DeMatha freshman baseball?

[Anonymous]

Our son is a good baseball player, but not a recruited athlete. He has been doing the fall baseball workouts at DeMatha, and the coach who is handling the younger guys has been a jerk to my kid. Any insight or experience with this? We did touch base with one friend whose son had a similar experience as a freshman, but we don’t know many families there and have been told the head coach “doesn’t like emails/calls from parents”.

Our son has loved baseball since he was 5, very dedicated, worked hard to come out of injury and now he is saying he may give it all up and is miserable. I don’t know if this is the jr coach trying to weed people out, but it does seem targeted towards my kid.

Thanks for any experience or suggestions for this program!

[Anonymous]

This is sad. I'm sorry. Has he played travel in the past? I only know one boy who has played for Dematha baseball, but he did travel. I know for Gonzaga it's very difficult to make the team even being a travel player. If he doesn't play travel, then I'd assume he has an extremely low chance of making the team.

[Anonymous]

Yep, he did travel for several seasons after growing up in Little League.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our son is a good baseball player, but not a recruited athlete. He has been doing the fall baseball workouts at DeMatha, and the coach who is handling the younger guys has been a jerk to my kid. Any insight or experience with this? We did touch base with one friend whose son had a similar experience as a freshman, but we don’t know many families there and have been told the head coach “doesn’t like emails/calls from parents”.

Our son has loved baseball since he was 5, very dedicated, worked hard to come out of injury and now he is saying he may give it all up and is miserable. I don’t know if this is the jr coach trying to weed people out, but it does seem targeted towards my kid.

Thanks for any experience or suggestions for this program!

What is "being a jerk to my kid"?

Not trying to be a jerk myself, and not to point fingers, but having been through a lot of this as a former player, current coach, and sports parent a lot of the "Coach HATES ME" stuff is a kid being held to the standards of the team. If you're a random kid going to workouts and you're making the coach's life/job harder then don't expect any gentleness. If you can't do the drills, follow instruction, follow rules, etc then expect to be treated curtly.

Sounds like your kid isn't a fit for the team, rightly or wrongly. Seems like the kid needs to toughen up to mesh with the culture of the program. DeMatha baseball isn't a joke (regardless of anyone's personal opinions on how good they are or aren't). If your kid can't handle the coach now then it's probably a weed out thing.

Tell your kid to out hustle everyone, be on time, stay late, clean up, be a model baseball player and convince the coach that they are there and good.

[Anonymous]

Really just looking for anyone else familiar with the program - thanks though!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really just looking for anyone else familiar with the program - thanks though!

So what did your kid say about the specifics of what the coach is doing to be a jerk?

[Anonymous]

I’m so sorry to hear this. I’d love to hear more about Dematha baseball. If I were you, I’d contact the coach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our son is a good baseball player, but not a recruited athlete. He has been doing the fall baseball workouts at DeMatha, and the coach who is handling the younger guys has been a jerk to my kid. Any insight or experience with this? We did touch base with one friend whose son had a similar experience as a freshman, but we don’t know many families there and have been told the head coach “doesn’t like emails/calls from parents”.

Our son has loved baseball since he was 5, very dedicated, worked hard to come out of injury and now he is saying he may give it all up and is miserable. I don’t know if this is the jr coach trying to weed people out, but it does seem targeted towards my kid.

Thanks for any experience or suggestions for this program!

I can’t speak to DeMatha specifically, but can speak with first hand knowledge that playing baseball in the WCAC is not for the faint of heart. For 90% of the players your role on the team is constantly in flux. Before senior year players are transferring in and out. And, incoming kids who have reclassed or who were home schooled can air drop in and take a starters spot. The time commitment is intense and the stress is fairly constant for both players and parents. The upside is that if you survive and make varsity your DS is well prepared for the rigors of college ball.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our son is a good baseball player, but not a recruited athlete. He has been doing the fall baseball workouts at DeMatha, and the coach who is handling the younger guys has been a jerk to my kid. Any insight or experience with this? We did touch base with one friend whose son had a similar experience as a freshman, but we don’t know many families there and have been told the head coach “doesn’t like emails/calls from parents”.

Our son has loved baseball since he was 5, very dedicated, worked hard to come out of injury and now he is saying he may give it all up and is miserable. I don’t know if this is the jr coach trying to weed people out, but it does seem targeted towards my kid.

Thanks for any experience or suggestions for this program!

I can’t speak to DeMatha specifically, but can speak with first hand knowledge that playing baseball in the WCAC is not for the faint of heart. For 90% of the players your role on the team is constantly in flux. Before senior year players are transferring in and out. And, incoming kids who have reclassed or who were home schooled can air drop in and take a starters spot. The time commitment is intense and the stress is fairly constant for both players and parents. The upside is that if you survive and make varsity your DS is well prepared for the rigors of college ball.

You have to realize that even on the SJC 2025 team (which may have been their best team ever...ranked #5 in the country with only one loss to the #1 team in the country), only like 7 of the seniors ended up playing in college (and I think there are only 2 or 3 committed 2026 players right now).

That includes 4 D1 commits and 3 D3 commits. Two of the three D3 commits have already quit their teams as freshmen and are looking to transfer to bigger schools where they will just play club or not play at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our son is a good baseball player, but not a recruited athlete. He has been doing the fall baseball workouts at DeMatha, and the coach who is handling the younger guys has been a jerk to my kid. Any insight or experience with this? We did touch base with one friend whose son had a similar experience as a freshman, but we don’t know many families there and have been told the head coach “doesn’t like emails/calls from parents”.

