Hat's Off To High School Baseball

High School is in full swing and while many students are focused on the pigskin rather than a baseball, serious baseball players are still playing in fall baseball leagues and tournaments.

That said, while it may seem like we really push College Development Programs and travel ball on this site, it’s is not to slight the incredible importance of High School Baseball one bit. We only stress CDP's and Travel/Select baseball because that is when most of the scouts and coaches in college have the time to actually see the players. It’s economy of scale. And in reality, the recruiters are all just doing a follow up to see first hand, the abilities of the player that had a great high school year.

High School baseball benefits baseball players in so many ways. First, there is the support of the built-in fan base and community that schools provide. If a team or certain players had a great game, it is published all over the local community newspapers and announced in the early morning school announcements. This type of publicity sets up showdowns with other schools and rivalries in their league and sections. And, it’s those games that have great meaning not only to players, but alumni as well.

Many cities have high school rankings and there are bragging rights for teams to strive for. This engages entire metropolitan areas to follow the successes of certain teams and players. In many areas of the country, message boards on the Rivals network and other local sites get as busy as talk radio when it comes to match-ups, league standings, play-offs and top players. So, the publicity for many top HS teams can stretch well beyond their local county papers to the entire region and even the whole state.

HS also gives players the ability to hone their skills each and every day in the off-season with their very own private work-out facility. Parents, we have to pay for these privileges at health clubs and franchised gyms. Players have the luxury of the schools tracks, weight rooms, fields and coaches at no cost. During the season, the everyday practice is invaluable. The one thing that summer ball can’t offer is access to the fields and coaches for three hours a day, 6 days a week. If your son loves baseball, he should love the opportunity to take advantage of this huge benefit. When you throw in 25-30 games on top of all of that practice, your son should be at the top of his game by the time recruiting season gets started in the summer.

So, hat’s off to High School Baseball. As important as CDP's and travel ball are to recruiting, there’s still nothing like the excitement and anticipation of a high school baseball season. Thanks to all of the high school coaches that take the time to make high school baseball special for all of our players. And, thanks to all of the high school coaches that have been sending us e-mails supporting our site.

Rounding Third Staff.