Baseball, just for kicks

[XMan]

With the official start of high school baseball season just a few weeks away I figured just for laughs I would ask what your team has been doing to get ready. Surely, there are at least a few schools out there that let their baseball guys have an actual offseason. (jasper,lcm, bridge city, robinson im thinking) Does your team get to work out during the athletic period with the coach before the 26th or do they get together after school to have "captain's workouts?" From what I can tell, the teams that go deep in the playoffs are usually the teams that put the extra effort into it and have athletic directors who give them a chance to be good. Lets hear how its going!

[Rabid Cougar]

With the official start of high school baseball season just a few weeks away I figured just for laughs I would ask what your team has been doing to get ready. Surely, there are at least a few schools out there that let their baseball guys have an actual offseason. (jasper,lcm, bridge city, robinson im thinking) Does your team get to work out during the athletic period with the coach before the 26th or do they get together after school to have "captain's workouts?" From what I can tell, the teams that go deep in the playoffs are usually the teams that put the extra effort into it and have athletic directors who give them a chance to be good. Lets hear how its going!

CS - Playing football until Christmas.

Robinson's best pitcher was busy being one of the top receivers in all of high school football in Texas. Yes - he hits 95.

[SintonFan_inAustin]

counting the days til 1st scrimmage

Sinton returns all their pitchers from last season.

[coach]

It's basketball season. Baseball can wait its turn.

[d0tc0m]

It's basketball season. Baseball can wait its turn.


Boo this man.

[coach]

Boo this man.

I am the biggest baseball fan you can find, but lets enjoy basketball season before we start talking stand around.

[slingshot]

Bad news for 4A Baseball. Wylie is loaded again this year...

[Rabid Cougar]

It's basketball season.

For some schools yes. For others, baseball season just can't get here fast enough.

[XMan]

After Fairfield's 3-19 season, I can see where they would not be too enthused. The Robinson Rockets are sure hoping that the China Springers never take baseball as serious as they take their football. If they did, they would be a bigger danger to the Rockets dynasty than Lee Fedora was. Weather has gotten cold, baseball season must be right around the corner. Might have to get your couple hundred cuts inside today.

[d0tc0m]

I am the biggest baseball fan you can find, but lets enjoy basketball season before we start talking stand around.


Enjoy it all you want, coach. More power to you. I never could acquire a taste for thump-thump, though, and Lord knows I tried. I also tried soccer once, too, but that's the most Godforsaken sport in existence. It was a misery to cover for the paper when I was a sportswriter, too.


Long live Baseball. And Football. And Texas.

[d0tc0m]

After Fairfield's 3-19 season, I can see where they would not be too enthused. The Robinson Rockets are sure hoping that the China Springers never take baseball as serious as they take their football. If they did, they would be a bigger danger to the Rockets dynasty than Lee Fedora was. Weather has gotten cold, baseball season must be right around the corner. Might have to get your couple hundred cuts inside today.



If you take a couple hundred cuts in a day, you're going to destroy your swing, not improve it.

[coach]

After Fairfield's 3-19 season, I can see where they would not be too enthused. The Robinson Rockets are sure hoping that the China Springers never take baseball as serious as they take their football. If they did, they would be a bigger danger to the Rockets dynasty than Lee Fedora was. Weather has gotten cold, baseball season must be right around the corner. Might have to get your couple hundred cuts inside today.

We made the playoffs. BTW I was a 4 year letterman at fairfield, so like I said before, I love baseball just as much as the next guy but we still have the Super Bowl, March Madness, and The Masters before baseball season arrives...

[XMan]

If you take a couple hundred cuts in a day, you're going to destroy your swing, not improve it.

How you figure that???????

[d0tc0m]

How you figure that???????


A couple hundred cuts? Muscle exhaustion will set in fairly quickly and your form will go to hell. Bad habits/technique form then, and those are a lot harder to break than they are to form.


Best to have a plan for what you're wanting to work on that day, get a healthy amount of cuts/reps working on that thing and move on.

[speedbump]

We made the playoffs. BTW I was a 4 year letterman at fairfield, so like I said before, I love baseball just as much as the next guy but we still have the Super Bowl, March Madness, and The Masters before baseball season arrives...

The SB just gets in ahead of the start of baseball. ( mid Feb.) The others are in March and April. So as that clearly shows us ... only football comes ahead of baseball.

[pancho villa]

Who cares about standround season.

