Crack of the Bat

By Blaine Clemmens

Responsibilities of the HS Coach

I recently received another email regarding a situation that comes up all over the country every year… the responsibility of the high school coach to communicate in a professional and timely manner and to provide accurate information to college coaches/MLB scouts that inquire about his players.  I keep getting many negative toned emails and it seems that I have opened a can of worms regarding some issues that parents and players experience with their high school coaches. 

I need to be clear here… I and frankly all of us at Perfect Game respect the great majority of high school coaches and understand they are doing a great job for their players.  It is often a thankless job and comes with many potential pitfalls.  This column is not a place to bash these men who for the most part are doing a wonderful job for their players, some with little or no financial compensation. 

Are there some sub-standard high school coaches doing great injustices and disservices to their players?  Yes, there are.  However, the majority of them are doing a great job and I truly believe that.  I would be overjoyed to get more emails regarding the positive impacts some high school coaches are having on their players… can I get some of those please?  I would love to get some of those stories out to our readers.

Hopefully some good eventually comes out of all this stuff.   Read on and then I will offer my thoughts… I have changed all the names of the players and high schools mentioned in this email and also the names of the colleges that are mentioned, for obvious reasons.

Hi Blaine - Just checking in... Bob has been getting a lot of interest from Somewhere St., Local U, Baseball St., and College U.   Started out the season a little rough, but since then threw very well in beating Jones of Anywhere High - many pro scouts there, and then two scoreless innings yesterday in a shutout of Another HS. 

On the subject of high school coaches and recruiting, we have had a real problem getting high school coach cooperation when college coaches are calling and want to see Bob throw.  Our coach has blown off the Somewhere St. pitching coach, who was about to fly up to see my son play, but cancelled his trip because Bob wasn't starting, and yesterday our coach made the Local U pitching coach wait 5 innings before putting him in late.  Needless to say, this doesn't build strong relationships with colleges, and would make the other parents crazy if I chose to share it with them. 

Now I know that Bob's interests do not come before the team's, but he was all-league and all-area, and only at our high school do you use your "ace" to close - Recruiting during this time period is in "real time" - meaning now, and I feel like our coach has no clue.  I think the fact the recruiting timeline has moved up, and that some high school coaches don't see their job description including college placement is a real problem for a lot of players.  My son will be OK, but what about the next tier of players?   Might make an interesting article...

Ok, now we need to figure out what the real issues are here.  Clearly the biggest issue in this email is the high school coach’s responses, or lack thereof to the inquiries of the college coaches.  It IS the responsibility of EVERY high school coach (and JC coach too) to do what he can to help his players move on to the college level (no matter what level of play, if the player has a desire to do so).  That includes timely communication and responses to college coaches that call and it also includes providing accurate information. 

However, I do not feel that a high school coach should have to adjust his rotation or his plans to use his players, just to accommodate a college coach.  I do feel that if he knows a player is going to start/play on a certain day and if a college coach calls to ask about that specific player, then his responsibility is to provide all the information he can to help the coach see the player perform and to get that information back to the inquiring college coach ASAP.  Outside of that, what more can be expected?

There is a certain amount of risk a college coach or MLB scout takes when he goes to a high school game to see a specific player, especially a pitcher.  The pitcher might be slated to start, but he starts to get loose and does not feel right, and shuts it down.  That is unfortunate, but it happens.  Maybe a player is late to the team bus and is disciplined by the head coach by not starting or playing in that game.  I think that is well within the right of the coach to do so. 

I actually experienced that situation when I was coaching in college… drove 2+ hours to see three players on one particular summer team but only got to see one of them play because the other two had broken team rules and were being disciplined.  It was my responsibility to communicate with the coach about who I would see play that day if I made the trip.  A college coach or MLB scout should always call ahead before making a trip, especially a long one like that and each and every college coach and MLB scout knows and understands that.

If the high school coach told a college coach that Bob was slated to pitch in a particular game but he was not certain at what point, as long as he said exactly that, the college coach knows what he is getting into.  Furthermore, what if the high school coach had planned to use the pitcher as a closer in a tight game but the game is a blowout and therefore negating the need to use him as a closer?  That one is a little trickier…

If the high school coach told the college coach that Bob was going to close only if it was a tight game but not in a blowout, he is covered.  If he did not communicate that and simply told the college coach that Bob was slated to pitch, regardless of the situation, provided he is healthy, able and willing, then he should get Bob in the game.

Lastly, though many parents are not familiar with the practice of using an “ace” to close games, it happens at the college and high school level quite a bit.  Again, the high school coach can use his players in the games anyway he sees fit, provided that he is always taking into account what is best not only for the team, but also, and more importantly, what is best for the player’s long term future.  If a player is healthy and available, then by all means, he should be used as the coach sees fit, even if that means using an “ace” in the late innings.  If a college coach has to wait until the fifth inning to see the player perform, then that’s the way it goes. 

Anyway, there is more to all of this but these are some of my thoughts.  Feel free to email your thoughts to me at bclemmens@perfectgame.org.

Thanks for reading this column.

This column represents the thoughts and opinions of the author and are not necessarily those of Perfect Game.