #4 seed (last year's champion) and fell just short, 10-8, with my son on deck with the tying run on 2nd base when the game ended.
In the first game, he was 2 for 4 with 2 walks, threw 97 pitches in the win, allowing only 1 earned run to go with the aforementioned 9 Ks and 4 BBs. In the second game, he was 0 for 3 with a walk and 2 put-outs, including a full sprint diving catch. In the third game, he was 2 for 4 with a walk and a strikeout in his last at-bat, and he had only one put-out, yet another full sprint diving catch in just about the same spot where he made the same catch in the previous game.
Their final record was 31-11 with a couple of important wins, but their overall strength of schedule kept them out of the DIII College World Series, which was announced a little over an hour before I started this post. I knew the chances were slim but I held out hope until the end.
His final stats in 160 career games played:
Career batting average of .393 with 240 total hits, 58 doubles, 13 triples, 15 home runs, 170 RBI, .605 slugging%, 109 walks, 74 strikeouts, was hit by pitch 11 times, had 21 stolen bases and a career fielding% of .985.
As a pitcher, he made 11 appearances, 4 starts, 2-2 win-loss record to go with 3 saves. In 32.1 innings pitched, he allowed 7 earned runs, walked 17, struck out 39 and opponents batted .202 against him for a career ERA of 1.95 (a small sample to be sure, but many kids who go to college as P.O.s don't get that many innings in their careers, either).
He was conference Rookie of the Year as a freshman and was 1st Team All-Conference every year he played, including sharing Co-Player of the year honors last year.
As I said before in this thread, an embarrassment of riches.
The conference tournament started last Wednesday with my son's team, the #2 seed, taking on the #3 seed. Looking to extend the bullpen, the coach gave my son the start. He went 8 innings, struck out 9, walked 4 and got the win in his last ever game on his home field, squeaking out a 22-2 nail-biter*. He hadn't thrown that many pitches since 9th grade but he got the job done and the rest of the pitching staff, save 1 little-used freshman, were available for potentially 3 games in the next 2 days. The #1 seed had also taken care of business and only used one pitcher, albeit their stud, to set up the showdown on Thursday. Their #2 pitcher out-dueled our #1 en route to a 6-0 shutout. They immediately faced the #4 seed (last year's champion) and fell just short, 10-8, with my son on deck with the tying run on 2nd base when the game ended.
In the first game, he was 2 for 4 with 2 walks, threw 97 pitches in the win, allowing only 1 earned run to go with the aforementioned 9 Ks and 4 BBs. In the second game, he was 0 for 3 with a walk and 2 put-outs, including a full sprint diving catch. In the third game, he was 2 for 4 with a walk and a strikeout in his last at-bat, and he had only one put-out, yet another full sprint diving catch in just about the same spot where he made the same catch in the previous game.
Their final record was 31-11 with a couple of important wins, but their overall strength of schedule kept them out of the DIII College World Series, which was announced a little over an hour before I started this post. I knew the chances were slim but I held out hope until the end.
His final stats in 160 career games played:
Career batting average of .393 with 240 total hits, 58 doubles, 13 triples, 15 home runs, 170 RBI, .605 slugging%, 109 walks, 74 strikeouts, was hit by pitch 11 times, had 21 stolen bases and a career fielding% of .985.
As a pitcher, he made 11 appearances, 4 starts, 2-2 win-loss record to go with 3 saves. In 32.1 innings pitched, he allowed 7 earned runs, walked 17, struck out 39 and opponents batted .202 against him for a career ERA of 1.95 (a small sample to be sure, but many kids who go to college as P.O.s don't get that many innings in their careers, either).
He was conference Rookie of the Year as a freshman and was 1st Team All-Conference every year he played, including sharing Co-Player of the year honors last year.
As I said before in this thread, an embarrassment of riches.
Charlie Steiner
Footballguy
Part III
Now for the rest...
It's almost a week later, I'm still processing everything and my emotions are still kind of raw. It's not the losing at the end, it's not the less than epic way his high-level competitive baseball career ended: it's the sudden finality. We've been watching him play competitive baseball for 16 years and baseball in some form for close to 20. The hole in our routine that it leaves behind has gotten smaller over the years but never went away until now, but TBH, part of me is looking forward to doing other things on the weekends now, though it will always be tinged with a touch of sadness because I know that watching my son play isn't an option any more.
In his last game, they fell behind big early and had to claw their way back, but when the lead swelled to 8 runs after 6 innings, I felt the inevitability, I knew there was no miracle waiting to happen this time. It was all I could do to not break down in tears before it was even over, and while I didn't cry at all, my emotions came out in my voice when I hugged him after the game.
*In Part I, I called the lopsided win a nail-biter even though it wasn't, but I wanted to expand on this game a little...
