Is High School Baseball Numbers Declining?????

[SouthernohioSB]

How do you get that baseball is a failure sport? In what other sport does going 3 for 10 make you successful. Baseball is the only sport where you can be successful going 3 for 10. That's a .300 batting average.

[bengalfan76]

I talked to some people and it sounds like part of Minfords problem is the jv coach they had last year. i heard several quit because of him and some had played baseball for years. i spoke to a couple of parents and they said they would not let there kid play this year if this same coach was going to be the jv coach again and i think he was going to be and that is why many did not come out. Thats to bad.

This is a cop out what they really are saying if my son is not on the varsity I will not let them play,

[swbaseballfan]

your probobly right lol. i would at least try out, you can always quit if you get stuck on the girls team

[sinker]

kenny bixx...baseball must've been hard on you. right?

[hawkeyepierce]

Vinton County has great numbers also, looking forward to a very fun and rewarding season.

[RogueWarrior]

I talked to some people and it sounds like part of Minfords problem is the jv coach they had last year. i heard several quit because of him and some had played baseball for years. i spoke to a couple of parents and they said they would not let there kid play this year if this same coach was going to be the jv coach again and i think he was going to be and that is why many did not come out. Thats to bad.

This is a cop out what they really are saying if my son is not on the varsity I will not let them play,

No they were saying they were not going to have their kids cussed out and ridiculed. one thing to correct and even get loud but there should be coaching involved to. with the varsity team Minford had last year no one expected freshmen to be on varsity so you are wrong there. However they did expect for their kids to not be publicly humiliated for making a mistake and to do so in front of other teams is wrong. there is a time and place for everything. last year's 8th and 9th graders did not come out for a reason this year and it is not because they or there parents were upset about not being on varsity....it is because of one particular coach. would you tolerate someone cussing and demeaning your kid all year long with nothing positive ever spoken. it is not about being thick skinned either it is about being an adult and acting accordingly.

[swbaseballfan]

surely they didnt keep that coach for this year if it is that big of a problem

[RogueWarrior]

surely they didnt keep that coach for this year if it is that big of a problem

I checked there web site and he is being shown as the jv coach but I heard from some people in minford they are not having a jv team. i also heard that only 3 or 4 of last years jv players are still playing. 9 or 10 quit for a reason and they are all saying the same thing.

[smartguy06]

I hope those players did not ever want to play college baseball, because if they did it's a good thing they quit high school. A college coach can cuss you out and nothing can be done about it. It's either suck it up and get better or let someone take your spot while boo-hooing all the way home.

[little doggy]

looked like to me that 8 of the 13 players from last year was on the field the other day, so that leaves 5 that didn't play, let's see 1 moved to north carolina so that makes 9 , one got cut so thats 10, 2 are playing tennis soo that leaves one who is not doing anything, boy alot of kids not playing,!!

[swbaseballfan]

lol. looks like stories get stretched sometimes

[catscoachmac]

At Green we're up to 21 players on a team that lost 5 starters from last year. I've read down thru the different posted reasons for not playing baseball and have to at least assume that they are legit. Although the name has not officially changed, baseball is NOT America's game anymore. I don't know the exact numbers, but I would go out on a limb and guess that only 35-40% of MLB players are actually U.S. born. The names of major leaguers we know are mostly the ones who are under questioning for performance enhancers or who are holding out to make a gazillion dollars in their next contract. It seems to me that today's youth want flashy, and baseball is not that. I believe there is no better game. Somebody mentioned the fact that going 3-10 makes you successful--I'll go a step further as if to say that baseball is the only game where you can sacrifice yourself for someone else, and that not hurt your personal stats.

[RogueWarrior]

looked like to me that 8 of the 13 players from last year was on the field the other day, so that leaves 5 that didn't play, let's see 1 moved to north carolina so that makes 9 , one got cut so thats 10, 2 are playing tennis soo that leaves one who is not doing anything, boy alot of kids not playing,!!

Take a look at the jv roster from LAST YEAR and then look who is playing this year and it is 3-4 out of 13. i am talking JV NOT varsity. when minford posts there roster compare the 9th graders who played last year to the 10th graders this year. do the math genius. contrary to popular belief sometimes a negative coach really is the problem. might have something to do with the reason the same guy is no longer coaching jr high football out there. oh and from what I here there were no cuts this year because the numbers are down so you are wrong there to. nor were there cuts last year.

[bengalfan76]

I coach my own son. lol So yea he has been yelled at sometimes when it is not his fault and infront of the other team. Does you son play football or basketball? I bet they have been intstructed loudly in front of the crowd. I would say that the lack of motivation would be two fold - lack of love for the game and the fact that mommy and daddy are telling the kid they are entitled to Varsity. You are correct the Minfrd Varsity last year was senior loaded thus that left this year to work hard and make the Varsity team. I guess Johnny did not want to work hard. Minford has one of the best coaches in SE ohio with connections. If you are a baseball player in that area why wouldn't you want play in his program. I doubt the abuse was as bad as you say or the BOE would have gotten envolved prior to the season.
But you are entitled( great word) to your opinion.

