Skooter Roebuck

Why do so many kids and parents like the private hitting, pitching, velocity guru more than their high school or college coach? I'll answer that. The private guru doesn't have to win games. The high school or college coach has a W-L record.

The best 12u player I've ever seen didn't play a day of college baseball and was average as grits as a high school player. As a 12u he hit 28 homers in a 16 game season and was unhittable on the mound. He threw gas at 12. Why didn't he get better? He and his parents thought he was a superstar and thought they invented baseball. They let 12u success absolutely destroy his career. This happens with players of all ages. I watch high school players that are ranked really high and committed to P5 programs that absolutely stink. They were good at one time compared to their peers. But now a lot of their peers are better baseball players than them. Why? It's because they let an ounce of early success absolutely destroy their career. They believed the hype, they thought the rankings were real. Their parents believed the hype. The people around them believed the hype and nobody told the kid the truth. The kid turned into the high school big leaguer instead of the real big leaguer.

Amateur High School Aged Players Stop with all the arm guards, leg guards, oven mitts, etc. Be a damn JYD. Stop being so damn soft. A lot of you are more concerned with your gear than you are competing. Eliminate the gear and spend that time preparing for the next play or AB.