That team had a lot of big boys on their roster and given that my son's home field was a HS field with HS dimensions and the weather warming up, I thought the game was going to be a slugfest and cringed more than usual when I learned he was going to pitch. I'm glad it worked out, but I'm also a little miffed that the coach left him in the game so long when the outcome was decided when by the end of the 6th inning. Even though I was worried about how my son's arm would stand up to going so many innings, I was more annoyed that once again, the coach (who supposedly was a pitching coach as his last stop before coming to this school) let an opportunity to give more pitchers a chance to face live batters. For those that don't remember, I said at the beginning of the season that the pitching depth was a concern yet there was a lot of promise with the younger arms. By the end of the season, only 8 players had logged more than 8 innings, the rest ranged from 9 innings to one out only. I emphasized the word players because 3 of them were fielders, and of the other 5, 3 had come to the school as fielders and were converted to pitchers. I talked to a dad on the other team during the second game and said I was concerned the coach would get a reputation for not handling pitchers well, to which he replied "He already has." And with that, I've made my last gripe as a parent of a ballplayer.
As for my son's life post-baseball, he's in a very good place in many ways. He has a job lined up where he's doing his internship, he has another opportunity his college advisor wants him to pursue, he has a great circle of people around him even away from home and he's looking forward not back. I believe he will live his life the way he played baseball--with passion and with all of his being--which is all a parent can hope.
Now for the rest...
It's almost a week later, I'm still processing everything and my emotions are still kind of raw. It's not the losing at the end, it's not the less than epic way his high-level competitive baseball career ended: it's the sudden finality. We've been watching him play competitive baseball for 16 years and baseball in some form for close to 20. The hole in our routine that it leaves behind has gotten smaller over the years but never went away until now, but TBH, part of me is looking forward to doing other things on the weekends now, though it will always be tinged with a touch of sadness because I know that watching my son play isn't an option any more.
In his last game, they fell behind big early and had to claw their way back, but when the lead swelled to 8 runs after 6 innings, I felt the inevitability, I knew there was no miracle waiting to happen this time. It was all I could do to not break down in tears before it was even over, and while I didn't cry at all, my emotions came out in my voice when I hugged him after the game.
*In Part I, I called the lopsided win a nail-biter even though it wasn't, but I wanted to expand on this game a little...
That team had a lot of big boys on their roster and given that my son's home field was a HS field with HS dimensions and the weather warming up, I thought the game was going to be a slugfest and cringed more than usual when I learned he was going to pitch. I'm glad it worked out, but I'm also a little miffed that the coach left him in the game so long when the outcome was decided when by the end of the 6th inning. Even though I was worried about how my son's arm would stand up to going so many innings, I was more annoyed that once again, the coach (who supposedly was a pitching coach as his last stop before coming to this school) let an opportunity to give more pitchers a chance to face live batters. For those that don't remember, I said at the beginning of the season that the pitching depth was a concern yet there was a lot of promise with the younger arms. By the end of the season, only 8 players had logged more than 8 innings, the rest ranged from 9 innings to one out only. I emphasized the word players because 3 of them were fielders, and of the other 5, 3 had come to the school as fielders and were converted to pitchers. I talked to a dad on the other team during the second game and said I was concerned the coach would get a reputation for not handling pitchers well, to which he replied "He already has." And with that, I've made my last gripe as a parent of a ballplayer.
As for my son's life post-baseball, he's in a very good place in many ways. He has a job lined up where he's doing his internship, he has another opportunity his college advisor wants him to pursue, he has a great circle of people around him even away from home and he's looking forward not back. I believe he will live his life the way he played baseball--with passion and with all of his being--which is all a parent can hope.
8 IP with 97 pitches while striking out 9 and walking 4 is actually fairly efficient.......other than those 13 batters (which probably took up about 60-65 of his 97 pitches).
Charlie Steiner
Footballguy
No doubt it was a great outing; the flip side of that coin is that he hadn't thrown that many pitches in one game probably since he was 12. His arm was sore the next day, which isn't a great situation for your starting center fielder in the playoffs. Plus, the score was 14-1 after 6 innings and there were plenty of arms on the bench who would have benefited from facing live batters.
nirad3
Footballguy
Yeah there is no power in the 11-year old girls' game.
It's all about just getting the ball over the net and hoping the other team makes a mistake. Right now the girls are learning about spacing and being able to judge the flight path of the ball. Too many times they're going after balls that would have landed out of bounds that they end up flubbing.
@Charlie Steiner
Im envious of you. I love watching my son play baseball. I pray he can make his HS team when he gets there because Id love to watch him everyday. Hes always been a stud at the LL level and a solid player at the travel level. He pitches, has a strong arm plays 3B and LF), really fast, and great fielder. He has good contact skills but little power. Tons of mechanical flaws in his hitting. Hes seen a hitting coach off and on and its helped but Ive gotten to the point where theres only so much a hitting coach can do. He also hasnt shown the drive to keep going to a hitting coach. He loves playing baseball. Loves the sport. Loves the practices. Loves everything about it but doesnt want to put in the extra work to get him to the next level. Keep in mind, hes also only 12 lol. He is supposed to move to the big field this fall. Im worried his game wont translate to the big field. Hes a great pitcher and fielder but I worry about his bat. Any tips or advice? Should I just enjoy and let his desire move things or should I push more individual instruction?
