High school baseball

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is all so helpful. We live on Cap Hill close to Gonzaga. Is that a good program too?

Yes, I would definitely look into that program as opposed to driving all the way to SJC each day. They are generally very good at baseball and have a steady stream of D1 recruits.
STA is also a great option. They will also "recruit" for baseball players and also send players to top D1 programs.

If you live on the Hill, Gonzaga would be a great option to consider. Solid school and program. Friends there have nothing but good things to say. Another PP mentioned the importance of an easy commute--this is even more important when you are tacking on extra hours for practices and games etc.

[Anonymous]

For baseball? SJC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is all so helpful. We live on Cap Hill close to Gonzaga. Is that a good program too?

Yes, I would definitely look into that program as opposed to driving all the way to SJC each day. They are generally very good at baseball and have a steady stream of D1 recruits.
STA is also a great option. They will also "recruit" for baseball players and also send players to top D1 programs.

Not so much anymore for STA. They sent one kid to play baseball at college...yes, he is D1 at Alabama and one of the top players in the area, but he is the only one to play any college baseball for the 2025 class.

STA used to be strong, but now Georgetown Prep rules that conference and has been totally dominant the last two years. Landon is also a stronger team.

Why are you making this up? They had a second recruit for 2025 who is at Chicago and also had several D1 offers.


I will never understand the people who come in DCUM and say things that are completely false. Get a life.

It's PUBLIC information who the STA kids are and where they decided to attend. It's all right here on Perfect Game:

https://www.perfectgame.org/College/CollegeCommitments.aspx?college=2100

Sorry, but STA is now a distant 3rd to both Georgetown Prep and Landon, and no a kid interested in WCAC schools isn't going to be interested in STA these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many people are frustrated with how the SJC coach runs the team. Word is that he will finally leave in two years when his youngest kid (daughter) graduates from SJC.

He basically only plays the starters and/or his favorites, even if they are beating an opponent by 15 runs.

What's nuts is that he had a junior lefty pitcher committed to play at Tennessee...and he only gave that kid like 5 innings all season because he loved his 2025 star pitchers (three in particular who are also D1...but TN is usually a top 5 college team).

SJC lost a number of rising juniors who will likely be starters at their new schools because of how he runs the team.

The SJC coach very explicitly lays out his rules to incoming players and parents. They know that playing time is not guaranteed, and that if they want to be on the team, the players must take part in the coach’s camps. There is no gray area, and the players know exactly where they stand. A lot of parents simply cannot handle the fact that their kid simply isn’t the next Paul Skenes.

We know parents who sent their kid elsewhere for this school year because he wasn’t playing much, but the real reason is that the parents kept sending their kid to these camps where he was encouraged to put excessive wear on his arm. He kept getting hurt and the coach wouldn’t play him, so he’s with a much lesser high school program this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many people are frustrated with how the SJC coach runs the team. Word is that he will finally leave in two years when his youngest kid (daughter) graduates from SJC.

Don't believe every rumor on DCUM. The coach is now Director of Advancement for the school and the baseball field is named after his dad. Like it or not, the program is a powerhouse. Why would he ever leave?

[Anonymous]

The bottom line is that, regardless of your child’s status as one of the “top” players in the area as an 8th grader, you have no idea where he will stand against the top seniors next year at some of these baseball schools.

There are dozens of schools where your child will find a successful path to a good hs education, fulfilling hs career, and a college roster. There is no reason to roll the dice with a controversial coach or years on the bench. Make a list of schools that are an academic fit and not a horrible commute, and meet with those coaches. You’ll find a fit. You don’t need a big baseball program for your kid to play college baseball. Colleges come to watch specific players - if they’re interested in your kid they’ll watch him no matter what team he’s on (and it will rarely be during the hs season anyway)

One of the worst things you can do is overestimate your child’s ability, send your kid to prep or SJC, and they never play. Keep your eye on the ball, which is to have fun playing baseball. There is no need to play for a tyrant or sit the bench for four years. Get the school fit down, then the coach fit, then keep working hard.

[Anonymous]

Sjc is a great program, but jeez, the Capitol Hill Gonzaga combo sounds like a great lifestyle during his high school years. The baseball program is very competitive and send kids d1. And of the ones you mentioned it’s the best at turning boys into young men. It’s a no brainer imo.

Sjc might be doable, but that drive up and down to military road during rush hour is not fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are dozens of schools where your child will find a successful path to a good hs education, fulfilling hs career, and a college roster. There is no reason to roll the dice with a controversial coach or years on the bench. Make a list of schools that are an academic fit and not a horrible commute, and meet with those coaches. You’ll find a fit. You don’t need a big baseball program for your kid to play college baseball. Colleges come to watch specific players - if they’re interested in your kid they’ll watch him no matter what team he’s on (and it will rarely be during the hs season anyway)

This is the right answer. SJC, Gonzaga, DJO are great baseball programs in the WCAC, but there are strong programs that consistently send kids to D1 from STA, Landon, Prep, Potomac, Flint Hill. Find the school, figure out if the team will work for your kid, and decide whether you want to join a program that runs all baseball training through the school or if your kid is better off training outside of the school time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many people are frustrated with how the SJC coach runs the team. Word is that he will finally leave in two years when his youngest kid (daughter) graduates from SJC.