Teams not having a JV team. Portsmouth, Minford, Huntington any others

[little doggy]

dunston I am talking about jv. better check if anyone got cut, don't think you know as much as you think

[RogueWarrior]

I coach my own son. lol So yea he has been yelled at sometimes when it is not his fault and infront of the other team. Does you son play football or basketball? I bet they have been intstructed loudly in front of the crowd. I would say that the lack of motivation would be two fold - lack of love for the game and the fact that mommy and daddy are telling the kid they are entitled to Varsity. You are correct the Minfrd Varsity last year was senior loaded thus that left this year to work hard and make the Varsity team. I guess Johnny did not want to work hard. Minford has one of the best coaches in SE ohio with connections. If you are a baseball player in that area why wouldn't you want play in his program. I doubt the abuse was as bad as you say or the BOE would have gotten envolved prior to the season.
But you are entitled( great word) to your opinion.

Teams not having a JV team. Portsmouth, Minford, Huntington any others

For one i have no kid playing there. two I agree Minford has one of the best head coaches in se Ohio and I would even say the state. say what you want but when roughly 10 kids quit baseball in one year there is a problem somewhere. it is one thing to yell at a kid and another to OPENLY cuss them, call them names in front of others, etc. i to am surprised the boe did not get involved but many there will never come forward because of what the fallout can be if johnnys mom or dad go to the school board. easy for you to say it wasnt that bad because you werent there. like i said my children dont play there (they are way to old haha) but my neighbors nephew did so i think there is some credibility there. some wont want to admit it but sometimes not all parents lie and sometimes not all coaches act professionally. this is one of those cases. i will post no more about this. once the season starts compare last years 9th graders with this years 10th graders and you figure it out.

oh and as far as this year from what I am hearing...no one was cut but some were booted. not sure why but I can guess.

[Ptown Playmaker]

Why isn't Portsmouth having a JV team? I thought there were 22-25 kids out?

[Incognito]

I coach my own son. lol So yea he has been yelled at sometimes when it is not his fault and infront of the other team. Does you son play football or basketball? I bet they have been intstructed loudly in front of the crowd. I would say that the lack of motivation would be two fold - lack of love for the game and the fact that mommy and daddy are telling the kid they are entitled to Varsity. You are correct the Minfrd Varsity last year was senior loaded thus that left this year to work hard and make the Varsity team. I guess Johnny did not want to work hard. Minford has one of the best coaches in SE ohio with connections. If you are a baseball player in that area why wouldn't you want play in his program. I doubt the abuse was as bad as you say or the BOE would have gotten envolved prior to the season.
But you are entitled( great word) to your opinion.

Teams not having a JV team. Portsmouth, Minford, Huntington any others

For one i have no kid playing there. two I agree Minford has one of the best head coaches in se Ohio and I would even say the state. say what you want but when roughly 10 kids quit baseball in one year there is a problem somewhere. it is one thing to yell at a kid and another to OPENLY cuss them, call them names in front of others, etc. i to am surprised the boe did not get involved but many there will never come forward because of what the fallout can be if johnnys mom or dad go to the school board. easy for you to say it wasnt that bad because you werent there. like i said my children dont play there (they are way to old haha) but my neighbors nephew did so i think there is some credibility there. some wont want to admit it but sometimes not all parents lie and sometimes not all coaches act professionally. this is one of those cases. i will post no more about this. once the season starts compare last years 9th graders with this years 10th graders and you figure it out.

oh and as far as this year from what I am hearing...no one was cut but some were booted. not sure why but I can guess.

I played last year for Minford and most of those kids that quit this year were not baseball players. Most of them were just out for the jersey until they learned it was hard work to wear one. Kids showing up late to JV practice, disrespecting the coach, not respecting the game on or off the field. Im sure it was better for them that they quit early because Coach Martin would not have been any easier. Dont get me wrong I have been on the receiving end of many butt rippings both in practice and in games...did i ever consider quitting? No. It made me work harder to become better. At Minford we pride ourselves on hard work, dedication and respect not only for our peers but for the game. It has shown through many successful seasons and if you dont want to work to better yourself then as Coach put it, "There is a pretty track up there for you to run on."

[Hitops2.0]

numbers are down in high school, because little leagues and junior high, struggle to find knowledgeable coaches that know fundamental baseball skills and if you are lucky enough to have coaches that played high school, legion, del rice, or even college ball that actually have the skill as a coach to pass it on to the kids that have minimal talent then you might have a successful league for the time they are there and you hope those kids will carry on and get better and the better kids to start with continue to get better also. if you are 12 year old kid that comes to a tryout and asks where the gloves are ( i forgot mine ) what does that tell you about the dedication of him to even want to be there. kids simply dont play enough ball anymore they dont play wiffle ball, dont play pick up basketball, they dont play period. I have played or coached baseball a combined 38 years and you will still have only a few (core) boys that play every year the ones that want to play will play and the ones who arent as dedicated wont. bottom line is 1 ) the kids have other sports to choose from now 2) they are lazy 3) the dont like the coach (WHAAAA!) put some effort into it and maybe the coach will get off your @## 4) parents wont push them to do anything its always the coaches fault,again (WHAAAA!) get over it

[rxburgfan]

it is difficult for high school kids to play more that two sports anymore. especially if you want to be successful at any one of them. too much pressure to play in the off season. one sport never really ends. you just move from in-season to off-season prep. unfortunately, baseball comes in the spring after a grueling football and basketball season. then they have to decide if 3 hour + practices for baseball are worth it. all this while keeping up the grades. kudos for those who can do it.