[Rabid Cougar]

After Fairfield's 3-19 season, I can see where they would not be too enthused. The Robinson Rockets are sure hoping that the China Springers never take baseball as serious as they take their football. If they did, they would be a bigger danger to the Rockets dynasty than Lee Fedora was. Weather has gotten cold, baseball season must be right around the corner. Might have to get your couple hundred cuts inside today.


CS takes its baseball very seriously. Problem is that when you are in the same District as Robinson and/used to West and Lorena, it makes for a very steep challenge even before you get out of District. Then you had the "other" CS Cougars waiting for you first crack of the bat in the first round. Before they showed up, you have/had to deal with Robinson/West/Lufkin Hudson in the play offs.

[Rabid Cougar]

CS takes its baseball very seriously. Problem is that when you are in the same District as Robinson and/used to West and Lorena, it makes for a very steep challenge even before you get out of District. Then you had the "other" CS Cougars waiting for you first crack of the bat in the first round. Before they showed up, you have/had to deal with Robinson/West/Lufkin Hudson in the play offs.

CS actually beat Robinson this past season during District for the first time since Dustin Eskew beat them nearly 10 years ago. Forced a playoff game for 1st place which Robinson won of course.

[XMan]

Who cares about standround season.

How is that dirt looking down Columbia way, old Pancho? You have that field looking good and ready for the season. Cant wait for the season to start to get ready, baseball just doesnt work that way. Just like you cant wait til football starts to begin lifting and getting strong. Its a year round process.

[coach]

Who cares about standround season.

Speaking of Who Cares, whatever happened to him/her?

[Rocket Man]

CS takes its baseball very seriously. Problem is that when you are in the same District as Robinson and/used to West and Lorena, it makes for a very steep challenge even before you get out of District. Then you had the "other" CS Cougars waiting for you first crack of the bat in the first round. Before they showed up, you have/had to deal with Robinson/West/Lufkin Hudson in the play offs.

In case you were unaware,Salado is in our region this year.

[Rocket Man]

Bad news for 4A Baseball. Wylie is loaded again this year...

What other school(s) in Region I will have a top twenty caliber team?

[XMan]

In case you were unaware,Salado is in our region this year.

How are things in Salado baseball-wise these days? They were the finalists last year but they have a new baseball coach and new ad/fb guy as well. From reports I heard, Salado was very "baseball friendly" in the past. Almost seemed to me that the baseball coach was forced out because he won too much, took away from football, maybe? These are just observations from a distance. It was strange that the baseball coach announced he was leaving during the middle of the season. Im hoping they are still "baseball friendly" and that they will have a great team again this year. That should be one heck of a district to watch.

[pancho villa]

How are things in Salado baseball-wise these days? They were the finalists last year but they have a new baseball coach and new ad/fb guy as well. From reports I heard, Salado was very "baseball friendly" in the past. Almost seemed to me that the baseball coach was forced out because he won too much, took away from football, maybe? These are just observations from a distance. It was strange that the baseball coach announced he was leaving during the middle of the season. Im hoping they are still "baseball friendly" and that they will have a great team again this year. That should be one heck of a district to watch.

Sweeny had a staroundaround coach fired for winning to much.

[Rocket Man]

How are things in Salado baseball-wise these days? They were the finalists last year but they have a new baseball coach and new ad/fb guy as well. From reports I heard, Salado was very "baseball friendly" in the past. Almost seemed to me that the baseball coach was forced out because he won too much, took away from football, maybe? These are just observations from a distance. It was strange that the baseball coach announced he was leaving during the middle of the season. Im hoping they are still "baseball friendly" and that they will have a great team again this year. That should be one heck of a district to watch.

I had not heard that about Salado; I do wonder how that will affect their baseball program.

Robinson & CS are in district 17 4A

Salado is in district 19 4A

District 17 4A (Baseball)

China Spring
Hillsboro
Lorena
Robinson
La Vega
Connally
Gatesville

District 19 4A (Baseball)

Liberty Hill
Burnet
Taylor
Llano
Lampasas
Salado
Leander Glenn

[Rabid Cougar]

I had not heard that about Salado; I do wonder how that will affect their baseball program.

Robinson & CS are in district 17 4A

Salado is in district 19 4A

District 17 4A (Baseball)

China Spring
Hillsboro
Lorena
Robinson
La Vega
Connally
Gatesville

District 19 4A (Baseball)

Liberty Hill
Burnet
Taylor
Llano
Lampasas
Salado
Leander Glenn


Yes, District 17 is matched with District 18 (Groesbeck, Mexia, Fairfield, Palestine, Athens, Madisonville).

