High School Baseball - How to Stand Out

Question
Hi,

My son is currently a sophomore at a large (one of the largest in our state) high school. We are new to the area and he is new to this school. The baseball program is very competitive so, as a relative unknown, he was thrilled to make the team when other more seasoned and known players were cut.  My son loves to play the game and he works on a baseball skill everyday both in season and in off-season. He is getting a bit frustrated and down about how the season is going for him. We want to keep him upbeat and positive but, as parents who never played baseball, we are not sure what to do. We are also not familiar with how high school baseball works.

A little about my son, his particular areas of strength in the game are his hitting and his speed (running). His fielding, on the infield, has always been average to above average.  He has an outstanding work ethic. He is a respectful player toward the game, coaches, teammates etc... He has played the typical routine of all star team, AAU travel team, summer leagues, wood bat league etc?He is 6ft, and about 165lbs. He is an honor roll student taking a rigorous course load. He scored extremely well on the PSAT.  In short, he is a great all around kid

He made the team trying out for middle infield. In the past, he has typically played 2nd base, occasionally playing short as well as 3rd. Once the tryouts were over, he was moved to the outfield without any type of explanation from the coaches. He has never played outfield. Since moving to that position, he has taken a liking to the position but is frustrated because his fielding skills and arm do not seem to be at the same level as the other outfielders.  At the start of the season, he was not seeing much playing time and he was batting at the bottom of the order. He was frustrated with this but kept a good attitude because he was happy to be on the team and to see some play time. As the season has gone on, he has seen more playing time, his outfield skills have significantly improved and he has moved up in the order to where he now bats either 1,2or3 ?on JV. With four games left of the season his batting average is .536 with an OBP of .610.  My son is the only player on JV hitting above .500. He is frustrated because a few of the other players with less hitting ability have been moved between JV & Varsity. While they tend to not see much playing time or very limited playing time when they go up to Varsity there seems to be that intangible endorsement that you are good because you are moving to Varsity for one or two games.

Questions:

At this point, should we be concerned that he has not seen any Varsity time? Logically it seems better to be on JV playing than to be on Varsity watching from the bench. Do coaches make non-verbal statements via their choices of players who are moved to Varsity? Should my son be concerned about this? Should he see this as a coach endorsing particular players as good or the future of Varsity?

Is a position move (infield to outfield) typical in high school baseball? Is there any negative meaning to such a move?  Is it appropriate to ask the coach about the move or is it too late?

We were always under the impression that hitting was an important aspect of baseball. Is there a new methodology in baseball where the emphasis is primarily on fielding and little on hitting? I ask because the practices seem to be mainly fielding drills with not much done on the hitting aspect of the game. Hitting does not seem to be emphasized or valued on this team. As a whole the team (both varsity & JV) are predominantly weak hitters with minimal hitting in games. As a side note, the JV team has a much better record than the Varsity team. Is it typical in high school baseball to not emphasis hitting?

At the end of the season, is it appropriate for a player to ask a coach what they want to see in a Varsity player and what they should be doing in the off-season to improve?

One of his goals is to play college baseball at an academically competitive school. Do college coaches consider the size of your high school when they look at the level you played? Is it detrimental for playing college baseball to have not been on the Varsity team as a sophomore?

Thank you very much for your time and consideration. Have a great day!

Answer
Sara:  Thank you for your questions.

I wouldn't be concerned that he hasn't seen any varsity time.  Your thoughts about it being better to play on the JV, than sit on the bench with the varsity are valid.  Being new to the area, it provides your son an opportunity for them to get to know him.  By the sound of it, he has been making the most of the chances provided.

Coaches move players up and down for various reasons, usually based on their team dynamics at the time.  I wouldn't read too much into any of that.  The varsity coaches probably haven't had much opportunity to watch your son play.  If their schedule runs like ours does, our JV's play on the same day, at the reverse site we play at.  Very seldom do we get to see one of their games.

Position moves happen quite often.  Coaches are looking to put the best 9 or 10 players they have on the field, regardless of where they may need to play them.  I would look at the move as a sign that they see his potential, at the same time they know what their team dynamics look like for next year.  Over the years I have had many players make a switch of some sort, a switch
that put them in a position which wasn't their personal best, but one which the team needed to make it successful.  It happens at the college and professional levels also.  One example is Alex Rodriguez moving to 3B when he signed with the Yankees.  The Yankees had, and still have Derek Jeter at shortstop, thus a need to move one or the other.

