Baseball: Which is the best option?

[Anonymous]

FCPS, how competitive is South County high school? There are a lot of baseball obsessed families in that area, travel baseball starting in 2nd or 3rd grade - that sort of thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Being very familiar with WCAC programs and player development some of what is stated is true but by no means gospel.

The more advanced programs will develop you in the weight room and make you a better athlete but hitting and fielding development happens on your own time. There’s too many things for coaches to focus on rather than individual development. Players need to give coaches a reason NOT to play them. Winning is the focus and who can help you matters most to coaches.
Having said this I know of players that did not play travel before age 13 playing on top teams as well as D1 scholarship players that were not good and cut by their travel team at age 14.
It’s not cut and dry. What is clear however is if your player isn’t willing to work every single day (weight room and on the field) they may make a roster but have zero chance of being a top player and progressing to a college athlete.

This is all true. Plus, northern kids are at such a disadvantage because of the cold climate. If you look at the national rankings it’s usually schools from CA, FL, and TX (and often SJC and Spalding) Around here from Dec-March you have to really WANT to be a baseball player and do the work on your own and often with paid coaches. That’s when the good players become great players.

Or they go the old-fashioned route and cross-train in the winter months by participating in a seasonally appropriate sport.

The bolded statement sounds dramatic and inspiring, but I’d really like to see the evidence that it’s actually true.

Could a freakish athlete play hoops in the winter and show up in March for HS baseball? Of course. But they’re the exception, not the rule. The average to above average WCAC baseball player is specializing year round. The Boys of Summer are built in the winter.

And then they get Tommy John the next fall. Seriously, how many of the families with year-round ball players do you know who have a favorite orthopedist on speed dial? In my circle, it’s an uncomfortable number. Including 4 kids who had surgery prior to 14U.

This is the parents’ fault. Imo. Advocate for your kid. Don’t let the coach have him throw 100 pitches and not rest.

You do know that there are a gazillion moms out there that don't know jack sh*t about baseball, much less what a pitch count is, right?

Eff any coach that doesnt' track it and enforce it.

+1

Most rec leagues use strict pitch counts (little league, for example)- it is travel ball that tends to be the problem- most travel tournaments go by innings and otherwise leave to the discretion of the coach.

I also see kids playing on multiple teams with coaches not communicating with each other- another big problem.

Also really really terrible overuse at catcher- or even worse, overuse at both pitcher + catcher. There are not enough rules about catching IMHO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FCPS, how competitive is South County high school? There are a lot of baseball obsessed families in that area, travel baseball starting in 2nd or 3rd grade - that sort of thing.

It’s less competitive than WSHS or LBSS or robinson. Everyone we know from our travel team played (didn’t just sit the bench) at South County. More competitive than hayfield, Edison, etc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Being very familiar with WCAC programs and player development some of what is stated is true but by no means gospel.

The more advanced programs will develop you in the weight room and make you a better athlete but hitting and fielding development happens on your own time. There’s too many things for coaches to focus on rather than individual development. Players need to give coaches a reason NOT to play them. Winning is the focus and who can help you matters most to coaches.
Having said this I know of players that did not play travel before age 13 playing on top teams as well as D1 scholarship players that were not good and cut by their travel team at age 14.
It’s not cut and dry. What is clear however is if your player isn’t willing to work every single day (weight room and on the field) they may make a roster but have zero chance of being a top player and progressing to a college athlete.

This is all true. Plus, northern kids are at such a disadvantage because of the cold climate. If you look at the national rankings it’s usually schools from CA, FL, and TX (and often SJC and Spalding) Around here from Dec-March you have to really WANT to be a baseball player and do the work on your own and often with paid coaches. That’s when the good players become great players.

Or they go the old-fashioned route and cross-train in the winter months by participating in a seasonally appropriate sport.

The bolded statement sounds dramatic and inspiring, but I’d really like to see the evidence that it’s actually true.

Could a freakish athlete play hoops in the winter and show up in March for HS baseball? Of course. But they’re the exception, not the rule. The average to above average WCAC baseball player is specializing year round. The Boys of Summer are built in the winter.

Again, where’s your evidence? You are just typing soundbites that you *believe* to be true, and giving OP (and anyone else reading this thread) advice based off this belief, but where’s the proof?

The DR has the highest per capita number of MLB players and all they do is play baseball.

