My son didnt make high school baseball team because he plays for the wrong AAU team.

Question
Hi John,

My 10th grade son just tried out and didn't make his high school baseball team for the second time.  He plays all positions except 2B and SS, but is primarily a catcher.

As per our State's guidelines, he has been told the reasons why he didn't make the team each time.

Last year, he was told he had a slow bat and weak arm.  He did have a sore elbow at the time of last year's tryout, but in the batting part went 1 for 4 with a home run off of the pitcher that became the #1 starter for the Freshmen team.  He worked very hard this winter and showed up with a vastly improved arm.

His bat speed was clocked officially at 80 MPH this past October.  While I am not sure, I think that should be adequate for a 16-year-old to at least play JV in the Northeast.

This year's tryout he was told that he had improved, but his throws were just not quite good enough, and he wasn't getting enough of the bat on the ball.

He threw out most of the runners during the tryouts, even though the pitchers were making no attempt to hold or even check the runners.  He also went 2 for 3 in the hitting portion with a gap double and another home run, this time hit off of a Sophomore that made the JV pitching staff.

All players, regardless of the team they make are selected by the head coach, who has not been present at the tryout. he has been on a different field practicing with the Varsity players that he selected the last year.

I believe that my son is not making the team because he does not play for the correct AAU team.  Players last year had to declare if and for whom they were going to play AAU that season on the tryout eligibility card.  My son was actually told to his face that he was playing for the "enemy".  The Head Coach is the coach of high school age players at another AAU program.  All of the players (more than 15) in his program make the high school team.  My son switched AAU teams after last summer, but still does not play in the coach's program.  I don't understand how he is good enough to be the starting catcher for his AAU team each season, but not good enough to even be the 14th player for his school team.  The competetion is the same because the players are the same, they just don't play by school boundaries at AAU.

What should we do?  He knows that he won't be a pro, but he also knows that he should have been playing the last 2 seasons.

Thanks in advance for your time and expertise.  I truly appreciate it.

Answer
Rob,
My first response is to focus on the summer/fall baseball and forget about the high school ball this season.  Start training now and make sure your son is ready for the summer team and ready to make the coaches AAU team.  The problem your son will face next year is he will now be a junior and without any high school playing experience.  Next year the coach may look at you son and see only two years to work with him.  There could be other players not as good but the coach may see they as players he has three or four years to work with.  For this reason your son needs to train harder so their is no doubt that he should be on the team and make an immediate impact.  
Don't worry about the head coach not being there for tryouts.  A good head coach will put very good assistant coaches around him to make himself better.  When I coached high school baseball I have recommended cutting older players to make room for younger ones so I could have more time to work with them.  Eventhough it is high school baseball coaches do run it similar to high level college and pro level baseball programs.  
One option that your son can do is ask the coach if he can practice with the team.  He may not get batting practice all the time or individual attention, but he can field ball during batting practice and condition.  This will keep his skills and show the coach he is willing to do the work with no rewards.  
You mentioned you are from the Northeast.  I have coach in Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts (currently in MA).  If your don't mind telling, which team AAU and high school are you referring to I may know the coach.  
Your son is in a tough position but if he works hard he will prove to the coaches that he should be on the team.
Good luck and let me know if I can help with anything else.

Thank You,
John Priest