Im envious of you. I love watching my son play baseball. I pray he can make his HS team when he gets there because Id love to watch him everyday. Hes always been a stud at the LL level and a solid player at the travel level. He pitches, has a strong arm plays 3B and LF), really fast, and great fielder. He has good contact skills but little power. Tons of mechanical flaws in his hitting. Hes seen a hitting coach off and on and its helped but Ive gotten to the point where theres only so much a hitting coach can do. He also hasnt shown the drive to keep going to a hitting coach. He loves playing baseball. Loves the sport. Loves the practices. Loves everything about it but doesnt want to put in the extra work to get him to the next level. Keep in mind, hes also only 12 lol. He is supposed to move to the big field this fall. Im worried his game wont translate to the big field. Hes a great pitcher and fielder but I worry about his bat. Any tips or advice? Should I just enjoy and let his desire move things or should I push more individual instruction?
He still has a lot of growing to go. The jump to the big field will definitely be a struggle. Don't worry about that. He has a lot of growing to do and it will get better. I was shocked at the difference a few months can make in growth and strength. Just give it time. Keep working. Keep playing. Keep improving. The strength/size will get there.
El Floppo
Footballguy
@Charlie Steiner
thank you so much for sharing those posts and letting us ride along with your son's career and (maybe) final baseball season. hopefully there's more to be had- if he wants it. I had friends play D3 and then play pro/semi-pro in europe for complete S&Gs and had an absolute blast... some still play in their 40s and 50s on men's teams back here in the US.
I can't remember if you said whether he had any interest in pursuing pro ball, or if that's even his call...?
I can still feel every second of my last serious soccer game (semi-pro)... I knew that was it as I was heading off to grad-school and my career. lots of emotions in that one- but ultimately lots of happy ones.
thank you so much for sharing those posts and letting us ride along with your son's career and (maybe) final baseball season. hopefully there's more to be had- if he wants it. I had friends play D3 and then play pro/semi-pro in europe for complete S&Gs and had an absolute blast... some still play in their 40s and 50s on men's teams back here in the US.
I can't remember if you said whether he had any interest in pursuing pro ball, or if that's even his call...?
I can still feel every second of my last serious soccer game (semi-pro)... I knew that was it as I was heading off to grad-school and my career. lots of emotions in that one- but ultimately lots of happy ones.
Charlie Steiner
Footballguy
Thanks for following along and being so supportive. I'm just glad this thread exists so I had a chance put all of this down for posterity. Hearing about everyone else's kids has been great as well and made me feel more hopeful for the future.
As for my son's future in baseball, I can't say nothing is impossible, but I think he knows the sacrifice and grunt work ahead of him if we wants to play beyond college. One of his former teammates is playing some sort of pro ball in Canada, so he knows there are opportunities out there. I just think that he's ready to move on to the next thing in life. I can't speak for how he really feels, but my impression is that for all that he's accomplished, he sees it more as having been in the right place at the right time and not only doesn't like talking about his accomplishments, he gets uncomfortable when others do. I think he's humble because he knows that there are a lot of others out there as good as and better than he, and ultimately he's content with what he accomplished. Plus, he and one of the women's lacrosse players seemed to have moved their friendship to another level so he probably doesn't want to leave that for the hardships of knocking around the lower levels of pro ball. Last year, most of the kids who came into that school with him graduated, so I'm sure he feels a little behind the curve. All I can ask is that he has no regrets, and I don't think he's had a single one his whole life so far. I'd love to see him give it a go but if his instincts have never misled him, so if he feels ready to move on, I won't argue.
@jobarules, I envy you. You have at least 10 years of baseball left in front of you. As long as he loves baseball, he'll have a place to play. Like @Gally said, don't worry too much about where he is now vs where he'll be when he gets to HS. My son barely hit his weight most of his travel ball career, but things didn't click for him at the plate until his junior year of HS and he didn't hit his first home run until he got to college. Also, if he doesn't want to go to specialized instruction, don't sweat it. Your son sounds a lot like mine when he was your son's age. The only 'extra' working out he did was with me, doing soft toss, hitting him pop ups and catching for him at our local rec, and we didn't do that with regularity, mainly just when he was bored. I'm sure he'll put in the work when he's ready and in a way that he'll enjoy. Trust him on that.
Finally, believe me when I say that you sound just like I did 10 years ago; he was just moving to the big field and his growth spurt was about 4 years away. Between that and his unwillingness to commit more to developing his skills, I was very anxious, but I also had been down this road when he was 10...
His team was coming off a very disappointing season where they went from being on par with the traditional powerhouse programs in our area to realizing they were a minnow in the ocean. We were at the local pool and the dad of one of my son's acquaintances had played almost 20 years in the NHL. He told me that he didn't get 'serious' about hockey until he got to HS. He also told me about how he had just finished the tryout process for his son's (8-10 year-olds, IIRC) hocket team and was calling the kids who had made the cut. He said many of them asked him what they should work on over the Summer to get ready for practices in the Fall. He told them to ride their bikes, go to the pool, basically just go be a kid until it's time to practice. Within 3 months, I met two more men who had had brushes with pro sports, one in football, the other in baseball. The football player had played DI, was drafted in the last round, didn't do much and was out of the league after his rookie contract expired. The baseball player had gone to an open tryout for a major league team and happened to hit 90 on the gun during the tryout. He was signed to a 1-year deal and was used sparingly. Both of them said they hadn't gotten serious about their sports until they were in HS.