[Rabid Cougar]

In case you were unaware,Salado is in our region this year.

China played Salado last year in pre-district or scrimmage last year. China will be loaded this year.....just not as loaded as Robinson. :crying:

[SHSBulldog00]

Who cares about standround season.


Sweeny had a staroundaround coach fired for winning to much.

Yeah, schools east of the San Bernard don't care about baseball like the ones to the west. Sweeny is ready for baseball season to start.

[pancho villa]

Yeah, schools east of the San Bernard don't care about baseball like the ones to the west. Sweeny is ready for baseball season to start.

Wrong I don't care about standaround. We have our fair share of NA's that do.

[Heffelfinger]

What other school(s) in Region I will have a top twenty caliber team?

Argyle

[d0tc0m]

Argyle


Argyle is Region II (District 9), I believe.

[SHSBulldog00]

Wrong I don't care about standaround. We have our fair share of NA's that do.

How do the wc standaround guys look in the halls? Are they getting a new water hose for the infield?

[Rocket Man]

China played Salado last year in pre-district or scrimmage last year. China will be loaded this year.....just not as loaded as Robinson. :crying:

You never know what's gonna happen; which, as you know, is why they play the game(s).

[pancho villa]

How do the wc standaround guys look in the halls? Are they getting a new water hose for the infield?

Your kidding. Your asking me?

[d0tc0m]

Your kidding. Your asking me?


*You're
*You're

[XMan]

After seeing a few games last year, im hoping the coaches have used the fall to work on their fungo technique. You know that the baseball coach was hired based on his football credentials when he misses about half the balls in pregame warm up and then throws the pop up to the catcher at the end of the routine. Classic.

[pancho villa]

*You're
*You're

You're right my bad for being lazy.

[Heffelfinger]

I believe you are right about Argyle. Will any of these teams out of district 7 & 8 contend?

District 7
Ft Worth Benbrook
FW Diamond Hill-Jarvis
Kennedale
Lake Worth
Mineral Wells
River Oaks Castleberry
Springtown

District 8
Alvarado
Glen Rose
Godley
Midlothian Heritage
Stephenville
Venus
Waxahachie Life

[d0tc0m]

After seeing a few games last year, im hoping the coaches have used the fall to work on their fungo technique. You know that the baseball coach was hired based on his football credentials when he misses about half the balls in pregame warm up and then throws the pop up to the catcher at the end of the routine. Classic.


Embarrassing.

[d0tc0m]

You're right my bad for being lazy.


Thanks for your honesty, pancho.

[Rabid Cougar]

Get ready for Pitch Counts!

[Rabid Cougar]

I believe you are right about Argyle. Will any of these teams out of district 7 & 8 contend?

District 7
Ft Worth Benbrook
FW Diamond Hill-Jarvis
Kennedale
Lake Worth
Mineral Wells
River Oaks Castleberry
Springtown

District 8
Alvarado
Glen Rose
Godley
Midlothian Heritage
Stephenville
Venus
Waxahachie Life

Glen Rose, Alvarado, Kennedale are usual suspects No reading on Venus, Stephenville and Godley.

[SHSBulldog00]

Your kidding. Your asking me?

I know you don't coach standaround but I have seen you at a few games. I'm sure it was just to eat the food at the concession.

[coach]

Get ready for Pitch Counts!

Will one of the umpires be required to keep a pitch count?

[Rabid Cougar]

Will one of the umpires be required to keep a pitch count?

Nope.

UIL Pitching Regulations and procedures apply to all levels of play. (Junior High, Freshman, JV, and Varsity)

Each game will need an official pitch counter provided by the home team. The official pitch counter will not be allowed to be in the dugout. Coaches/team representative will meet between innings to verify counts. Pitch counts will be verified at the conclusion of the game with a signature on a verification form.

DEC will establish the means for the record of tracking pitches and the protocol for game reporting for both pre-season and district play. DEC will maintain record of pitch counts and establish procedures accordingly

Pitch Count Accountability and Reporting Rules
The home team is responsible for getting the signed form to their District Chair within 48 hours of the end of the contest for filing.
District Chairs are responsible for keeping the Certification and providing access to those numbers when requested.

In post season, official pitch counts MUST be entered in Max Preps after each game. The home team will provide the official pitch counter (the same as in regular season games).
Should any dispute arise, the primary source for final pitch count will be the official scorebook/count of the home team.

******Umpires will NOT have any kind of jurisdiction or involvement in pitch count.******* ( THANK GOD!)

[coach]

Nope.

