Baseball Development AMA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:17 year old senior, loves to play, plays on two rec teams. Tried out as a sophomore for high school team, didn't make it. Has grown a lot since then, 6 ft now, and improved. Plans to try out again this spring, but unlikely to make team, competing with all the boys who have been on jv. Outfielder and a good hitter. Would like to play in college, maybe D3. Realizes may not be possible. Any suggestions?

So realistically it’s going to be an uphill battle to play D3 if he’s not making a high school roster. Guys that have played 3 years on varsity are fortunate if they get to play D3.
Not to say that being a really late developer won’t make a difference, but he’s going to have to play some high school ball if playing in college is his goal. Train every day and see where that takes him.

Thanks, he is training, but I guess even if he really got a chance to show off his hitting the coach probably wouldn’t take him as a senior. But he wants to try. Really appreciate your advice. Thank you!

So I’ve said this to many players trying to make a team, and it works. You can make errors or mistakes that’s not where his focus needs to be for tryouts. HUSTLE! Be the first to show up, last to leave, be vocal, be the kid that picks up balls the quickest, etc. Coaches eyes will always gravitate towards the kids that are relentless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:17 year old senior, loves to play, plays on two rec teams. Tried out as a sophomore for high school team, didn't make it. Has grown a lot since then, 6 ft now, and improved. Plans to try out again this spring, but unlikely to make team, competing with all the boys who have been on jv. Outfielder and a good hitter. Would like to play in college, maybe D3. Realizes may not be possible. Any suggestions?

So realistically it’s going to be an uphill battle to play D3 if he’s not making a high school roster. Guys that have played 3 years on varsity are fortunate if they get to play D3.
Not to say that being a really late developer won’t make a difference, but he’s going to have to play some high school ball if playing in college is his goal. Train every day and see where that takes him.

Thanks, he is training, but I guess even if he really got a chance to show off his hitting the coach probably wouldn’t take him as a senior. But he wants to try. Really appreciate your advice. Thank you!

So I’ve said this to many players trying to make a team, and it works. You can make errors or mistakes that’s not where his focus needs to be for tryouts. HUSTLE! Be the first to show up, last to leave, be vocal, be the kid that picks up balls the quickest, etc. Coaches eyes will always gravitate towards the kids that are relentless.

This is great advice. He may not make the team, but he will hustle. I'll tell him. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Insight on high school programs in Loudoun county (or is a move to Fairfax worth it)?

[Akirah00]

Insight on high school programs in Loudoun county (or is a move to Fairfax worth it)?

[Anonymous]

I am really surprised that OP isn’t factoring in genetic potential/ height/ puberty into many of the answers.
Like middle school kid asking about switching teams- has the kid entered puberty, have the kids on the team they are interested in all entered puberty and are taller, stronger and heavier? You can hustle all you want but if you are 12 and still not 5 feet tall and weigh 80 pounds and your dad entered puberty late and/or is 5’6”, it is going to be hard to make a competitive team (not impossible but really hard).

[Anonymous]

Akirah00 wrote:Insight on high school programs in Loudoun county (or is a move to Fairfax worth it)?

I don’t know Loudoun very well, but from what I have heard the teams in that area can be a bit “political”. Paul VI is now in that area which I would probably take a look at if Private is an option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am really surprised that OP isn’t factoring in genetic potential/ height/ puberty into many of the answers.
Like middle school kid asking about switching teams- has the kid entered puberty, have the kids on the team they are interested in all entered puberty and are taller, stronger and heavier? You can hustle all you want but if you are 12 and still not 5 feet tall and weigh 80 pounds and your dad entered puberty late and/or is 5’6”, it is going to be hard to make a competitive team (not impossible but really hard).

I agree with this 100%. Kids who enter puberty early have such a massive advantage in baseball. Coaches go crazy over the 6'2" 13 year olds.
In most cases, it's impossible to ever catch up to these kids who get big early on because they are developed from the time they're 11 or 12.

I have kids in soccer as well and there isn't this emphasis on size. Small and/or slow to mature kids have more of a shot in soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am really surprised that OP isn’t factoring in genetic potential/ height/ puberty into many of the answers.
Like middle school kid asking about switching teams- has the kid entered puberty, have the kids on the team they are interested in all entered puberty and are taller, stronger and heavier? You can hustle all you want but if you are 12 and still not 5 feet tall and weigh 80 pounds and your dad entered puberty late and/or is 5’6”, it is going to be hard to make a competitive team (not impossible but really hard).