Again, I say all of this because how you describe yourself sounds very close to where I was at the same point you're at now. I'd like to think that the best thing I learned on the way and can pass along is to just enjoy every moment, as difficult as that will be.
El Floppo
Footballguy
Lol...no.
Lots of parking. It's an island in the East River between Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx under the TriBoro bridge.
Nothing there except playing fields and a psych ward. Very few buildings and you're far away from midtown and NYCs taller buildings. My son's home track for HS is there at Icahn Stadium...not sure if your game will be there? His HS's soccer teams play there as well on the South side of the island...everything is field turf. My daughter did a tennis camp there at John McEnroes sports time facilities.
PIK95
Footballguy
El Floppo
Footballguy
PIK95
Footballguy
El Floppo
Footballguy
Last year, my son won his last little league game ever by throwing a complete game no-hitter in the championship game while also getting the walkoff hit (we mercied 10-0) ON his birthday.
I'll never forget that #### until the day I die.
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You had me all the way up to the bolded. Now you are just piling on....hahahahahahha
Winning a championship on the mercy rule reminds me of the first team I ever coached. I was 16 yrs old and coached an 11-12 year old team in Pony baseball. We won our championship game on the mercy rule. The mery rule winning run scored by having one of the weaker kids execute a suicide squeeze. This kid didn't like to hit but liked to bunt and had worked on it all year. It seems like bad form to squeeze in the mercy rule run but this kid wasn't much of a player and it gave him a memory for the rest of his life. It was awesome for him. I mean it's not a complete game no hitter with a walk off hit on his birthday good though...hahahhahha
Chadstroma
Footballguy
My sons soccer team finished undefeated. 5-0-1
They are the top seeded team in playoffs and get a bye to the semi's.
They are the top seeded team in playoffs and get a bye to the semi's.
belljr
Footballguy
Ill give you the other side of achievement and complete non sense that is our HS head coach (we win on talent not coaching - /rant) - My daughter was having a very solid season. Not spectacular but solid.
She had 2 bad games back to back against the same pitcher....... Complete awful games. That was 4 games ago. She hasn't batted since. She plays defense only. Now hes done that to other players after a couple games but then they get an opportunity to go back in the lineup. Other kids leashes are waaaaaayy waaaaay longer - I just don't understand how you take your 1 or 2 hole hitter depending on the game and just bench them after a rough spot. Not move them down the lineup like he did with other kids. The starting SS - was batting third and struck out like 15 times the first 6 games and was moved to 9th... so now playoffs started and he'll keep the same lineup hes had the last 4 games in fear of changing things.....
Its freaking maddening ..... you got a kid now on the bench that is batting 310 with a 490 slugging all because she had 4 Ks in 2 games? so wahts going to happen if they need her to bat and she hasnt seen a live pitch in 2.5 weeks? BIG SIGH........ sorry for my rant....... I just neeeded to vent lol
ETA: May 5th was her last AB smh
She had 2 bad games back to back against the same pitcher....... Complete awful games. That was 4 games ago. She hasn't batted since. She plays defense only. Now hes done that to other players after a couple games but then they get an opportunity to go back in the lineup. Other kids leashes are waaaaaayy waaaaay longer - I just don't understand how you take your 1 or 2 hole hitter depending on the game and just bench them after a rough spot. Not move them down the lineup like he did with other kids. The starting SS - was batting third and struck out like 15 times the first 6 games and was moved to 9th... so now playoffs started and he'll keep the same lineup hes had the last 4 games in fear of changing things.....
Its freaking maddening ..... you got a kid now on the bench that is batting 310 with a 490 slugging all because she had 4 Ks in 2 games? so wahts going to happen if they need her to bat and she hasnt seen a live pitch in 2.5 weeks? BIG SIGH........ sorry for my rant....... I just neeeded to vent lol
ETA: May 5th was her last AB smh
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belljr
Footballguy
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ex-ghost
Footballguy
Chadstroma
Footballguy
Two bad games isn't a slump for a 310 hitter. So very odd. Is it possible there is some sort of personality conflict? Attitude given? Team rules broken? Something else?
Having been a high school coach I will say that shuffling the lineup is a very tough thing to navigate. The season is so short that slumps have huge effects to the season but at the same time you have to trust talent will come around as baseball/softball is a grinding game of failure. Everyone will fail. Everyone will slump. You can also have a player hitting .130 that is crushing the ball and just getting unlucky and another player hitting .400 that hasn't hit a ball hard all year and is getting extremely lucky that jam shots, off the end of the bat, etc are just finding holes. It's really tough to navigate and do the right thing.
