I was cut as a junior from my JV baseball team?

Question

I am a junior at my high school. I was cut from the JV baseball team. I played Jv last year but did not have that much playing time. I play for one of the best teams in the state. I was told by my coach i had a great bat and was one of the fastest guys on the team by my coach told me my arm was weak. When I tryed out this year I did very well batting and very well feilding. But my school only cares about the radar gun evidently because i only thre 58 mph when my competition was throwing 68. But they dont hit or fielld like as good as I do. But a lot of my competition was sophmores. I was going for the outfield.
I would just like to hear what other people think

Answer 1

First, find another team to play on - little league and sr league. I used to take kids every year that were cut or didn't want to play for the HS's, players like Mike Darr (SD Padres) and Ricky Nolasco (Florida Marlins) - we had pretty good teams that could beat the HS teams.
Sometimes you just don't fit with what the coach is looking for in an overall team makeup. It doesn't mean you are bad, just not right for what he is looking for. Which is probably guys that are on the brink of playing, or have a chance of making varsity in a very short time. We all develop at different times. When I was your age everyone had caught up to me (at a younger age my arm stronger than anyone else) and because I no longer had that edge, I was nothing special and was cut from jv my freshman year- but only because I thought that was my only asset as a player, to blow away hitters. The next 3 years I made varsity, barely. But that first time getting cut was just a slap in the face. I had never been cut, as a matter of fact in all my previous years coach's from 2 years ahead of me were always requesting special permission to have me play at an older age which they received. So at 14, trying out for that HS team with kids on it that were 16 who knew just a couple of years ago I was the starting pitcher their team - I was shocked, they were shocked. But the reality is that I hadn't developed yet, but I thought my playing career was over - I thought about how I never practiced or worked out. I never had to, I was always a better player. But then when I got that ego going and got down or up on myself I was reminded by 2 of my coach's growing up that I had worked out (and probably coached better than the other players), I spent a few summers with a guy named Mickey Owen (google it, he still owns a baseball school) and he occasionally brought in one of his friends to help coach - Bill Virdon, who was managing the Astros at time. They reminded my that things I learned from them when I was 6 or 7 years old are just being taught to 18 year olds and that I should never take those skills for granted. There is nothing I could do about other kids getting better or stronger or faster. The only thing I could control was how good I was. So I worked on a few other positions and made varsity later in HS (and never played). The summer after HS I still loved playing and found a team after I had moved to another state. One day while playing 3rd I had to dive for a ball down the line. I snagged it and jumped up, knowing it was the fastest runner in the league, I had no time to take step so I just turned and gunned it to beat him 2 steps. I never told anyone, but there is no way I thought I had a chance to make that throw. In the dugout the pitcher came up to me and said "man, you should've heard that ball whistle". For the next 6 weeks I tried to figure out how I did it. Then it hit me, exactly what Mickey had been talking about, I used my core and not my arm to throw that ball. The play had actually put in the correct throwing position and because I had no time to adjust I couldn't screw it up. I worked for the next few weeks on using that extra hip turn and getting my core more involved. By the time jr college started I had a 90mph fastball. I also started using that core thing in my hitting. I was never a power hitter, which was another reason I would get over looked in HS. But in an inter-squad game I hit 2 HR's, one right handed and one left handed - and bingo, coach said Welcome to Center Field. Suddenly at 17 and out of HS just getting ready for college I was developing and not only catching up but passing everyone again.

Here is the reason why. And this applies to hitting and throwing. The other reason is that I didn't care where or who I played for. The only thing I cared about was playing, I enjoyed the game so much that I never even asked if we won or what the score was, I just played for the fun. But I played for the fun of knowing what perfection was, If I saw a runner use the wrong foot to turn coming off 2B - I made sure he was out somewhere.