He basically only plays the starters and/or his favorites, even if they are beating an opponent by 15 runs.

What's nuts is that he had a junior lefty pitcher committed to play at Tennessee...and he only gave that kid like 5 innings all season because he loved his 2025 star pitchers (three in particular who are also D1...but TN is usually a top 5 college team).

SJC lost a number of rising juniors who will likely be starters at their new schools because of how he runs the team.

The SJC coach very explicitly lays out his rules to incoming players and parents. They know that playing time is not guaranteed, and that if they want to be on the team, the players must take part in the coach’s camps. There is no gray area, and the players know exactly where they stand. A lot of parents simply cannot handle the fact that their kid simply isn’t the next Paul Skenes.

We know parents who sent their kid elsewhere for this school year because he wasn’t playing much, but the real reason is that the parents kept sending their kid to these camps where he was encouraged to put excessive wear on his arm. He kept getting hurt and the coach wouldn’t play him, so he’s with a much lesser high school program this year.

There is a difference between getting playing time and never substituting when the outcome of the game is 100% gauranteed now matter who you put on the field (ie, beating the Heights by 10 runs and leaving your top pitcher in the game).

No other program literally anywhere takes this approach, including the IMG team that substituted their players when they were up by over 10 runs against SJC.

[Anonymous]

Over the past decade SJC baseball has had a handful of successes, many more moderately disappointed families, and even more hugely disappointed and angry families. Consider carefully if you want to take that leap into the unknown. The odds are not in your son’s favor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many people are frustrated with how the SJC coach runs the team. Word is that he will finally leave in two years when his youngest kid (daughter) graduates from SJC.

He basically only plays the starters and/or his favorites, even if they are beating an opponent by 15 runs.

What's nuts is that he had a junior lefty pitcher committed to play at Tennessee...and he only gave that kid like 5 innings all season because he loved his 2025 star pitchers (three in particular who are also D1...but TN is usually a top 5 college team).

SJC lost a number of rising juniors who will likely be starters at their new schools because of how he runs the team.

The SJC coach very explicitly lays out his rules to incoming players and parents. They know that playing time is not guaranteed, and that if they want to be on the team, the players must take part in the coach’s camps. There is no gray area, and the players know exactly where they stand. A lot of parents simply cannot handle the fact that their kid simply isn’t the next Paul Skenes.

We know parents who sent their kid elsewhere for this school year because he wasn’t playing much, but the real reason is that the parents kept sending their kid to these camps where he was encouraged to put excessive wear on his arm. He kept getting hurt and the coach wouldn’t play him, so he’s with a much lesser high school program this year.

This past season Gibbs made clear that he does not see it as his job to try to develop all of his players. He is only in it for his own self-interest. That’s why he overplayed a top pitcher who now has to get TJ surgery during his freshman year of college while other very capable pitchers got almost no innings. Every HS varsity coach will say that playing time is not guaranteed, but most HS coaches will try to maximize development of all of the players to make the best squad overall and to give all of his players the best opportunity to earn playing time and college opportunities. Gibbs simply does not do that. He could easily have won the same number of games while at the same time opened up playing opportunities for far more players. In my mind that shows how weak of a coach he actually is.

[Anonymous]

Too many parents think high-level high school baseball should have the same rules as Little League, where everyone is guaranteed playing time. These are the parents who leave SJC. Sorry, but he plays his best players. Your kid wasn’t one of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many people are frustrated with how the SJC coach runs the team. Word is that he will finally leave in two years when his youngest kid (daughter) graduates from SJC.

He basically only plays the starters and/or his favorites, even if they are beating an opponent by 15 runs.

What's nuts is that he had a junior lefty pitcher committed to play at Tennessee...and he only gave that kid like 5 innings all season because he loved his 2025 star pitchers (three in particular who are also D1...but TN is usually a top 5 college team).

SJC lost a number of rising juniors who will likely be starters at their new schools because of how he runs the team.[/quote]
SJC has lost a number of rising juniors (and Seniors! in other sports) who are going to be starts at their new schools.

The fact that Seniors are transferring says something about the school

[Anonymous]

Unless you want private for other reasons, if it is just for baseball - may as well go public. Results for recruiting are the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unless you want private for other reasons, if it is just for baseball - may as well go public. Results for recruiting are the same.

Yes - I know a bunch of Jackson Reed players who have had successful college careers.
But for the Hill - not sure that the public would be.