I agree with this 100%. Kids who enter puberty early have such a massive advantage in baseball. Coaches go crazy over the 6'2" 13 year olds.
In most cases, it's impossible to ever catch up to these kids who get big early on because they are developed from the time they're 11 or 12.

I have kids in soccer as well and there isn't this emphasis on size. Small and/or slow to mature kids have more of a shot in soccer.

I have a tall MS kid, but I swear if someone put his short, more talented/skilled teammate in his body, that kid would be attracting attention left and right. Instead, that kid keeps getting overlooked / used as a placeholder until a bigger (not necessarily better) kid comes around. It is sad to watch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am really surprised that OP isn’t factoring in genetic potential/ height/ puberty into many of the answers.
Like middle school kid asking about switching teams- has the kid entered puberty, have the kids on the team they are interested in all entered puberty and are taller, stronger and heavier? You can hustle all you want but if you are 12 and still not 5 feet tall and weigh 80 pounds and your dad entered puberty late and/or is 5’6”, it is going to be hard to make a competitive team (not impossible but really hard).

I agree with this 100%. Kids who enter puberty early have such a massive advantage in baseball. Coaches go crazy over the 6'2" 13 year olds.
In most cases, it's impossible to ever catch up to these kids who get big early on because they are developed from the time they're 11 or 12.

I have kids in soccer as well and there isn't this emphasis on size. Small and/or slow to mature kids have more of a shot in soccer.

This is our experience as well. Coaches love my July birthday 13 year old until they realize he’s an 8th grader not a 7th grader, i.e., he wasn’t red shirted. Then they still think he has great skills, but suddenly he’s not as impressive because others are bigger and stronger. FWIW, he’s 5’4” and 125lbs.

[Anonymous]

Early puberty/height/bulk is almost EVERYTHING in baseball development

It's frustrating to watch.

If you can get to 6'2"' by age 13 you're golden and will be recruited to the top level teams and once you're there it's hard to be knocked down.
If you're under 5'4" at 13 you better be a rockstar player with cat-like reflexes and even then it probably won't be enough. I have seen so many superiorly talented smaller kids get overlooked in favor of taller/larger boys.

Once you're on the road to the showcase teams it's relatively easy to ride along if you go to practice and do some training on the side. If you're not on this road (because you're still small at 13/14) it's pretty much impossible to ever catch up.

[Anonymous]

OP here:
12/13 is a very difficult age for athletes in general. If you are fortunate enough to be on the early side of puberty, it certainly is an advantage. That said kids need to play the hand their dealt. Most teams at this age will always have a mix of oversized and undersized players. I haven’t come across any where all of the kids were giants. I would advise kids to continue to develop and before you know it that growth spurt will come and things will eventually equal out. There are plenty of pro players that developed later than most.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here:
12/13 is a very difficult age for athletes in general. If you are fortunate enough to be on the early side of puberty, it certainly is an advantage. That said kids need to play the hand their dealt. Most teams at this age will always have a mix of oversized and undersized players. I haven’t come across any where all of the kids were giants. I would advise kids to continue to develop and before you know it that growth spurt will come and things will eventually equal out. There are plenty of pro players that developed later than most.

I agree. I was surprised at some of the other comments. There were some great small players on my son’s elite team, and the huge player got cut because he couldn’t play. Good coaches know puberty exists and that they’re going to grow eventually, and strong fundamentals are strong fundamentals. Maybe it takes an extra year or two to get the pitching velocity or the strength to hit it out of the infield on a big field, but the teams shuffle around at 15u and the small 13u kid should have started to grow by then! Don’t give up, parents of late bloomers!

[Anonymous]

At what age should we be paying attention to showcase teams and events? How do we get into these? Is it invite only and if so, how do you get an invite? What can a parent do (or where should I be looking) to make sure my child has the opportunity?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At what age should we be paying attention to showcase teams and events? How do we get into these? Is it invite only and if so, how do you get an invite? What can a parent do (or where should I be looking) to make sure my child has the opportunity?

Showcase teams are invite or tryout based. Typically you should be a varsity level high school player. Somewhere in that Sophomore to Senior range.
Showcases are all about money so you can always attend some of these individual showcases where scouts are. Usually warmer climate areas.
Until then have your child play on a team that they are pushed to develop.

[Anonymous]

Any recs for good clinics in the area? We live in MD but willing to drive.