I have a son who is a Freshman and played JV most of the year. He was asked to play in 3-4 Freshman games through out the year and I felt bad for the kid whose position he was playing. I was discussing this with a 7th grade parent and she stated that the 7-8th graders should appreciate the fact that they made the FRESHMAN team and have had the opportunity to play. If they had left all the Freshman play only Freshman ball many of those boys(7-8th graders) may not have made the team and gotten the chance to play at all.

 

It is a tough call to make! At this level of play you need to put the players on the field who can win the game. Bottom Line!

I do not believe the kids who played JV all season should be allowed to come down just to play in the tournaments. I is not fair to the kids who have played all season and have earned the spots on the team, but I know it is win at all cost and not worry about the kids for a lot of schools and coaches and yes a lot of parents. Very bad example to set for the KIDs who should come first, not the "W"s.

 

If it was win at all costs, the kids who played JV would have played freshman all year and the kids you are concerned about would have sat the bench all year or not made the team.

 

Bottom line for me is this. Ask yourself a simple question - am I better than the person who is playing ahead of me? If you aren't, then the person playing in front of you should be out there and you need to get better.

I have a son who is a Freshman and played JV most of the year. He was asked to play in 3-4 Freshman games through out the year and I felt bad for the kid whose position he was playing. I was discussing this with a 7th grade parent and she stated that the 7-8th graders should appreciate the fact that they made the FRESHMAN team and have had the opportunity to play. If they had left all the Freshman play only Freshman ball many of those boys(7-8th graders) may not have made the team and gotten the chance to play at all.

 

It is a tough call to make! At this level of play you need to put the players on the field who can win the game. Bottom Line!

 

Completely agree & I think it's our jobs as parents to push this "glass half full" line of thinking with our kids. It will serve them well in life.

I have a Freshman son who plays varsity and I would feel very uncomfortable if they brought him and others down for this tourney. Now, having said that, I think it would be great to have a Freshman tourney where ANY Freshman or below is eligible just to see who the best team is at the Freshman level (not that it means much in the grand scheme of things). If teams are going to let the JV or Varsity Freshman play in the Freshman tourney, it would be in the coaches interest to make this clear at the beginning of the year while the parents of 7th or 8th graders are happy that their kid made the team and would have an understanding of what will happen. If they don't like it then they can have their kid wait until they are Freshman to play... don't think that will happen. A coach may not feel it's necessary to tell them up front (and it's probably not) but it would create a better relationship all the way around.

I am up in the air with this. I do see both sides. I can tell you that Cooper has at least 8 kids that are 8th & 9th graders that they didn't bring down from the JV/Varsity level. They played with the team they had all year long.

Good points all the way around with one added thought. You and your child seem to agree that the players brought down are better than your child, so it is good you realize he needs to get better. So instead of getting upset because the players were brought down and/or discouraged, take on the challenge of working harder and getting better. Baseball is definitely a sport where extra work will pay off but it takes a lot of extra work to make a difference. Figure out where you can improve and then go to work. You know you need to get better. Go do it and surprise some people next year.

 

This quote really sums things up. I think it is very hard for parents of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade superstars to make that transition to High School. They seem to be use to everyone gets a trophy stage and have a tuff time transitioning into "real" compition stage.

 

All the best to all the young athletes. Learn the leason now, if you make it to a D1 school in your sport , you will begin it as a Freshman and low man on the list. Get use to it, pay your dues, and work your way to your senior year.

I am up in the air with this. I do see both sides. I can tell you that Cooper has at least 8 kids that are 8th & 9th graders that they didn't bring down from the JV/Varsity level. They played with the team they had all year long.

Just curious, but were there any other teams who did not bring frosh JV players back down, and how did those teams do?