High School Baseball Tryouts

Even before his basketball season was over, Connor was still playing baseball games and working on his skills during what little free time he had. With the high school baseball team tryouts right around the corner, he wanted to make sure he was ready for the heavy competition ahead. I had been told by several other parents that we shouldn't get our hopes up. Baseball is a big deal around here and there are so many talented athletes vying for a spot on the team. 

Coach Jeff decided to help Connor and began working with him most days of the week on hitting and pitching. They practiced after school at the Katy High School fields and also went to a local park to practice additional skills like fielding and catching. Even when the weather wouldn't cooperate, you could find these two working away in the garage. Love that commitment!

Connor's fall CUB baseball team had disbanded for the winter, but Connor was excited to join one of his other friend's teams for some games as a walk-on player. He loved playing with his buddy Brandon and never passed up a chance for some extra reps on the field.

Brandon's mom and I wanted a good pic of the boys after one of their games, but as usual the photo session quickly devolved into typical teen boy antics. Love their friendship!

While experimenting with various skill-building work at home, Jeff and Connor discovered a local spot with batting cages and pitching machines. This quickly became their go-to spot for batting practice, and Connor got some great experience working with the fast speed pitches. Of course, Jeff had to step in a time or two to make sure he could still keep up with the young'uns, ha!

As the baseball tryouts approached, Connor worked more and more in his free time to make sure he was ready. He was nervous but excited for the opportunity, and Coach Jeff took his role very seriously to prepare Connor for various situational drills as best he could. They worked hard, and they were as ready as they could be.

Connor wasn't able to participate in the baseball tryout weekend due to the fact that he was still playing basketball with his freshman team. Once the basketball season fully wrapped, Connor and one other basketball player were given a separate tryout for the baseball team. The Katy coaches had already formed the freshman/sophomore team with 16 players and had been practicing for a couple of weeks together, so Connor and his buddy Nathan participated in a modified tryout consisting of their heavy participation in the first scrimmage of the season. 

I was traveling for work and didn't get to attend the scrimmage, but Jeff gave me a great summary as the game progressed. Connor was able to get some great at-bats, some plays in the outfield, and he pitched a solid inning with a couple of strikeouts. Jeff sent me a video of one of Connor's knocks to the outfield, and he was looking strong.

At the end of the game, Connor and Jeff felt good about his performance and I was excited to root him on from several states away. We had been told that the boys would need to attend some additional practices before their tryout results would be communicated, so we didn't expect to know anything for a few days. After the scrimmage, the team huddled and then dismissed for the night. But first, the coach had a casual announcement to the team regarding the status of Connor and his buddy, Nathan.

"Welcome to the team, boys!"