The top hoops players are playing basketball all year long, so they aren’t playing baseball. The top basketball teams/players are playing in a basketball tournament as we type.

What proof do you expect anyone to give you? You can look at the rosters of the different seasonal sports teams at each school and it is highly unlikely you will see any overlap.

To be clear, I don’t actually *expect* you to give me any evidence (and based on this post you clearly don’t have any).

It was meant more as a rhetorical point to anyone reading this thread that they should remember to examine their sources before pulling little Timmy out of basketball to make him go to private baseball lessons every day all winter at the age of 10 because that’s what ALL the GOOD players do…

(Kids who do multiple sports don’t necessarily do NOTHING during the offseason, don’t get me wrong. But casually shooting hoops in the summer or a weekly indoor throwing session in the winter is not on the level of what is being discussed in this thread, IMO)

Maybe you’re correct, but you’re certainly not making a strong case.

Can you identify any D1 college baseball players who play more than 1 sport? Probably not. And the top WCAC baseball programs are run like D1 programs. That’s one reason WCAC players are highly coveted by college coaches. They are not just strong fundamentally, but they’ve demonstrated a year round commitment to the game while also balancing their academics for four years. Their stats are real and against top competition. They expect to win every game. In short, they are low risk players that college coaches know can be quickly onboarded and contribute immediately to a program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Being very familiar with WCAC programs and player development some of what is stated is true but by no means gospel.

The more advanced programs will develop you in the weight room and make you a better athlete but hitting and fielding development happens on your own time. There’s too many things for coaches to focus on rather than individual development. Players need to give coaches a reason NOT to play them. Winning is the focus and who can help you matters most to coaches.
Having said this I know of players that did not play travel before age 13 playing on top teams as well as D1 scholarship players that were not good and cut by their travel team at age 14.
It’s not cut and dry. What is clear however is if your player isn’t willing to work every single day (weight room and on the field) they may make a roster but have zero chance of being a top player and progressing to a college athlete.

This is all true. Plus, northern kids are at such a disadvantage because of the cold climate. If you look at the national rankings it’s usually schools from CA, FL, and TX (and often SJC and Spalding) Around here from Dec-March you have to really WANT to be a baseball player and do the work on your own and often with paid coaches. That’s when the good players become great players.

Or they go the old-fashioned route and cross-train in the winter months by participating in a seasonally appropriate sport.

The bolded statement sounds dramatic and inspiring, but I’d really like to see the evidence that it’s actually true.

Could a freakish athlete play hoops in the winter and show up in March for HS baseball? Of course. But they’re the exception, not the rule. The average to above average WCAC baseball player is specializing year round. The Boys of Summer are built in the winter.

Again, where’s your evidence? You are just typing soundbites that you *believe* to be true, and giving OP (and anyone else reading this thread) advice based off this belief, but where’s the proof?

The DR has the highest per capita number of MLB players and all they do is play baseball.

The top hoops players are playing basketball all year long, so they aren’t playing baseball. The top basketball teams/players are playing in a basketball tournament as we type.

What proof do you expect anyone to give you? You can look at the rosters of the different seasonal sports teams at each school and it is highly unlikely you will see any overlap.

To be clear, I don’t actually *expect* you to give me any evidence (and based on this post you clearly don’t have any).

It was meant more as a rhetorical point to anyone reading this thread that they should remember to examine their sources before pulling little Timmy out of basketball to make him go to private baseball lessons every day all winter at the age of 10 because that’s what ALL the GOOD players do…

(Kids who do multiple sports don’t necessarily do NOTHING during the offseason, don’t get me wrong. But casually shooting hoops in the summer or a weekly indoor throwing session in the winter is not on the level of what is being discussed in this thread, IMO)

Maybe you’re correct, but you’re certainly not making a strong case.

Can you identify any D1 college baseball players who play more than 1 sport? Probably not. And the top WCAC baseball programs are run like D1 programs. That’s one reason WCAC players are highly coveted by college coaches. They are not just strong fundamentally, but they’ve demonstrated a year round commitment to the game while also balancing their academics for four years. Their stats are real and against top competition. They expect to win every game. In short, they are low risk players that college coaches know can be quickly onboarded and contribute immediately to a program.

