Just wanted to see if I did the right thing with my son’s situation.

My son played JV as a freshman. He had highest batting average on team, batting over .500 on the year. At our baseball dinner, the coach said he was the best and most consistent hitter throughout the year. After dinner, I approached the Varsity coach and asked what he could work on to prepare for next year. The coach stated that he will send me some drills and have my son, who is a catcher, throwing in the winter as well.

I also asked if my son could volunteer at his baseball camp for younger kids. That would give him something to do, since he broke his ankle at the last HS practice and will not play summer ball. Since he won’t be playing we thought it would be good to get instruction from the “top dog.”

My question is… Are we being too aggressive and will this turn the coach off? Prematurely, we are trying to get my son set up for college. I do not want to be a pain, but feel if you do not ask you will not know how to get out there.

Thanks for your opinion!

COACH HENZE’S ANSWER

Thanks for the question!

I totally understand where you are coming from, but want to make sure you don’t become and “over-the-top” parent…

The first thing I always ask parents that are taking the lead on their son’s baseball career is, “Does your son want what you want?” Hopefully, you have talked to your son and he wants to work hard in the off-season and wants to help with the camp. If he doesn’t, you are setting yourself up for some stress and hurt feelings. If he does, then great!

However, I would also suggest that you encourage your son to do his own communicating with the coach. As a high school player, he is old enough and needs to learn how to talk with his coaches and be responsible for his own life. I would encourage you to give him advice on how to approach the coach, but let him do the talking. The coach will respect that much more…

After being a varsity baseball coach for awhile, it did get old when parents were continually pressuring us (coaches) on how to do things with their children. We were fine if the parents were respectful and asked us our opinions, but many parents were demanding. Being a demanding parent with a varsity baseball coach doesn’t go very far and it definitely doesn’t help the player’s cause.

The easiest way for me to explain this is to say… Always be respectful (as long as the coach is respectful and is using common sense)… Ask questions and don’t demand… Encourage your child to take responsibility for his athletic career and communicate his needs/wants with the coach.

In summary, I think your are definitely ok to ask the questions you were asking. I would simply encourage you to have your son do some of the communicating with the coach in the future. It sounds like he is a good player and good players will always find good colleges!

I hope this helps!

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