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9 Posts |
Posted - 05/08/2014 : 20:02:50
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Has anyone had this situation happen to them? This particular high school wants all his Varsity and JV players play for him the whole month of June instead of going to play in Perfect Game events and College Showcases. He has threaten the kids and parents that his program comes first and if they do not participate then they may not play next year. What does one do with a situation like this? |
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SOGAS
143 Posts |
Posted - 05/08/2014 : 21:58:22
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You have to do what's right for your kid and that could be either one. |
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bestplayinbaseball
67 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2014 : 00:25:16
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Why so much emphasis on HS baseball? It is a grand memory for our kids and it may have been grand for us too. Sorely dissapointing to any kid who really passions to play a sport with limited starters say football vs basketball. Way back when, scholarships and beyond maybe did come more from HS ball. HS ball has been outpaced by travel ball. In football I think HS prevails, but what if there were travel football??? I would feel comfortable saying that IF a scout/college coach comes to a HS it is after he has seen a kid in summer ball, or a college camp perhaps. Not only that college ball schedules conflict with HS ball schedules heavily. Those coll coaches have their jobs on the line, and not so much whining, HS coaches, not as much, maybe lots of whining. There are 100's of scouts/coaches around the bigger tournies. You want to miss that to appease a coach? If you are legit the #1-5, 6 HS athlete you will be on the field. The other 3-4 spots well ......could be role fillers for the 1st 5-6, or you could have that team that year that makes all the way because demographics favored you better. Just do what you need to do to not be the #9 guy. In HS ball your competition is your demographic area. Can't go find another team during HS ball, too easily. Tough beans if you cannot beat out 40-60 demographic allocated athletes. Better go to work. just one persons view  |
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TAZ980002
831 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2014 : 06:31:02
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This is a GHSA violation and the coach and school can be penalized by the GHSA for making a threat like that. The GHSA constitution clearly states that all Summer activities must be voluntary. |
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jmac83
46 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2014 : 06:57:38
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This isn't an unusual policy. It sounds commendable that the coach is willing to put in the time during the summer to build a cohesive school team. However, a neighbor's kid, faced with the same warning, politely told the coach he was going to have to stick with East Cobb and, after a bit of tension, earned his high school starting spot back. |
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baseballcrazymom
58 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2014 : 10:10:20
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Let's name names...
It kind of hurts other people as well. You have a kid (or 5) that commit to a summer team in the winter before it fills up, then May rolls around and you find out that all those boys have been badgered into playing some rinky dink weekend round robin format with other HS's in the area the entire month of June which then causes you to scramble for fill in players in certain spots. The team isn't as good, you don't get to play as much and everybody suffers. Been there. Done that. |
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GeorgiaPeach
26 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2014 : 10:37:18
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Lets be real honest here. Alot of these HS coaches requiring players to play on "their" summer team do it for financial reasons. It supplements their income. I know one particular "major" HS program who has been doing this for years. Glad to hear it is illegal and I hope those that are doing it will get caught and sanctioned. |
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diamonddad
59 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2014 : 11:07:05
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Unfortunately, the reality is that this rule only seems to apply to the non-elite players and puts the players trying to improve and earn a spot on next year's squad in a difficult position with their Summer teams.
My limited experience has shown me that these teams who "unofficially" mandate playing together in June that are usually the ones that also have a very storied "tradition of winning" at both the state and national level. It's this "tradition" that drives the players to become their very best and also entices players to transfer from other schools that cannot offer the same "tradition of winning" and/or exposure at the next level. As you might guess I am not a fan of this practice as it is allows the top programs to continuously replenish their players at the expense of other programs without repercussion.
GHSA makes it clear that this practice is not allowed, but there actions seem to indicate otherwise as there are more than one of these schools in the playoffs this year with "questionable" student transfers.
Ultimately, the ownness is on the GHSA to better address these types of clear infractions and openly penalize such behavior.
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Jack-of-Diamonds
152 Posts |
Posted - 06/02/2014 : 17:55:23
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Blaze, you are mistaken about summer HS teams being "illegal". The rule you're quoting applies to specified periods, essentially July-January, with 2-on-1's during an even more finite period.
GHSA has a provision for coaches to run summer teams during the month of June (basically June, though actual beginning and ending dates vary slightly and may bleed over by a few days into surrounding months depending on when Varsity play-offs end and how the weekdays fall in a particular year).
What is prohibited is coaches making participation in their summer HS programs mandatory or punishing players for not participating in it.
At my son's HS, the head coach requests underclassmen to play summer ball with him until and unless they've made Varsity, but does not require them to play. I'd say that shows he understands that the college recruiting process is focused on Jr & Sr years, with development being the key to getting there for younger players.
OTOH, some of the better players coming off JV and Frosh teams do not participate and I've seen no indication that they are in any way punished or demoted for it.
As a matter of fact, the players who can make roster on elite travel teams are probably more likely to be starters when the HS season comes around. And that's because they have talent. (Gotta' be realistic about both the talent level and what you define as an elite team, though!)
Summer HS may not turn your kid into a starter any more (or less) than playing summer travel will. But, what it may do is allow the HS coach to help develop him, get to know his capabilities better, and find a suitable role for him in the spring.
You'd be surprised how many kids are happy to fill non-starter roles on their HS teams, roles such as utility bench, relief pitcher, pinch runner, pinch hitter, etc... Parents too often look at these roles as demeaning, but they certainly are not. Rosters are not made up of starters only. The kids who are truly "team players" know that.
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