We’re talking about kids in this thread, not college athletes. I also don’t know any engineers who moonlight as plumbers or any doctors who teach middle school math on the side, but that certainly doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have studied and dabbled in all sorts of academic interests when they were kids, BEFORE choosing to specialize in one field. I think it’s entirely appropriate to specialize in one sport at the college level, but I disagree that it’s best to do so at the high school level (and it’s absolutely silly to even consider specializing before that).

You might be correct that “the top WCAC baseball programs are run like D1 programs” but that doesn’t mean it’s appropriate or even that it results in the best athletes. (And college coaches coveting them because they are “low risk” and can be “quickly onboarded” is not proof that they are better athletes than they would have been with a more balanced approach.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Being very familiar with WCAC programs and player development some of what is stated is true but by no means gospel.

The more advanced programs will develop you in the weight room and make you a better athlete but hitting and fielding development happens on your own time. There’s too many things for coaches to focus on rather than individual development. Players need to give coaches a reason NOT to play them. Winning is the focus and who can help you matters most to coaches.
Having said this I know of players that did not play travel before age 13 playing on top teams as well as D1 scholarship players that were not good and cut by their travel team at age 14.
It’s not cut and dry. What is clear however is if your player isn’t willing to work every single day (weight room and on the field) they may make a roster but have zero chance of being a top player and progressing to a college athlete.

This is all true. Plus, northern kids are at such a disadvantage because of the cold climate. If you look at the national rankings it’s usually schools from CA, FL, and TX (and often SJC and Spalding) Around here from Dec-March you have to really WANT to be a baseball player and do the work on your own and often with paid coaches. That’s when the good players become great players.

Or they go the old-fashioned route and cross-train in the winter months by participating in a seasonally appropriate sport.

The bolded statement sounds dramatic and inspiring, but I’d really like to see the evidence that it’s actually true.

Could a freakish athlete play hoops in the winter and show up in March for HS baseball? Of course. But they’re the exception, not the rule. The average to above average WCAC baseball player is specializing year round. The Boys of Summer are built in the winter.

Again, where’s your evidence? You are just typing soundbites that you *believe* to be true, and giving OP (and anyone else reading this thread) advice based off this belief, but where’s the proof?

The DR has the highest per capita number of MLB players and all they do is play baseball.

The top hoops players are playing basketball all year long, so they aren’t playing baseball. The top basketball teams/players are playing in a basketball tournament as we type.

What proof do you expect anyone to give you? You can look at the rosters of the different seasonal sports teams at each school and it is highly unlikely you will see any overlap.

To be clear, I don’t actually *expect* you to give me any evidence (and based on this post you clearly don’t have any).

It was meant more as a rhetorical point to anyone reading this thread that they should remember to examine their sources before pulling little Timmy out of basketball to make him go to private baseball lessons every day all winter at the age of 10 because that’s what ALL the GOOD players do…

(Kids who do multiple sports don’t necessarily do NOTHING during the offseason, don’t get me wrong. But casually shooting hoops in the summer or a weekly indoor throwing session in the winter is not on the level of what is being discussed in this thread, IMO)

Maybe you’re correct, but you’re certainly not making a strong case.

Can you identify any D1 college baseball players who play more than 1 sport? Probably not. And the top WCAC baseball programs are run like D1 programs. That’s one reason WCAC players are highly coveted by college coaches. They are not just strong fundamentally, but they’ve demonstrated a year round commitment to the game while also balancing their academics for four years. Their stats are real and against top competition. They expect to win every game. In short, they are low risk players that college coaches know can be quickly onboarded and contribute immediately to a program.

We’re talking about kids in this thread, not college athletes. I also don’t know any engineers who moonlight as plumbers or any doctors who teach middle school math on the side, but that certainly doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have studied and dabbled in all sorts of academic interests when they were kids, BEFORE choosing to specialize in one field. I think it’s entirely appropriate to specialize in one sport at the college level, but I disagree that it’s best to do so at the high school level (and it’s absolutely silly to even consider specializing before that).

You might be correct that “the top WCAC baseball programs are run like D1 programs” but that doesn’t mean it’s appropriate or even that it results in the best athletes. (And college coaches coveting them because they are “low risk” and can be “quickly onboarded” is not proof that they are better athletes than they would have been with a more balanced approach.)

