The Ole Ball Game

Baseball team student manager

by John

Opening Day for the Colorado Rockies

Opening Day for the Colorado Rockies

John asked: Hey Rick,
I was cut from my high school baseball team. When I was cut, the coach offered me to be a team manager.

I was going to play spring ball elsewhere but it is looking unlikely because most leagues have started practice.

I worked extremely hard to make the team. I was wondering if you think I should take his offer?

Also what do you think I would do? The reason I was cut was throwing acuracy. I was great at everything but throwing.

What can I do to fix this as soon as possible because I would like to play at least 1 baseball season before college. Unless I'm at first, I could be seen as a liability in the field.

Position wise I am best at first, second ,and left field.

Also Thank you Rick, for your help in past questions.


Rick answered: John, thank you for your followup and question.

Sorry to hear that you did not make the baseball team this year. When you have a love of baseball, which it sounds like you do from your current and previous submissions, it is a sometimes difficult experience to work within.

While it may, at first glance, seem that all you worked at and for just vaporized, I would say that is certainly not the case. Look carefully inside of the results of your tryout.

While you did not achieve your first and foremost goal, to make the team as a player, you have a standing offer from the coach to be the team manager.

Within my answer to your last submission, I said,"what you wish to accomplish is one of the great joys in life, the opportunity to be a part of a group with a common goal and determination." I also suggested you find a way to stick with the team, so that you are there to pick up on any and all instruction provided.

Coaches do not ramdomly select someone to be their team manager, it is a carefully thought out selection. You have definately made an impression with responsibility, desire, hustle, paying attention, work ethic or positive attitude, for the coach to ask you to take on this big responsibility.

We just finished our tryouts here last week. We had a manager selected before we started; but he dropped out the day we started.

We asked, and he accepted, one of the players who tried out, whose skill level was not where it needed to be to make the cut.

He did, however, impress everybody with his effort and desire to be out there. Good fit for him right now, good fit for us.

Now is an opportune time to look at the bigger picture and see where this could possibly take you as you move forward.

If you have that burning desire to be in and around the game of baseball, there are many possiblilities out there to eventually work within baseball, outside the realm of playing the game.

Somewhere around 7% of all those that begin playing baseball as kids eventually play at the college level, 2-3% play professional baseball.

The picture above is one of our former players, who went to Junior College and was working to be an athletic trainer. He was the trainer for the baseball team.

He was at a Rockies Spring Training game, was standing near their dugout, when they asked if he wanted to be a bat boy for the game. He quickly accepted, and the rest is, as they say, history.

Due to his efforts, they told him he was welcome to come back, which he enthusiastically did. His love of baseball, responsiblity, work ethic and more worked into a job as a clubhouse manager for the Rockies.

The picture is of him on the field opening day, a few years ago. All accomplished on his own initiative and effort. Very special indeed.

His brother, who graduated last year, was our team manager the last 4 years. He did not have a desire to play baseball; but wanted to be out there. Hands down, the best manager we have had.

He is going to school, with some financial aid, and is the manager for the baseball team. Good things will follow, again based on his initiative and desire to make it happen.

Throwing accuracy is all about mechanics. If you go to advanced throwing mechanics, you can locate information on what you need to focus on. You probably can work an opportunity to throw everyday at practice. Mastering the mechanics and throwing daily will help get you to where you want to go.

You can put them to game use over the summer by getting on a team in a summer league, where you can play everyday. Work through the fall and winter as you did this year, and take another shot at it. Yogi Berra, the great Yankee catcher said,"it ain't over till it's over."

Very true. You never know what will happen, until you take the journey.

Take the coach up on his offer; become the best manager he has ever had. Keep working out, take another shot next year.

Keep in mind the other possiblities within baseball. There are far more available than just these examples. If "baseball" is what you love and enjoy, go for it.

Please let me know what your decision is. Keep me posted.

Good luck as you go forward.

Yours in baseball,

Rick












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Sep 17, 2016
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by: Rick, theoleballgame.com

Hope you are both still doing well.

Keep a positive outlook, if the player portion doesn't materialize, pursue all the aspects related to baseball that could provide you with a career.

Yours in baseball,

Rick

Sep 01, 2016
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I didn't even tryout and was asked to manage the team in high school
by: Anonymous

My freshman and sophomore year i was affiliated with my high school team but freshman year i was sick the week of tryouts and missed a bunch of the workouts because of vacations and things like that. I did not do anything with the team.

Sophomore year I was asked to manage but did not take the offer because i was playing what would be my final season to play rec baseball it was a teener league locally. We ended up winning it all so till this day i am happy about that decision.

Junior year I wanted to try out for the team and in about January i was approached by the coach and he asked if i wanted to manage instead because of how many guys were there. I accepted this because when i was thinking about it the team i was on sophomore year that was the team i had grown up with and i thought it would be the coolest thing ever to make that the last time i would lace up the cleats to play. i took the spot to manage the team. I am so glad i did because that let me stay close with the team and the game.

Senior year I had no thoughts of trying out i was there to strictly manage and help out anyway i could. My senior year was the best year i had been a part of the program we had doubled our wins from Junior year and were a fighting team in one of the hardest divisions in PA.

Half way through my senior year i was accepted to college and had thoughts of managing for the baseball team to whatever school i went to. I emailed the coach told him all about what i did at high school. When i visited the school for the third time there was a baseball game going on and i went to the field to talk to the coach but he was to busy and i left before i got a chance to talk to him.

I took two summer classes at this school and finally got a chance to talk to the coach about being a student assistant for him. He gave me the offer right there and I've been "a part" of the team since then.

Today we start our first fall practice and at the end of the month we scrimmage a DI school under the lights which happens to be the school a friend of mine from high school manages for.

I have been happy with my choices to manage for the teams in high school and now in college. When people ask me why i didn't play i either give them the story that is the real reason why or say "i don't know" because chances are they probably won't care.


Jan 21, 2015
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Team manager
by: Anonymous

Yah same here I've been playing all my life and I just tried out for the high school team and didn't make it because my running speed. And the coach called me and asked if i want to become a team manager and I took it in an instant he said I could practice with the team to get better for next year I get a jersey and I get to practice with kids that love the game

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