Baseball Coaching

Coaching a sport, at any level, is difficult. But, when dealing with high school players it can be mind numbingly painful. Why? The answer is found when talking to the player's parents. Everyone thinks their child is the next Alex Rodriguez. I hate to break your bubble but less than 1% of a high school program's players will go on to play in the Major Leagues. It is that simple. I have tried to convey this to parents of my players without being harsh but I tell them to look at the Camden Riversharks in Camden, NJ.

On that team there are 25 players formerly from the big leagues and career Minor Leaguers as well. It is tough to break into the sport professionally. Just ask anyone on the 'Sharks roster. It is incredibly tough to break into the Major Leagues because there aren't that many roster spots available throughout the year. There are 30 teams in the Majors and each team is only allowed to carry 25 players from Opening Day until September 1^st. Once September 1^st rolls around, Major League rosters expand and teams can carry up to 40 players on their roster for the final month of the season.

So now you are saying that this increases the odds of your child making the Majors. I understand your thinking but it isn't that simple. There are a couple hundred players in each team's organization and the Major League team can only add 15 new players from the Minors on September 1^st so the odds aren't that high. Also, just being called up in September doesn't mean that that player will catch on with the team and remain there for the rest of their career. A lot has to go right all at once. There has to be a position on the field opening up for them to play.

Sometimes parents don't understand how difficult it really is to sign a professional baseball contract. They also don't understand how difficult it is to catch on and stay with a team or an organization once that contract is signed. Don't let comments by player's parents bother you if you are a first-time coach. It will take up too much of your valuable time trying to please them. Wherever their son was placed in the program is where they belong. Tryouts are watched by a staff of six or more coaches for three to five days. That is a lot of eyes examining and analyzing all of the players. So, if you are a first-time coach or a young coach like me, take the parent's comments in stride and continue coaching the way you like to coach.