Our son has loved baseball since he was 5, very dedicated, worked hard to come out of injury and now he is saying he may give it all up and is miserable. I don’t know if this is the jr coach trying to weed people out, but it does seem targeted towards my kid.

Thanks for any experience or suggestions for this program!

I can’t speak to DeMatha specifically, but can speak with first hand knowledge that playing baseball in the WCAC is not for the faint of heart. For 90% of the players your role on the team is constantly in flux. Before senior year players are transferring in and out. And, incoming kids who have reclassed or who were home schooled can air drop in and take a starters spot. The time commitment is intense and the stress is fairly constant for both players and parents. The upside is that if you survive and make varsity your DS is well prepared for the rigors of college ball.

You have to realize that even on the SJC 2025 team (which may have been their best team ever...ranked #5 in the country with only one loss to the #1 team in the country), only like 7 of the seniors ended up playing in college (and I think there are only 2 or 3 committed 2026 players right now).

That includes 4 D1 commits and 3 D3 commits. Two of the three D3 commits have already quit their teams as freshmen and are looking to transfer to bigger schools where they will just play club or not play at all.

This sounds about right. But the D1 baseball landscape is incredibly different than it was just 5 years ago. So much more challenging even for kids with the SJC pedigree. Getting a D3 offer was always an accomplishment and even more so now with D1 roster limits. Many of the D3 kids out of SJC eventually make it to D1 like one of their 2024s who is headed to Maryland next season.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our son is a good baseball player, but not a recruited athlete. He has been doing the fall baseball workouts at DeMatha, and the coach who is handling the younger guys has been a jerk to my kid. Any insight or experience with this? We did touch base with one friend whose son had a similar experience as a freshman, but we don’t know many families there and have been told the head coach “doesn’t like emails/calls from parents”.

Our son has loved baseball since he was 5, very dedicated, worked hard to come out of injury and now he is saying he may give it all up and is miserable. I don’t know if this is the jr coach trying to weed people out, but it does seem targeted towards my kid.

Thanks for any experience or suggestions for this program!

I can’t speak to DeMatha specifically, but can speak with first hand knowledge that playing baseball in the WCAC is not for the faint of heart. For 90% of the players your role on the team is constantly in flux. Before senior year players are transferring in and out. And, incoming kids who have reclassed or who were home schooled can air drop in and take a starters spot. The time commitment is intense and the stress is fairly constant for both players and parents. The upside is that if you survive and make varsity your DS is well prepared for the rigors of college ball.

You have to realize that even on the SJC 2025 team (which may have been their best team ever...ranked #5 in the country with only one loss to the #1 team in the country), only like 7 of the seniors ended up playing in college (and I think there are only 2 or 3 committed 2026 players right now).

That includes 4 D1 commits and 3 D3 commits. Two of the three D3 commits have already quit their teams as freshmen and are looking to transfer to bigger schools where they will just play club or not play at all.

This sounds about right. But the D1 baseball landscape is incredibly different than it was just 5 years ago. So much more challenging even for kids with the SJC pedigree. Getting a D3 offer was always an accomplishment and even more so now with D1 roster limits. Many of the D3 kids out of SJC eventually make it to D1 like one of their 2024s who is headed to Maryland next season.

The same changing landscape you mention above makes it that much more unlikely for D3 kids to make it to D1. Just too many D1 players available.

[Anonymous]

Aren't a decent amount of D1 rosters filled with D3 transfers?

But playing D3 the whole time is fine too! Just go play (if you want to) and see where you end up.

If any kid quits baseball his freshman year, that's OK. Maybe burned out. Maybe another reason. It makes me sad, but kids have their reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aren't a decent amount of D1 rosters filled with D3 transfers?

But playing D3 the whole time is fine too! Just go play (if you want to) and see where you end up.

If any kid quits baseball his freshman year, that's OK. Maybe burned out. Maybe another reason. It makes me sad, but kids have their reasons.

Yes, many late bloomers who formally would have been walk ons or D1 bench players are getting D3 playing time. Getting bigger and faster and will eventually enter the portal. This is also true to some extent for Ivy players who move to Power 4.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aren't a decent amount of D1 rosters filled with D3 transfers?

But playing D3 the whole time is fine too! Just go play (if you want to) and see where you end up.

If any kid quits baseball his freshman year, that's OK. Maybe burned out. Maybe another reason. It makes me sad, but kids have their reasons.

Not anymore since they cut rosters to 34 players just this year.

It’s mostly D1 players moving around.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the PPs who said that this may just be how the program is, and that it’s up to your son to find the solution.

At this age, YOU should not approach the coach about this. But your son can (and should) ask to sit down for 10 minutes to ask what the coach would like to see from him come spring tryouts. What areas does he need to focus on? What should be be working to improve? And then… DO those things. Don’t slack off. Don’t sit on a weight room bench with your phone. Don’t joke around with people while other guys are moving L screens and carrying ball buckets. Show up early. Go home late. In between, dress neatly and hustle. These are basic expectations, and players who don’t meet them shouldn’t be surprised if the coaches get annoyed.

It’s great that your son loves baseball — if he wants to keep playing, he needs that passion. But he also needs excellent field IQ, agility, power and speed. And to be a contributor and supporter in the dugout. If he’s treating it like Little League, he’s not going to be an appealing choice.