NP
I’m not going to identify kids, but I know multiple D1 committed baseball players and current D1 (including P5) who played multiple sports in college. My own D1 commit had D3 offers to play his second sport.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Being very familiar with WCAC programs and player development some of what is stated is true but by no means gospel.

The more advanced programs will develop you in the weight room and make you a better athlete but hitting and fielding development happens on your own time. There’s too many things for coaches to focus on rather than individual development. Players need to give coaches a reason NOT to play them. Winning is the focus and who can help you matters most to coaches.
Having said this I know of players that did not play travel before age 13 playing on top teams as well as D1 scholarship players that were not good and cut by their travel team at age 14.
It’s not cut and dry. What is clear however is if your player isn’t willing to work every single day (weight room and on the field) they may make a roster but have zero chance of being a top player and progressing to a college athlete.

This is all true. Plus, northern kids are at such a disadvantage because of the cold climate. If you look at the national rankings it’s usually schools from CA, FL, and TX (and often SJC and Spalding) Around here from Dec-March you have to really WANT to be a baseball player and do the work on your own and often with paid coaches. That’s when the good players become great players.

Or they go the old-fashioned route and cross-train in the winter months by participating in a seasonally appropriate sport.

The bolded statement sounds dramatic and inspiring, but I’d really like to see the evidence that it’s actually true.

Could a freakish athlete play hoops in the winter and show up in March for HS baseball? Of course. But they’re the exception, not the rule. The average to above average WCAC baseball player is specializing year round. The Boys of Summer are built in the winter.

Again, where’s your evidence? You are just typing soundbites that you *believe* to be true, and giving OP (and anyone else reading this thread) advice based off this belief, but where’s the proof?

The DR has the highest per capita number of MLB players and all they do is play baseball.

The top hoops players are playing basketball all year long, so they aren’t playing baseball. The top basketball teams/players are playing in a basketball tournament as we type.

What proof do you expect anyone to give you? You can look at the rosters of the different seasonal sports teams at each school and it is highly unlikely you will see any overlap.

To be clear, I don’t actually *expect* you to give me any evidence (and based on this post you clearly don’t have any).

It was meant more as a rhetorical point to anyone reading this thread that they should remember to examine their sources before pulling little Timmy out of basketball to make him go to private baseball lessons every day all winter at the age of 10 because that’s what ALL the GOOD players do…

(Kids who do multiple sports don’t necessarily do NOTHING during the offseason, don’t get me wrong. But casually shooting hoops in the summer or a weekly indoor throwing session in the winter is not on the level of what is being discussed in this thread, IMO)

Maybe you’re correct, but you’re certainly not making a strong case.

Can you identify any D1 college baseball players who play more than 1 sport? Probably not. And the top WCAC baseball programs are run like D1 programs. That’s one reason WCAC players are highly coveted by college coaches. They are not just strong fundamentally, but they’ve demonstrated a year round commitment to the game while also balancing their academics for four years. Their stats are real and against top competition. They expect to win every game. In short, they are low risk players that college coaches know can be quickly onboarded and contribute immediately to a program.

We’re talking about kids in this thread, not college athletes. I also don’t know any engineers who moonlight as plumbers or any doctors who teach middle school math on the side, but that certainly doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have studied and dabbled in all sorts of academic interests when they were kids, BEFORE choosing to specialize in one field. I think it’s entirely appropriate to specialize in one sport at the college level, but I disagree that it’s best to do so at the high school level (and it’s absolutely silly to even consider specializing before that).

You might be correct that “the top WCAC baseball programs are run like D1 programs” but that doesn’t mean it’s appropriate or even that it results in the best athletes. (And college coaches coveting them because they are “low risk” and can be “quickly onboarded” is not proof that they are better athletes than they would have been with a more balanced approach.)

NP
I’m not going to identify kids, but I know multiple D1 committed baseball players and current D1 (including P5) who played multiple sports in HIGH SCHOOL. My own D1 commit had D3 offers to play his second sport.

Sorry, they played multiple sports in HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Being very familiar with WCAC programs and player development some of what is stated is true but by no means gospel.

The more advanced programs will develop you in the weight room and make you a better athlete but hitting and fielding development happens on your own time. There’s too many things for coaches to focus on rather than individual development. Players need to give coaches a reason NOT to play them. Winning is the focus and who can help you matters most to coaches.
Having said this I know of players that did not play travel before age 13 playing on top teams as well as D1 scholarship players that were not good and cut by their travel team at age 14.
It’s not cut and dry. What is clear however is if your player isn’t willing to work every single day (weight room and on the field) they may make a roster but have zero chance of being a top player and progressing to a college athlete.