Practice time helps, attitude helps, work ethic helps, and a good coach should be putting all of those things into the equation. Sometimes you don't play the "best" player because they have a terrible attitude. Sometimes you get a feeling that this person has been practicing well and should get a chance in a game.
I am not saying that little belljr shouldn't be playing and that keeping her out is the right thing to do. I have read all the work and everything she has done. She likley should be in the lineup. But I also know that shuffling high school lineups in such a short season is difficult and if you are winning sometimes it's hard to change things up. Without being out there at practice every day I don't know the right answer and even being out there every day I still probably don't have the right answer. And as a parent it is very tough to see this kind of stuff happen.
From a coaches perspective I know that sitting a kid for a game or so and then seeing how they react in practice sometimes leads to sitting out longer (again I am not saying this is the case). As a coach I may want to sit a player for a game only and then the next two practices they have terrible attitude and don't work hard and I sit them again. It's important as a player to work hard every practice because that is how you have a chance to get back in the lineup. Bad attitude is a quick way to stay on the bench even if it started out differently. But that is a very hard thing for a teenager to understand.
However, also as a coach I would communicate with the player and let them know what is going on. Give them instructions and direction as to where I am coming from with respect to lineups and why a kid might not be playing. It doesn't sound like that part is happening which is very unfortunate.
I feel for you. It's tough as a parent especially when you have seen all these kids play over the years and know who the better players are overall and that one or two bad games shouldn't be the end of it.
belljr
Footballguy
Listen I appreciate all the perspectives and as a former travel coach I understand the difficulties but at a different level. The reason its frustrating is this has happened before. She made varsity as a freshman, covid cancelled. She started the first 13 games as a sophomore, got in a slump and never played again that year. Her replacement was actually worse the last 5 games or so.
So I'm 99% sure it's not attitude because a) she knows better (at least I think she does) b) she starts and has played every game in the field, just not batting c) he has done this to other kids but it's usually for a game or 2
He doesn't communicate that is the #1 main issue. And having known 90% of the kids as their former coach and/or knowing their game it's fairly obvious who should be sitting. And 95% of their practice is tee work and front toss lol
I mean realistically my daughter should be the starting 2B but she moved to RF at the coaches request. Why? Because on the whole it makes the team better.....
He coaches old school mentality and not very aggressive. I know it's not easy and we are currently 17-2 so it's tough to complain but knowing others that went through program it's been the same thing.
It just puts too much pressure on kids afraid to screw up imo.
I just needed to rant
So I'm 99% sure it's not attitude because a) she knows better (at least I think she does) b) she starts and has played every game in the field, just not batting c) he has done this to other kids but it's usually for a game or 2
He doesn't communicate that is the #1 main issue. And having known 90% of the kids as their former coach and/or knowing their game it's fairly obvious who should be sitting. And 95% of their practice is tee work and front toss lol
I mean realistically my daughter should be the starting 2B but she moved to RF at the coaches request. Why? Because on the whole it makes the team better.....
He coaches old school mentality and not very aggressive. I know it's not easy and we are currently 17-2 so it's tough to complain but knowing others that went through program it's been the same thing.
It just puts too much pressure on kids afraid to screw up imo.I just needed to rant
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belljr
Footballguy
So not sure if he read this or since it wasn't playoffs he didn't care as much.. but it doesn't matter
Softball: Bell’s extra-inning walk off propels No. 19 Lenape
Lol....2-4 with a hammered double and the game winner 1-0 in 8......smh
Last regular season game in the books officially conference champs (mathematically we already were but it's official)
Softball: Bell’s extra-inning walk off propels No. 19 Lenape
Lol....2-4 with a hammered double and the game winner 1-0 in 8......smh
Last regular season game in the books officially conference champs (mathematically we already were but it's official)
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Chadstroma
Footballguy
What is do you mean by "he coaches old school mentality and not very aggressive"?Listen I appreciate all the perspectives and as a former travel coach I understand the difficulties but at a different level. The reason its frustrating is this has happened before. She made varsity as a freshman, covid cancelled. She started the first 13 games as a sophomore, got in a slump and never played again that year. Her replacement was actually worse the last 5 games or so.
So I'm 99% sure it's not attitude because a) she knows better (at least I think she does) b) she starts and has played every game in the field, just not batting c) he has done this to other kids but it's usually for a game or 2
He doesn't communicate that is the #1 main issue. And having known 90% of the kids as their former coach and/or knowing their game it's fairly obvious who should be sitting. And 95% of their practice is tee work and front toss lol
I mean realistically my daughter should be the starting 2B but she moved to RF at the coaches request. Why? Because on the whole it makes the team better.....
He coaches old school mentality and not very aggressive. I know it's not easy and we are currently 17-2 so it's tough to complain but knowing others that went through program it's been the same thing.
I just needed to rant
belljr
Footballguy
Always bunts when a runner gets to first. Sets his batting and field lineup like old baseball lineups. He rarely steals and rarely stretches kids baserunning too much base to base. I think our 2 fastest kids have like 5 steal attempts total
Eta: I get it's not easy but imo he needs to update his mindset a little be more agressive
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SpurrierisisGod
Footballguy
Been a while but for anyone interested....