UIL Pitching Regulations and procedures apply to all levels of play. (Junior High, Freshman, JV, and Varsity)

Each game will need an official pitch counter provided by the home team. The official pitch counter will not be allowed to be in the dugout. Coaches/team representative will meet between innings to verify counts. Pitch counts will be verified at the conclusion of the game with a signature on a verification form.

DEC will establish the means for the record of tracking pitches and the protocol for game reporting for both pre-season and district play. DEC will maintain record of pitch counts and establish procedures accordingly

Pitch Count Accountability and Reporting Rules
The home team is responsible for getting the signed form to their District Chair within 48 hours of the end of the contest for filing.
District Chairs are responsible for keeping the Certification and providing access to those numbers when requested.

In post season, official pitch counts MUST be entered in Max Preps after each game. The home team will provide the official pitch counter (the same as in regular season games).
Should any dispute arise, the primary source for final pitch count will be the official scorebook/count of the home team.

******Umpires will NOT have any kind of jurisdiction or involvement in pitch count.******* ( THANK GOD!)

This is so ridiculous lol.

[slingshot]

Glen Rose, Alvarado, Kennedale are usual suspects No reading on Venus, Stephenville and Godley.Godley should be salty. They were very good last year and very young...

[pancho villa]

Godley should be salty. They were very good last year and very young...

Good that way they will taste good when everybody eats them for lunch!

[d0tc0m]

Nope.

UIL Pitching Regulations and procedures apply to all levels of play. (Junior High, Freshman, JV, and Varsity)

Each game will need an official pitch counter provided by the home team. The official pitch counter will not be allowed to be in the dugout. Coaches/team representative will meet between innings to verify counts. Pitch counts will be verified at the conclusion of the game with a signature on a verification form.

DEC will establish the means for the record of tracking pitches and the protocol for game reporting for both pre-season and district play. DEC will maintain record of pitch counts and establish procedures accordingly

Pitch Count Accountability and Reporting Rules
The home team is responsible for getting the signed form to their District Chair within 48 hours of the end of the contest for filing.
District Chairs are responsible for keeping the Certification and providing access to those numbers when requested.

In post season, official pitch counts MUST be entered in Max Preps after each game. The home team will provide the official pitch counter (the same as in regular season games).
Should any dispute arise, the primary source for final pitch count will be the official scorebook/count of the home team.

******Umpires will NOT have any kind of jurisdiction or involvement in pitch count.******* ( THANK GOD!)



TXHS baseball coaches to the UIL:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYmOqPFyJPw

[XMan]

he pitch count will make it interesting for the small schools. You may see a lot of conferences on the mound where the baseball sponsor brings the whole team up. He then asks if anyone on the team had ever pitched before. The one guys says, yes, when I was 10. That guy is the next pitcher. My opinion is that it will become very evident to see which coaches/programs are able to develop pitchers and which places dont put alot of time and effort into standaround. Sub varsity tournaments could get real interesting and really not fun to watch.

[d0tc0m]

he pitch count will make it interesting for the small schools. You may see a lot of conferences on the mound where the baseball sponsor brings the whole team up. He then asks if anyone on the team had ever pitched before. The one guys says, yes, when I was 10. That guy is the next pitcher. My opinion is that it will become very evident to see which coaches/programs are able to develop pitchers and which places dont put alot of time and effort into standaround. Sub varsity tournaments could get real interesting and really not fun to watch.



People in suits tend to take the fun out of everything.

[Rabid Cougar]

he pitch count will make it interesting for the small schools. You may see a lot of conferences on the mound where the baseball sponsor brings the whole team up. He then asks if anyone on the team had ever pitched before. The one guys says, yes, when I was 10. That guy is the next pitcher. My opinion is that it will become very evident to see which coaches/programs are able to develop pitchers and which places dont put alot of time and effort into standaround. Sub varsity tournaments could get real interesting and really not fun to watch.

Sub-varsity tend not to be fun in any circumstance except for 5A and above.

[SintonFan_inAustin]

People in suits tend to take the fun out of everything.Next will be no more than 10 batters can come up in an inning to speed up ball games out of control .......

[SHSBulldog00]

Next will be no more than 10 batters can come up in an inning to speed up ball games out of control .......

Only a few teams have that problem. :p

[Rabid Cougar]

he pitch count will make it interesting for the small schools. You may see a lot of conferences on the mound where the baseball sponsor brings the whole team up. He then asks if anyone on the team had ever pitched before. The one guys says, yes, when I was 10. That guy is the next pitcher. My opinion is that it will become very evident to see which coaches/programs are able to develop pitchers and which places dont put alot of time and effort into standaround. Sub varsity tournaments could get real interesting and really not fun to watch.