I would say, that we always talk with the player about the situation before we do that, and let them know that as we see it at that point in time, we want to find a position that we feel they will have an opportunity to start at.  A truly beneficial part of that move is the player develops additional skills, and the ability to play numerous positions is always an advantage as they move through the levels.

We have a MLB player who comes and works out with us in February when we start practice.  He was a shortstop in college, has been an everyday shortstop in the major leagues.  He has also played second, third and first, and can play both corner outfield positions.  This past winter, needing to sign on with a new team, he worked on learning how to catch, getting to the point that he could become a team's emergency catcher.  

He signed on with a new team, made the roster out of spring training and is a utility player on a good ballclub.  Actually made one of the ESPN top 10 web gem plays in April.  

All teams, at all levels, need options.  Your son is gaining valuable skills, and the opportunity to use them in games at the JV level to refine them.  I believe it will pay off for him.

With just four games left in the season, I would have your son wait until the end to talk with the coach.  In our program, we have an exit meeting with all returning players, outlining what we feel they need to work on, their strengths and weaknesses and how we see the next season, looking forward.  I have also written all of that material out and given the players a personal evaluation to work with in some years.  

The coaches probably have something that they do.  If not, I would have your son ask them what they would like him to work on this off season.  I would assume they also have a summer team for those players returning, another opportunity for him to get to know them, and for them to get to know him.

Without a doubt, he can figure they will want him to get stronger, everyone needs to work in that area.  If the school or team doesn't have a weight training program, he should find a way through a public facility to start a program and stay with it.

There's an old coaching adage that, if you can hit coaches will find a place for you to play.  That may be why they moved your son to the outfield, looking for a way to get his bat in the line up.

How coaches divide up the time they have in practice is as varied as the coaches themselves.  Much of what is done is based on your baseball philosophy.  While we believe in defense and pitching, we still hit every day.  The practice time is divided close to half, a little longer on the hitting end, as it takes longer to get through than the defensive segments.  We have 6 groups, 6 stations.  The live station on the field they each get 30-40 cuts each per day, plus cage and tees on 4 other stations.  One station they shag on the field.

There are as many ways to run a practice as there are coaches.  With everyone I have been associated with, hitting is a priority, at all levels.

Baseball has an extensive network for locating players.  If you can play, they find out about you.  The colleges get information from a variety of sources when they are looking at a player.  They go more by what they see, or are told by scouts and coaches, rather than the size of school you attended.

Whether or not he played on the varsity as a freshman or sophomore won't matter.  What he does as a junior becomes an attention getter, as he looks for a place to go to school, and also play baseball.  It is good to start writing to, and looking into, schools he might be interested in attending in the spring of his junior year.  That way he has some varsity input for the schools, and they have an opportunity the next year to look closer.  Not a good idea to wait until spring of your senior year to start contacting schools.  

Throughout all of his baseball journey, there is one important aspect to keep in mind.  It works this way in baseball, as well as the rest of his life,"Only Worry About The Things That Are Within Your Control."  

On my website at www.theoleballgame.com, there is a page on the nav bar on Mental Game.  If you scroll down to the links at the bottom of the Mental Game page, there is a link to Mental Control, which talks about the things we can control in this game, and those we can't.  It takes some effort and concentration to focus on just the things we can control; but a very beneficial skill in the world of baseball.

Good luck as you all move forward.  Baseball is a great and enjoyable journey.  Your son sounds like a great kid.  The work ethic thing is worth it's weight in gold.  Good hitters are hard to find, you can't teach speed, and he's a good student who will be always be eligible.  He has a lot on the plus side of the ledger.  I would venture to guess they have seen him hit and run, and coaches never miss noticing when players work hard, even if they don't mention it. That, based on what middle infield players they may be returning, prompted them to attempt to make use of his speed and bat, in the outfield.

If you have additional questions you can always contact me here at all experts, or on the baseball question page on my web site, or the contact page there also.  Both are on the nav bar.

Yours in baseball,

Rick