After getting great offers from 3 colleges, my son finished his senior year (which was full of turmoil with injuries and a new AD) with 24 goals, 11 assists in 17 games, my son just 2 weeks ago decided to hang up the boots and go to the local college.
Part of me is disappointed that he's leaving a lot of talent unused, the other part is grateful he didn't accept an offer and quit 2 months in. There was a lot of behind the scenes stuff at our high school this year (I'm the coach and me and the new AD didn't see eye to eye but that's a looooong story) and I think the drama sapped the remaining fun out of it for my son. What should have been a good playoff run ended 8-13-1 and just felt....off. I get it.
Luckily my son gets good grades and got 1/2 tuition at the local U. 2 big lessons here: 1. Keep your grades up and 2. Make sure you keep having fun.
After getting great offers from 3 colleges, my son finished his senior year (which was full of turmoil with injuries and a new AD) with 24 goals, 11 assists in 17 games, my son just 2 weeks ago decided to hang up the boots and go to the local college.
Part of me is disappointed that he's leaving a lot of talent unused, the other part is grateful he didn't accept an offer and quit 2 months in. There was a lot of behind the scenes stuff at our high school this year (I'm the coach and me and the new AD didn't see eye to eye but that's a looooong story) and I think the drama sapped the remaining fun out of it for my son. What should have been a good playoff run ended 8-13-1 and just felt....off. I get it.
Luckily my son gets good grades and got 1/2 tuition at the local U. 2 big lessons here: 1. Keep your grades up and 2. Make sure you keep having fun.
I know you know. I guess it wasn't so much for you as just a general statement that looking from the stands and being a coach can lead to different perceptions. Things aren't always as they seem.
Also, I wasn't intending to have those examples be applicable to little belljr. I know she is a hard worker from all your posts and experience as a travel coach.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
Wouldn't mind hearing about thr loooooong story in another thread if you ever get the time.
El Floppo
Footballguy
That's a fantastic individual season for your son- congrats!
My cousin's kid put up big numbers like that senior year, was named the league MVP, got college interest but had zero interest in playing college ball. Went and enjoyed himself at a big sports school and then got a graduate degree afterwards.
And then...picked up the sport again and played men's league ball...still does afaik. That could even happen during college...or intramurals- still more to play if your kid has the interest.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
My son had his first ever swim meet (it should have been his third but I somehow missed the deadline to sign him up for one and the other earlier this week he got grounded the day of for being ridiculous and I wasn't going to have him go to the meet after).
First ever race and he ended 3rd out of 8 in two heats in the 50 back.
He missed his 50 free he was slated for because no one grabbed him and lead him to the lane. He just sat there waiting for an engraved invite even though I told him ahead of his race and that he needed to pay attention.... apparently I had to also tell him to go to the side of the pool too? Anyways... I think that is pretty good for his first ever race.
First ever race and he ended 3rd out of 8 in two heats in the 50 back.
He missed his 50 free he was slated for because no one grabbed him and lead him to the lane. He just sat there waiting for an engraved invite even though I told him ahead of his race and that he needed to pay attention.... apparently I had to also tell him to go to the side of the pool too? Anyways... I think that is pretty good for his first ever race.
El Floppo
Footballguy
14yo Floppinho had his last track meet of the season this week... ran the exact same mile time as last race- 5:54- and finished in the same back of the pack group. I'm super proud of the kid for squeezing this into his insane schedule and improving his fitness while getting a taste of sports competition. He now wants to do XC preseason at the end of the summer (with all the same kids), whether he joins the team or not. love that.
Floppinha will play her last 10u tennis tournament over memorial weekend.
we thought we had a few more weeks in June until her birthday, but apparently the age designation changes at the start of the birth month, not the end. that means she will have to make the jump to 12u and yellow ball. Was hoping she'd get a chance to get to the finals of a tourney as a u10 so she could win a trophy (something she's wanted as a next step) while she's the oldest... we'll see... might be a while.
in other news for her, she was cast as Ursula in her school's production of The Little Mermaid. they had their first parent performance last night and she and the rest of the group of 5th graders (and parent volunteers who did the lights, sets and costumes) absolutely killed it.. tbh, I was astonished at how good everything was (helps to have actual Broadway people involved in the school) we asked her afterwards if it was something she wanted to keep doing in middle school "absolutely". more performances over the weekend.
Floppinha will play her last 10u tennis tournament over memorial weekend.
we thought we had a few more weeks in June until her birthday, but apparently the age designation changes at the start of the birth month, not the end. that means she will have to make the jump to 12u and yellow ball. Was hoping she'd get a chance to get to the finals of a tourney as a u10 so she could win a trophy (something she's wanted as a next step) while she's the oldest... we'll see... might be a while.
in other news for her, she was cast as Ursula in her school's production of The Little Mermaid. they had their first parent performance last night and she and the rest of the group of 5th graders (and parent volunteers who did the lights, sets and costumes) absolutely killed it.. tbh, I was astonished at how good everything was (helps to have actual Broadway people involved in the school) we asked her afterwards if it was something she wanted to keep doing in middle school "absolutely". more performances over the weekend.
