I noticed in another thread Ryle will have somewhere in the neighborhood of 90 kids try out for the Freshman, JV and Varsity teams.....What have they done to generate that much interest? What are other schools to get players to continue playing baseball?

I think 2 things contribute to this interest.

 

1- youth baseball in Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati developes kids at an earlier age. Most kids in the area will play 50 to 60 games a summer in a competitive AABC league at about 10 years old, which leads to #2...

 

2- successful baseball programs and great coaching on the freshmen, JV and varsity level. I know a lot of multi talented kids at Ryle have chose baseball and no longer participate in the basketball or football programs because they will play 90 to 100 games a year from Febrary 15th until mid November.

 

Great for baseball but not so good for the basketball and football programs at Ryle.

Great for baseball but not so good for the basketball and football programs at Ryle.

 

You know what though, that doesn't bother me at all. For several years now, baseball has been the one losing kids to other sports...I'm glad to see some kids picking baseball over football, and basketball!

 

I would LOVE to see 90 kids at our try-outs this year! We will probably see somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-25...

I think 2 things contribute to this interest.

 

1- youth baseball in Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati developes kids at an earlier age. Most kids in the area will play 50 to 60 games a summer in a competitive AABC league at about 10 years old, which leads to #2...

 

2- successful baseball programs and great coaching on the freshmen, JV and varsity level. I know a lot of multi talented kids at Ryle have chose baseball and no longer participate in the basketball or football programs because they will play 90 to 100 games a year from Febrary 15th until mid November.

 

Great for baseball but not so good for the basketball and football programs at Ryle.

 

Good for baseball. Bad for the high school kid and bad for high school sports.

Good for baseball. Bad for the high school kid and bad for high school sports.

 

I somewhat agree with you, but you have to admit it's getting harder and harder for HS kids to play multiple sports. They are all almost a year around dedication.

I somewhat agree with you, but you have to admit it's getting harder and harder for HS kids to play multiple sports. They are all almost a year around dedication.

Not only that, but you also have the added pressure of each sports coach wanting the players to only concentrate on the sport that each coaches.

Not only that, but you also have the added pressure of each sports coach wanting the players to only concentrate on the sport that each coaches.

 

Exactly, so unless you are a superstar, you cut your own throat by missing spring football drills or not being at summer weights consistently or missing summer basketball camps...The coach might not say anything to you, but it will show come playing time. Trust me I've seen it happen.

It is hard for kids to excell in multiple sports in HS, but it is also hard for kids to not try to play everything they can, esp if they are the ultra competeive types that generally play multiple sports. They have a desire to win and to help their school be the best. So I don't really blame a kid for playing multiple sports, but some need to realize that if they have a future in one particular sport that can pay for college or even take him farther, that maybe he should concentrate on that one sport and make himself that much better.

A lot of teams in the 15th region will not have enough kids for JV. It will be doubtful if any teams in Floyd Co. will even play a JV game. It seems that basketball just takes over. Most kids will not play summer baseball because they are in basketball camps.