This is all true. Plus, northern kids are at such a disadvantage because of the cold climate. If you look at the national rankings it’s usually schools from CA, FL, and TX (and often SJC and Spalding) Around here from Dec-March you have to really WANT to be a baseball player and do the work on your own and often with paid coaches. That’s when the good players become great players.

Or they go the old-fashioned route and cross-train in the winter months by participating in a seasonally appropriate sport.

The bolded statement sounds dramatic and inspiring, but I’d really like to see the evidence that it’s actually true.

Could a freakish athlete play hoops in the winter and show up in March for HS baseball? Of course. But they’re the exception, not the rule. The average to above average WCAC baseball player is specializing year round. The Boys of Summer are built in the winter.

Again, where’s your evidence? You are just typing soundbites that you *believe* to be true, and giving OP (and anyone else reading this thread) advice based off this belief, but where’s the proof?

The DR has the highest per capita number of MLB players and all they do is play baseball.

The top hoops players are playing basketball all year long, so they aren’t playing baseball. The top basketball teams/players are playing in a basketball tournament as we type.

What proof do you expect anyone to give you? You can look at the rosters of the different seasonal sports teams at each school and it is highly unlikely you will see any overlap.

To be clear, I don’t actually *expect* you to give me any evidence (and based on this post you clearly don’t have any).

It was meant more as a rhetorical point to anyone reading this thread that they should remember to examine their sources before pulling little Timmy out of basketball to make him go to private baseball lessons every day all winter at the age of 10 because that’s what ALL the GOOD players do…

(Kids who do multiple sports don’t necessarily do NOTHING during the offseason, don’t get me wrong. But casually shooting hoops in the summer or a weekly indoor throwing session in the winter is not on the level of what is being discussed in this thread, IMO)

Maybe you’re correct, but you’re certainly not making a strong case.

Can you identify any D1 college baseball players who play more than 1 sport? Probably not. And the top WCAC baseball programs are run like D1 programs. That’s one reason WCAC players are highly coveted by college coaches. They are not just strong fundamentally, but they’ve demonstrated a year round commitment to the game while also balancing their academics for four years. Their stats are real and against top competition. They expect to win every game. In short, they are low risk players that college coaches know can be quickly onboarded and contribute immediately to a program.

We’re talking about kids in this thread, not college athletes. I also don’t know any engineers who moonlight as plumbers or any doctors who teach middle school math on the side, but that certainly doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have studied and dabbled in all sorts of academic interests when they were kids, BEFORE choosing to specialize in one field. I think it’s entirely appropriate to specialize in one sport at the college level, but I disagree that it’s best to do so at the high school level (and it’s absolutely silly to even consider specializing before that).

You might be correct that “the top WCAC baseball programs are run like D1 programs” but that doesn’t mean it’s appropriate or even that it results in the best athletes. (And college coaches coveting them because they are “low risk” and can be “quickly onboarded” is not proof that they are better athletes than they would have been with a more balanced approach.)

NP
I’m not going to identify kids, but I know multiple D1 committed baseball players and current D1 (including P5) who played multiple sports in HIGH SCHOOL. My own D1 commit had D3 offers to play his second sport.

Sorry, they played multiple sports in HS.

Yes, because the football teams usually need players desparately.

[Anonymous]

Changing topic a little but DC is 11 and I guess will move out of LL next season. Players another sport competitively so travel isn't an option. But DC is really interested in improving their hitting and that might be something we can add into the mix--any recommendations for coaches or places that have good hitting progmras? We are in fairfax county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Changing topic a little but DC is 11 and I guess will move out of LL next season. Players another sport competitively so travel isn't an option. But DC is really interested in improving their hitting and that might be something we can add into the mix--any recommendations for coaches or places that have good hitting progmras? We are in fairfax county.

Hammerzone close to you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Changing topic a little but DC is 11 and I guess will move out of LL next season. Players another sport competitively so travel isn't an option. But DC is really interested in improving their hitting and that might be something we can add into the mix--any recommendations for coaches or places that have good hitting progmras? We are in fairfax county.

The ballpark in loudoun county.