[108 Stitches]

Just wondering who if anyone will/has started conditioning already and if it's an "individual" or team effort?

[108 Stitches]

That is for those who are not wrestling or playing basketball!!!!!!!!

[rawlingsfan]

For student-athletes not participating in a winter sport I would think that most competitive teams are hitting/lifting/conditioning/throwing. Bylaw 25 allows coaches to do these things...they just cannot be mandatory and must be "open" to all students in the school.

[baseball1974]

Since the rule has been changed for baseball anyone that doesn't have a fall/winter conditioning and practice schedule is going to be behind everyone else. I think when Julian Tackett was over baseball he found out the losing battle he was fighting. With so many programs having indoor facilities now there were becoming less and less chances to catch coaches practicing when they weren't suppose to. I can remember a time when coaches would send parents on recon missions to their rivals' field and try to get pictures of them practicing. I couldn't even imagine how many reports KHSAA was getting every year just with baseball. It was a good idea and I just hope coaches take caution with how pitching arms are used during that time. I would like to see more and more kids play different sports year around, but for the ones that don't, they should be doing conditioning and other things to build towards the season.

[RAM-A-DEVIL]

I would think that with as many games as these kids play during the spring and summer that they would take at least 3 months off of throwing a baseball. With that said off season conditioning and getting swings in thru the winter is a must these days to keep up with the Jonses.

[108 Stitches]

Another question, I understand that kids need 3 months off with no throwing but after High School and Summer schedule, all the showcases and camps start. Unless a kid keeps his arm in shape, and keeps throwing, he can't give a true performance at these showcases/camps. My question is at what age should a prospect start going to these events, and how often or how many should they attend? Are they really necessary? It seems that most college coaches and scouts attend these instead of going to a high school game way out in the boonies.

[Hitters_Count]

Most of the showcases are purely money makers and individual scouting sessions for colleges. Be very selective on which ones you choose to attend with your son. Do some research on who is hosting the showcase and do the scheduled colleges actually show up to the event. Some tend to throw around big names in hopes of you rushing to them.

[baseball1974]

A lot of people running the showcases tend to post schools that will be attending before any players sign up. Unless they have a great reputation, most schools are not going to go into a showcase blind. Your lower level schools might but that's it. The legit ones usually schedule theirs during summer ball or at the end because of the issues you mentioned. They also have a reputation for getting quality players and schools and scouts will attend those regularly. Be aware of the showcases that list big name schools attending without that reputation. That usually means they've invited those schools and that's it. Also, if you see a school listed that your son is interested in, don't hesitate to reach out to that coach and double check them attending before you write a check. When I had first started out at the college level I got invited to one that had ten or so big name schools attending. So I assumed that meant big time players. When I got there, two other schools were there beside me and one of them was hosting the showcase. Almost all the players were from that counties' high schools. It was a learned lesson for sure, and if I'm interested in players from that area, I usually find out if their attending before I would go from then on.

[108 Stitches]

Thanks Hitters_Count and baseball 1974! Didn't know if calling the schools that were suppose to be attending would be out of line or smart! You are telling me that it's smart! Thanks, this is a new and untraveled road/journey we are hopefully about to embark on!!!!!!!!! Again thanks for the advice!

[baseball1974]

Thanks Hitters_Count and baseball 1974! Didn't know if calling the schools that were suppose to be attending would be out of line or smart! You are telling me that it's smart! Thanks, this is a new and untraveled road/journey we are hopefully about to embark on!!!!!!!!! Again thanks for the advice!

Just speaking from personal experience, I liked when I would get calls like that. Recruiting is such a crazy racket that when you hear a kid wants to come play for you it takes a lot of the hard part of recruiting out of the equation. Then you find out he can play and it's even better. There is a big difference between a parent calling and wanting to tell you about their kid and somebody that is calling because they want to make sure you'll be there to see them. Just FYI, Most college coaches prefer email because their voicemails are usually hectic and hard to return all of them.

[Tommy2tone]

Lifting weights and running. Will start hitting indoors very soon.