Here is information about the core:
Throwing, and all movement, starts in your core muscle group.
Your ab, back and pelvis are the center of all motion and your platform for balance. Start strengthening with this core group and extend to exercises that also work your legs - every throw starts from your legs, they need to strong and flexible. Proper throwing motion and range of motion are also extremely important, throwing comes from elastic energy not contraction energy.
Work on the 29 muscles in your core group first. Before I tell you to practice long toss - this is very important to your health, so do not listen to some moron telling you to practice throwing the ball as far as you can. The intent of long toss is to stretch your throwing muscles not to throw a ball as far as you can. Practice from center field picking up a ground ball in front of you on the run with your momentum going toward home, and make your throws at about 90% velocity. The ball should never go above 8 or 9 feet in the air and should land somewhere around the mound. You are not trying to learn to throw the ball to home plate, you are stretching using a full range of motion. This will cause your core to stretch as you pull the ball further back to throw and choosing a lower target gives you a longer throwing motion or release point. This is not to prove how hard you can throw so resist the temptation to test it. Doing the wrong training will inury your rotator. If you really want to improve and do it healthy, find a physical therapist who specializes in sports medicine or sports injuries. Take him a copy of what I just wrote, ask him to validate it and tell him you want to throw harder and he will design a workout regimine based on your body and strength.

And last, your timing and mechanics must be good and you will need a pitching coach to help.

In addition to core - in your situation it is common to be fast but not have a strong turn base in your hips. Add hill running to your core workout. Find a short steep hill and sprint up, walk down (the walk down is just as important so do it slow and in control to build the muscles in the front of your legs as well).

Post a question about hitting and I will share a good hitting style that uses the core (currently used by a guy named Albert Pujols)
Below is a link some core workout information:

Answer 2

I am sorry to hear that you got cut from your team, I was once cut from my Jr. high team. I was in 8th grade at the time and like you I was on the team the year before. I was the #2 catcher, but could also play the outfeild. I was cut in favor of a 7th grader, why they knew I was heading to the H.S. the following year and decided to keep him so they could work on his skills for the following year. Sounds like much the same happened to you. Keep your head up and persue your dreams. I would up as the #1 catcher for my H.S. in my sophmore - senior years. If you think about it all teams at all levels are looking for talent they will have for a longer period of time. Sounds like you are a good player, strengthen your arm and show them they were wrong.

Answer 3

Perhaps you'd enjoy some cheese with that whine.

Really, all that you can do is work to improve yourself and try again next year. It's one thing for young kids to not be included, as for them, it's more about having fun and learning to work together as it as each of them learning about the game, but by HS, team sports are meritocracies. That means that one earns their place. So, go out and improve and earn your spot next year.

But in the meantime, stop whining. You are the only person who can rectify the situation. This will be true for the rest of your life.

Answer 4

ok, im an active member at www.thecompletepitcher.com
I am a Varsity pitcher for a new school here in Florida..
I hit around around 90.. All I can say is workout everyother day
and throw as much as possible, if your a pitcher work on your core as much as possible.. A pitchers speed comes from his core and mechanics.. So, work on a series of long toss and bullpen activities to increase your speed. I hope this helped!

Answer 5

First if you really want to make the team dont stop trying
Second work on your weaknesses so they become your strenghts,Third dont wait to start practicing before each season,be ready so you do have to get ready,there would still be 2 years of school to participate, Fourth,befriend a current team player to practice with.

Answer 6

I'm on varsity but when I was on JV my Freshman year I just showed up at all of the practices and the coach recognized and put me on varsity.



P.S. Keep trying

Answer 7

You and your school should be much more concerned about your inability to write the English language correctly than how fast you throw a ball.

Chow!!

Answer 8

try to improve on what they care about and try next year, or start a rival highschool and play them at the state finals

Answer 9

switch positions... outfielders need a really good arm so do pitchers but try something like 2nd or first base u dont really need a good arm for that

Answer 10

i think "i was cut as a junior from my jv baseball team?" isn't a question.