Summer ball

My 2011 son, a catcher, decided he did not want to play summer ball this year. It has left a true feeling of disappointment and wonder for his love of the game. He says he just does not want to play this summer, but then says he wants to work on his game, hitting, footspeed, conditioning. Is it so wrong for him not to play this year. Rumors are that there will be a junior legion team here next year. He played/practiced since September of last year until last week, with most of the month of December off. What are your thoughts....Should he be made to play....Should it be "held against" him by his high school coach if he doesn't play.... just need some insight.

 

Did he say why he doesn't want to play? You should have him sign up on the board and post in this thread. We will help in counseling him

 

The only reason he gives is that he is tired. No other real reasons.

 

Sometimes not playing can be beneficial as your son migh truly learn how he misses the game. I know of players who have taken time off, missed it badly, then worked harder than ever before. Besides how much will he improve if he doesn't give 100% committment to the game.

 

When was the last time he had a summer off? If he is like my son it has been a while. He may not even be able to remember the last time he did have a summer off. If he continues to play ball into college it will be a long time before he gets to take another one off. Just try to keep him active in baseball stuff as much as possible. Go to some games and just watch. This will probably make him miss it and be ready to go wide open this fall and upcoming spring. Kids now play alot more ball than they did in the past. The next 2 years coming up will be very important if he wants to play in college so it will probably be his last summer of for about 6 more years. His body is also growing and he does need a rest every now and then.

Get him some quality workouts with some hitting instructors and this will help him too. I do know where you are coming from too because I wanted my son to play all the time and when he wasn't playing I wanted him training. But they do need some down time and some time to just be kids.

 

Yep...this is why I suggested having the son post on the thread. Sometimes they will say things on here that they may not at home. Anything else is just a guess.

Does he play other sports?

 

He has not had a summer off since he was 8 years old. Was very involved in AAU, and summers continued until allstars were over. I will try to get him to post also. I do feel like he would be one that with a summer off he'll come back in the fall excited and really committed to getting better. He's got loads of potential. He started on varsity this year and had a successful freshman year. Thanks for all the help. He no longer plays any other sports since getting into high school.

 

If he doesn't want to play, let him sit. You can't force him to play because you want him to. If he really has a passion to get better with conditioning, hitting, etc. .... you'll be able to see his passion with his workouts. Hopefully the juices will flow again and he'll want to get back into the game.
Should it be held again him for not playing this summer...... NO ...... but will it be............probably (and that's unfortunate)! Remember, he is only 15 years old and has a lot of things going on in his life. I wish you and him all the luck!

 

This is a topic that I have discussed with other baseball people at length. Our consensus is that, whether we like it or not, most of the players that will be moving to the next level will be busting it all summer so if someone doesn't play they will be losing ground to those that do. Its really a tough situation because nobody should be forced to do something they don't want to do. All you can do as a Dad is give him the facts and let him make up his own mind. Then support his decision.

 

One thing kids need to understand is after they graduate high school most of them will have plenty of "summers off"