Freshmen as Varsity Starters?

Exactly, which creates a different problem.

 

It's not a problem for the team. It's only an issue for the older player who is not as good as the younger player. At that point the older player comes to the point where he has to stop and decide.....Am I going to commit to get better and beat the younger player put for the spot, change positions, or go fishing. At some point, we all have had to make this decision. Most do it between 12-15 years of age. Some decide for themselves, some are told by others. By the time a player is in his Junior and Senior years, no matter how good his parents tell him he is, he knows deep down whether or not he is better than the younger player coming up. For many it may be the first time they have been told in one way or the other..."Your best is not good enough". It's not a problem...It's life.

 

What about the times when a Freshman or Sophmore is a better player but the Coach goes with the Seniors and Juniors and it winds up hurting the teams performance?

Do some Coaches just go with the older players to avoid controversy or taking on any unnecessary criticism?

I think this is bound to come up more and more as the younger players are learning at a very accelerated rate and are often ready to start on the Varsity much younger. In the programs I'm familiar with it's not about how big the school is or how good they are. I like the way it was said in an earlier post.........If a younger player is ready put him in the game!

Do some programs have a preconceived belief or culture of using the older players no matter what?

 

No, that's not the direction I was going. If you combine Weddington, Cuthberson and Marvin Ridge to form a team, you will have a very deep talented program- with many talented players not getting playing time. A recipe for disastrous chemistry. That is the issue I was referring.

 

Since I'm familiar with the Charlotte coaches, they play to win. Don't know of one that won't play his best players regardless of class. Parents are the only one's that second guess a lineup...mostly because 'lil johnnie ain't playing.

 

Let get down to the real problem

There's just way too many people moving into western Union County. Someone has got to step up and put an end to this madness. All of you Unionites have got to do a better job of dispersing to other areas of the County!

 

We are fortunate to have some talented Freshmen in our program. My philosophy is this... if they are good enough to play, they play. Case in point, our SS is a talented freshman and he is contributing. We have another Freshman that pitches for Varsity and plays infield for the JV when not pitching. We have a third, an Outfielder that has some spot starts when needed, but has played mostly JV and has played well there. The other is a catcher and will be a fine one, but we have an excellent Varsity Catcher and a guy that can finish a game if he were to get hurt, so he will play JV until needed and will learn another position too.
All in all,I dont keep them up to sit the bench, we have plyed several games with 10-11 players to keep that from happening. I want them to get as many AB's as possible.

 

Freshman starters

4 years ago, my son was the freshman that made Varsity. I was sorta worried about playing time but coach decided he was good enough to start over upperclassmen and he did. He started in left field in all but 1 game that season. His bat did struggle a little against Varsity pitching but he worked on it over the summer and the next season he was ready. Fast forward to this Spring, two freshman starters on Varsity. Both infielders and both making contributions to the team. Bats are a little weak and the game is a little faster than they are used to but it will come...the potential is there. All I can say is thanks coach for putting the best team on the field for the last four years.

 

the why's

so would you agree it's more common now for freshman to start on HS varsity team compared to say 20 - 30 years ago and if so why is that?

 

my why opinions

1. When I played, 9th and 10th graders had jv tryouts. They did not have any chance of playing varsity.
2. More new schools.
3. Specialization...many athletes now play 1 sport, so the stud QB or point guard doesn't play baseball, and the baseball players don't play other sports as much, therefore there are more roster spots.
4. Kids seem to be maturing faster physically than days gone by.
5. Specialized training centers for baseball as well as speed and agility are more readily available.