my sons fielding is not as good as before

Question
My son is 14 and has been playing baseball since he was 5. He loves the game and has always been an outstanding player, often surprising other parents and players on his team and on others with his skill.  He can play shortstop, third, outfield quite skillfully.  He has just started high school at a large high school and he did so well, the coaches wanted him to play varsity, but he choose to stay with the fresh/soph team because he was not yet ready to play at such a high level.  He also pitches.  He bats well and usually bats third in the lineup.  

Since playing high school ball, he has been making more errors than I have ever seen him make.  Usually one per 2 games or so.
I find this surprising since his fielding before was nearly perfect, and I wonder how common this is for high school freshman.  Is there an easy explanation?  He is working harder than ever, and has  2 1/2 to 3 hour practices nearly every day on non game days.  He has 2 - 4 games per week.  He has never had this much baseball before and works hard and is often very tired.  Also, the field size is bigger than what he played on last year.  The coaches are excellent and don't yell at the players and their record is quite good.  They are new to the program.  

He just got moved from Short Stop to 3rd base and does not care at all where he plays, and neither my husband nor I say anything to him about his errors.  It si a bit awkard to watch the games because there are 20 or maore players on the team who get no playing time and their parents are all watching the games too.

We will continue to encourage our son, but I am perplexed as to what may be going on.  He goes to school in a different city from where we live and this is the time he is playing with the kids he goes to chool with.

Answer
Cathy:  Thank you for your question.

If your son has been successful in the past, the current stretch of errors may just be the transition to a bigger field, as well as an increase in the speed of the game at that level.

Sounds like he has developed skills that will serve him well as he continues to play.  Having players who are able and willing to play multiple positions, or just play anywhere that the team needs someone is a coaches dream.  To be successful at all those things says he must be a good athlete.  Another plus.

I am guessing he moved from 80' bases to the high school diamond.  That extra 10' changes the game quite a bit and requires some adjustments on their part.  You didn't say whether the errors are mostly fielding, or throwing.  It isn't unusual for kids to start rushing their throws to compensate for the increased distance, and the increased speed of the runners.

If the varsity coaches wanted him to play at that level, he must have shown the skills they were looking for.  

I believe he will make the adjustments.  He sounds like just the kind of player coaches are looking for.

Good luck to your family and your son as you move forward.  There are some great family memories being created in baseball.

Yours in baseball,

Rick