I don't know of any high school baseball coach that develops pitchers. Just about every pitcher I know has their own personal coach/program and has utilized them since Little League.
Lots of times those private coaches/dads and high school coaches have entirely different philosophies.

[XMan]

I don't know of any high school baseball coach that develops pitchers. Just about every pitcher I know has their own personal coach/program and has utilized them since Little League.
Lots of times those private coaches/dads and high school coaches have entirely different philosophies.

So, at most schools, the dads/private coaches know more about baseball than the high school baseball coach? I dont know about yall but I see that as a major problem. Could the same be said about any head football coach in the state of Texas? So, who is developing all the D1 arms at Robinson? Why dont those same guys develop arms that go to other schools? Its my opinion that the smaller the classification, the more important the high school coach/support from the administration becomes. Lest take a look at the Robinson Rockets. Back in the day, bout the time that coach wrzesinski took over the reigns the baseball program really took off. Coach Fedora comes in as the AD and gets rid of all the baseball guys and de-emphasizes the sport. Robinson doesnt win many games. Fedora leaves, baseball goes back to being a power. Lets take a look at another coach, Coach Holder, from Thorndale, who is now at College Station High. He has been at Rogers, Cameron, and Cuero. At each of these stops, the baseball team was much better while he was there than they were before or after he left. Did the talent just follow him around or did he maybe develop players and maybe know what he is doing? Why are small schools such as West, Weimar, Shiner, Flatonia, Bridge City consistently good, even when they switch coaches? Could it be that the school/community values a good baseball program? In about 95% of the schools smaller than 5a, the goal of the athletic director is to have baseball good enough that parents arent always on his butt, while at the same time having baseball not be important enough that any football player would want to go baseball only. It is truly amazing how much better a whole lot of schools could be in baseball if they would put just a little bit of energy/emphasis on it. Again, if your baseball coach is not more qualified than the parents, that is a big problem.

[hookandladder]

Well this new rule should make a lot of little league mommys and daddys happy, now they get to see their son pitch at the HS level. LOL.

[pancho villa]

They need to throw the ball underhand just like the girls. Then it won't be a problem.

[Rabid Cougar]

So, at most schools, the dads/private coaches know more about baseball than the high school baseball coach? I dont know about yall but I see that as a major problem. Could the same be said about any head football coach in the state of Texas? So, who is developing all the D1 arms at Robinson? Why dont those same guys develop arms that go to other schools? Its my opinion that the smaller the classification, the more important the high school coach/support from the administration becomes. Lest take a look at the Robinson Rockets. Back in the day, bout the time that coach wrzesinski took over the reigns the baseball program really took off. Coach Fedora comes in as the AD and gets rid of all the baseball guys and de-emphasizes the sport. Robinson doesnt win many games. Fedora leaves, baseball goes back to being a power. Lets take a look at another coach, Coach Holder, from Thorndale, who is now at College Station High. He has been at Rogers, Cameron, and Cuero. At each of these stops, the baseball team was much better while he was there than they were before or after he left. Did the talent just follow him around or did he maybe develop players and maybe know what he is doing? Why are small schools such as West, Weimar, Shiner, Flatonia, Bridge City consistently good, even when they switch coaches? Could it be that the school/community values a good baseball program? In about 95% of the schools smaller than 5a, the goal of the athletic director is to have baseball good enough that parents arent always on his butt, while at the same time having baseball not be important enough that any football player would want to go baseball only. It is truly amazing how much better a whole lot of schools could be in baseball if they would put just a little bit of energy/emphasis on it. Again, if your baseball coach is not more qualified than the parents, that is a big problem.

Well in some cases does the private coaches and dads know more about baseball than the baseball coach .... Yes !!

No. In 95.9% of the situations the baseball coach knows the game I do not argue that. I can add probably 10 more that are just like the ones you mention.

You mention Robinson and I will even throw in West and Crawford. They have not changed baseball coaches in the last 10 years. These schools are in a run of talent that HS baseball coaches have wet dreams about. They have great young talent that is being developed in select programs starting at a young age. These coaches know how to use this talent but are not known for developing pitching. They are, however, smart enough to know how not to jack with their pitchers mechanics. These mechanics are honed and refined by private pitching coaches. By the way, these private coaches spend way more time developing and refining the pitchers than high schools coaches can even think about spending with them.

