Resetting High School Baseball Expectations

It’s fair to say that players and parents both go into high school with expectations of what the experience will be like both on and off the field. However, at some schools, the program won’t meet those expectations. Here are some potential problems that come up in high school and how to overcome those pitfalls.

Three Problems in High School Baseball:

1) Baseball isn’t a priority for the school board – Most programs aren’t given the resources or time they deserve. The coaches are hired as teachers first and are paid minimally for the hours they put in. They coach multiple sports and teach, which makes it possible that the players may know more about the deeper levels of baseball strategy, especially if the player has had professional training. The coaches are stretched too thin.

2) Little program customization – The player to coach ratio is going to be 15 to 1 at best. This means that the individual players will not have the one-on-one training that is needed to make noticeable and accelerated gains. Because of under-staffing and the size of the team, coaches are forced to use the same stale routines over and over again.

3) Politics are everywhere – No matter where your player goes or what industry they’re involved in, there will be politics. Keep in mind that coaches will choose favorites, and, since they might lack experience, could choose a lineup based on superficial things such as how players are built physically or who they know from another team, such as football.

Three Simple Solutions:

1) Be self-motivated and put the work in yourself– High school players might not be given the best resources to improve but all they really need is the drive. Players need to push themselves and should find others with the same mentality and put in the time both inside and outside of high school practice.

2) Have correct expectations – Understanding that the high school experience probably will not be what you hoped it would will help you to enjoy it for what it is, and seek elsewhere for what it lacks such as individual development and significant playtime. This is the area TRPD is best able to help.

3) Play the game for fun! When it boils down to it, that’s why they started playing ball. Why should it have to take a backseat just because the ideal situation isn’t there? 

Always keep in mind that your player’s stats in high school and the team they play for have little to nothing to do with whether they get to play in college or beyond.

If you have any more questions about this subject, feel free to contact Trent Reynolds: [email protected].