El Floppo
Footballguy
that's amazing... not surprising, given those times... but still amazing.
that one race where he ran like molasses... some of the same runners at state? sounded like he was capable of ticking some seconds off- still not enough to beat the couple people ahead of him?
Anarchy99
Footballguy
Haven't been available to keep up on everyone's stories, but congrats to everyone. Will try to get caught up.
As the saying goes, if you can't be an athlete, be an athletic supporter. As I posted a while back, my son started as a Tutor specifically assigned to academically underperforming student athletes halfway through the past semester who were in danger of losing their scholarships and / or eligibility. He took on 8 athletes that were failing a particular class. He got all of them up to getting B's and C's by the end of the term. One girl jumped from a 35 average to 75 . . . meaning she produced at an A level down the stretch.
The school started bending their own rules to allow him to tutor his base of kids in other classes and allowed him to take on additional students. To anyone that's ever tried to teach college kids, what he did was off the charts. (I've taught a couple of courses as adjunct faculty before.) They are going to try to up his base number of students he can work with next year. Coaches, students, professors, and parents are requesting him by name.
Oh . . . and he averaged 100 in all 5 of his honors courses. The DNA test says he's my kid, but I still don't think he got any of that skill set from me.
As the saying goes, if you can't be an athlete, be an athletic supporter. As I posted a while back, my son started as a Tutor specifically assigned to academically underperforming student athletes halfway through the past semester who were in danger of losing their scholarships and / or eligibility. He took on 8 athletes that were failing a particular class. He got all of them up to getting B's and C's by the end of the term. One girl jumped from a 35 average to 75 . . . meaning she produced at an A level down the stretch.
The school started bending their own rules to allow him to tutor his base of kids in other classes and allowed him to take on additional students. To anyone that's ever tried to teach college kids, what he did was off the charts. (I've taught a couple of courses as adjunct faculty before.) They are going to try to up his base number of students he can work with next year. Coaches, students, professors, and parents are requesting him by name.
Oh . . . and he averaged 100 in all 5 of his honors courses. The DNA test says he's my kid, but I still don't think he got any of that skill set from me.
Quick brag for a couple of my nephews:
One plays football in the Ivy League - in addition to pulling down great grades, he was awarded most improved player for spring football. This is after already making huge progress in the fall and climbing the depth chart to being the only freshman that travelled to the away games on the active roster. Big things coming for him.
The other is a junior in high school and they just won the CIF Lacrosse championship. In addition to the great team accomplishment, my nephew got first team all conference and we are waiting to see if he made all CIF which would be huge. Colleges have been sniffing around and his performance throughout CIF playoffs certainly raised his profile and piqued interest from a few more.
E2A: And just found out that the youngest nephew, a freshman this year, just got his first D1 offer for football.
One plays football in the Ivy League - in addition to pulling down great grades, he was awarded most improved player for spring football. This is after already making huge progress in the fall and climbing the depth chart to being the only freshman that travelled to the away games on the active roster. Big things coming for him.
The other is a junior in high school and they just won the CIF Lacrosse championship. In addition to the great team accomplishment, my nephew got first team all conference and we are waiting to see if he made all CIF which would be huge. Colleges have been sniffing around and his performance throughout CIF playoffs certainly raised his profile and piqued interest from a few more.
E2A: And just found out that the youngest nephew, a freshman this year, just got his first D1 offer for football.
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ex-ghost
Footballguy
That race was the 3200, he is not competing in that even though he would have been seeded 2 at Districts. Running is......interesting. It is hard to run more than 2 races, sometimes even 1, in a day. I laughed at that before, but I have been able to see what a "fresh" race looks like - where you only have one race. My kid looks so much better when he only has to run one competitive race, but there are studs who run 2-3 races and look amazing.
At State he runs the 1600 (final) on Thursday. 800 prelims on Friday and 800 finals on Saturday. Total of 8+ minutes of competitive running in 3 days!
My son started yesterday. First time on the mound in 11 days. He had such a strange outing. 8 of the first 9 batters reached base. He then settled down and retired 8 of the next 9 batters. Obviously the line score wasn't pretty but I'm proud how he didn't give up, settled down, and found his groove. In first inning everything was up and his fastball was way too straight. Second inning he slowed things down and the ball was sinking like usual and he started mixing in his changeup.
Dickies
Footballguy
Not so much an achievement, but I'll talk about it anyways because I think it's a good character building moment for my son.
He's 10, and baseball is his life. We make him play multiple sports, but if we let him he would do baseball year round. Last year he made the little league all star team despite missing half of the season with a broken wrist. This year his goals were to stay healthy enough to play the whole season, and to make the all star team again.
His hitting had some ups and downs throughout the season as there were a few bad habits we had to break, but overall he had a good season at the plate. He is short and disciplined, so he takes a lot of walks and doesn't strike out looking either. When his swing has been dialed he has been smoking the ball.