I bet a dollar that most of the successful coaches/programs that you mentioned work the same way

And Coach Holder at College Station? He walked into a Gold Mine. Every kid in that program is product of the 12's select program. I have never seen a baseball team as polished as that one. And do they have high dollar private pitching coaches? You tell me.

[XMan]

Question: Which of the following school baseball programs is more likely to win games season to season on a more consistent basis and at the same time attract the type of coach that has some experience playing at the college/pro level who could teach the boys about the fundamentals of the game as well as the mechanics of pitching, fielding, and hitting on a level similar to one of those select gurus?

Program A: Baseball is after school only and not until official baseball season begins. (end of Jan.) During the fall, the baseball only kids are in either a pe class or are grouped with the basketball team to work on strength and conditioning while the football/baseball guys do football. The baseball coach is highly involved with football as a varsity coach and has no contact with baseball guys. In the spring, all athletes go through football/universal off season during the period and practice baseball after school. On game days, they do get to get out of offseason and prep the field for the game. Baseball coach is in universal offseason and sees the baseball guys for a couple hours after school.

Program B: During the fall, baseball only kids work during the period with the actual baseball coach. They work on strength and conditioning as well as baseball related skills. The coach also gets these guys to play on some sort of a select fall league team. Baseball coach is a freshman football assistant coach after school. When football season does end, the baseball/football guys join up and start working on their baseball skills until the actual start date in Jan. During the spring, baseball players work on baseball activities during the athletic period and continue after school. This program has the baseball players all lift together as a unit before or after practice 2 times a week.

[pancho villa]

Question: Which of the following school baseball programs is more likely to win games season to season on a more consistent basis and at the same time attract the type of coach that has some experience playing at the college/pro level who could teach the boys about the fundamentals of the game as well as the mechanics of pitching, fielding, and hitting on a level similar to one of those select gurus?

Program A: Baseball is after school only and not until official baseball season begins. (end of Jan.) During the fall, the baseball only kids are in either a pe class or are grouped with the basketball team to work on strength and conditioning while the football/baseball guys do football. The baseball coach is highly involved with football as a varsity coach and has no contact with baseball guys. In the spring, all athletes go through football/universal off season during the period and practice baseball after school. On game days, they do get to get out of offseason and prep the field for the game. Baseball coach is in universal offseason and sees the baseball guys for a couple hours after school.

Program B: During the fall, baseball only kids work during the period with the actual baseball coach. They work on strength and conditioning as well as baseball related skills. The coach also gets these guys to play on some sort of a select fall league team. Baseball coach is a freshman football assistant coach after school. When football season does end, the baseball/football guys join up and start working on their baseball skills until the actual start date in Jan. During the spring, baseball players work on baseball activities during the athletic period and continue after school. This program has the baseball players all lift together as a unit before or after practice 2 times a week.

Who cares!

[Dawgs]

Carthage has been a conistent baseball program over the last 30 years. Even before Carthage dropped down a classification we had a ton of success in old 4a. Winning a title and a runner up in the 90's and early 2000's. Scott Lee was an excellent baseball coach and led the Carthage program to something crazy like 20+ 20 win seasons in a row at one point. Before Surratt arrived Carthage was way more known for baseball than football. Anybody that knows anything about Carthage baseball knows our Dixie League program was really where these kids learned the game. By the time they got to HS the coaches already had a team put together for them every year. The Panola County Dixie League won more state titles than I can count. They were hugely successful at all ages. So we had a good HS baseball coach, but the dads and private coaches had these boys so fundamentally sound that there was little more the HS coach needed to do besides make game time adjustments and have a good game plan going into the games. IMO this was way more a contributing factor than having a good HS coach. At that time you could've put just about any coach there and they would have had success. Since the late 2000's our baseball program has slipped just a little bit with all the select ball being played now. Before that all the kids were playing together every summer, and already had a team that had been playing together for 8-10 years before they ever even got to HS. Now with the select ball and all the traveling clubs all the kids in the community no longer play with each other, and our Dixie league program has suffered cause every parent thinks their kid should be playing select ball. Before only the top 1-2 kids would play select ball, but they would still play ball with there age group in our local league. This is one contributing factors to why Carthage is not as much of a power as they used to be. It all starts at a very young age in this sport. No matter how good of a coach you have he can not develop player once there in the 9th grade. This has to be done at a very early age, and that starts with dads and private coaches.

[XMan]

Who cares!

Sadly, very few.