His defense this season was stellar. He played primarily catcher, and according to the posted league stats he had the highest fielding%, fewest SB allowed, most CS, most PK, and fewest PB of any kid to play as much catcher as him. He also does all of the little things as his baseball IQ is in the top 3 in the league. He is a great baserunner (most SB on his team), backs up throws no matter what position he is playing on the field, and is an all around leader who picks up his teammates and communicates where all the plays should be.
This weekend the all star roster was posted and his name wasn't there. He was devastated. His best friend is on the team and all my son had been talking about in the weeks leading up to the announcement was that they would be the all star team battery together. The next day when the sting wore off a bit he sent messages to all of his friends who made the team congratulating them. We told him there is a "B" team that will also have a lot of his friends on it, and it would still be a good opportunity to play some summer tournament ball. He told us that his new goal this summer is for the "B" team to beat the all star team by the end of summer. I don't think that is likely to happen since the all star team has basically all of the top pitchers, but I admire his attitude and drive. He always wants to get better, and loves seeing his teammates improve. Once all of the politics of this nonsense die down I think it should be a fun summer of baseball.
He's 10, and baseball is his life. We make him play multiple sports, but if we let him he would do baseball year round. Last year he made the little league all star team despite missing half of the season with a broken wrist. This year his goals were to stay healthy enough to play the whole season, and to make the all star team again.
His hitting had some ups and downs throughout the season as there were a few bad habits we had to break, but overall he had a good season at the plate. He is short and disciplined, so he takes a lot of walks and doesn't strike out looking either. When his swing has been dialed he has been smoking the ball.
His defense this season was stellar. He played primarily catcher, and according to the posted league stats he had the highest fielding%, fewest SB allowed, most CS, most PK, and fewest PB of any kid to play as much catcher as him. He also does all of the little things as his baseball IQ is in the top 3 in the league. He is a great baserunner (most SB on his team), backs up throws no matter what position he is playing on the field, and is an all around leader who picks up his teammates and communicates where all the plays should be.
This weekend the all star roster was posted and his name wasn't there. He was devastated. His best friend is on the team and all my son had been talking about in the weeks leading up to the announcement was that they would be the all star team battery together. The next day when the sting wore off a bit he sent messages to all of his friends who made the team congratulating them. We told him there is a "B" team that will also have a lot of his friends on it, and it would still be a good opportunity to play some summer tournament ball. He told us that his new goal this summer is for the "B" team to beat the all star team by the end of summer. I don't think that is likely to happen since the all star team has basically all of the top pitchers, but I admire his attitude and drive. He always wants to get better, and loves seeing his teammates improve. Once all of the politics of this nonsense die down I think it should be a fun summer of baseball.
Little league all star selections are a crap show. Parents/board members/coaches ruin it in most cases. Looks like he is handling it very well and you should be really proud.
Dickies
Footballguy
Yea, with the exception of 3 kids, the entire team is the coaches' kids. There are probably 5 or so kids who got left off who were more deserving than some of the kids who made it, but no matter what there are going to be deserving kids who get left off. We've been getting a lot of love from everyone as people were shocked my son didn't make it. He's the league's "gamer" and I would imagine if you took a league-wide vote he would be voted "most fun to watch". He's not the biggest (2nd shortest kid in AAA), he's not the fastest, and he's not the strongest, but he gives it 100% every play and out-hustles everyone.
PIK95
Footballguy
My son is a junior in high school. I talk about him playing futsal and soccer usually. He's also a very good point guard in our club basketball. Today the football coach had him kicking field goals in gym class. He was bare foot, but made all of them. They immediately asked him to be the kicker for the fall sesson. This should be hilarious. If he can hit from forty bare footed, fifty has to be in range with shoes, lol.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
Swim Meet #2
1st place 25 Free
2nd place 25 back
This was the first ever 25 free he had done and 2nd back.
He was 4 seconds slower in the back this time though even though he placed higher. He could have easily placed first but he wasn't kicking hard.
The kids run around getting candy and pizza and crap from the snacl area and the are unsurprisingly sluggish in the water. The other team took 1st in most races and I didn't see the kids on the other team going to town on the snack shop like ours. I mean, I am sure it isn't THE difference but with my kid, I think it was. He finished eating a big ole slice of pizza just a few events ahead if his back.
Anyways... 1st place is pretty awesome for the first time he has ever swam that.
1st place 25 Free
2nd place 25 back
This was the first ever 25 free he had done and 2nd back.
He was 4 seconds slower in the back this time though even though he placed higher. He could have easily placed first but he wasn't kicking hard.
The kids run around getting candy and pizza and crap from the snacl area and the are unsurprisingly sluggish in the water. The other team took 1st in most races and I didn't see the kids on the other team going to town on the snack shop like ours. I mean, I am sure it isn't THE difference but with my kid, I think it was. He finished eating a big ole slice of pizza just a few events ahead if his back.
Anyways... 1st place is pretty awesome for the first time he has ever swam that.
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