I’m not even a shortstop and I still found this video interesting

i realized i wasnt a high level SS after my junior year. Took the summer fall and winter to develop as a pitcher. Added 8 mph and got an offer to a good D2 school my senior year. Recognizing that SS wasn't for me was the best thing I ever did

It's better to be a good/great 2nd or 3rd baseman than a mediocre SS.

I answered no to all these questions. That’s why I’m coaching the team…lol

My youth career as a shortstop fit all of these characteristics, then I packed on the pounds and became a 6’4” offensive guard who played a little 3rd 😂

I saw the title and I was like oh Damm

Does your son have the same last name as the coach? Leadoff SS and starting pitcher

All of the parents complaining about playing time answered "yes" to all of these

At a young age, I molded myself after Cal Ripken Jr.. I was always the best short stop on my teams and even I had to move to third. Baseball is hard.

POV: your a lefty and have these traits but your stuck in center field

I’m gonna restart playing baseball after not playing for 2-3 years soon and i don’t really care what position I play but ss 3rd or first is what I would like to play because what I played a couple of years ago

All parents of youth baseball players should see this video. The same could be said of any position. Playing time is earned. What happened to making sure your name is in the lineup so you can help your team?

All this great info goes out the window if you're coach's kid.

“He’s a lefty” Me but I’m too short for first base!!

Grew up playing center field/2ndd, wish I had an opportunity to play short.

I was a shortstop growing up then moved to center field at 13 when the other team actually started hitting them out there .. your video is accurate information!

I really liked this video even though I’m a first baseman

I was SS when i started to play, a great ss, but when i grew up my arm wasn't strong enough, a lot of great plays but the runner was safe... So i changed to 2B my last years and i was almost perfect there

You should really make a video about the importance of proper footwork. You could be a fast shortstop with a cannon, and if you have sloppy footwork, scouts won’t even bother. They are looking for players that they don’t have to develop, and already have the necessary skills hard-wired into their brain.

I love it when coaches say the cold truth. Awesome video, good information, and nailed to the point🎯

As someone who played SS in high school, I definitely knew I wasn't good enough to play SS at a higher level. a) I was a bad hitter, and b) I definitely wasn't the best SS in my county. My high school wasn't exactly producing next level talent in baseball, or any sport for that matter. I was a small kid, and there were other SS's in our league that were over 6 feet with at least as much speed as I had.

I played SS for 8 straight years all the way up to 18 years old….it was very tough to find another SS on days I pitched so they sometimes would use me as the closer instead of starting pitcher….but above the high school level it gets real competitive after high school at SS.

Everything this guy said is true!!!… I coach little league and I’m hard on my boys. Half of the parents hate me because I only put my best 4 players at SS,CF,3rd and 2nd and when I have to put other kids at those positions due to one of those other kids pitching… it’s error city!

Great video, good message that needs to be heard

Great video! We had to quit travel ball because the coaches son was at short. Not saying my kid should have been there but his definitely shouldn’t have been. Got tired of losing.

I am a consistent player and I play up to these standards and start at 2nd or 3rd base but on my team there are people who are really good and athletic and they are the ones playing SS and CF like you mentioned.

Well said I hope my coach sees this video

Well said, Dan. Good information as usual.

A funny thing about short is that everyone wants to play it. A story I heard once is when Zach Grienke got called up to the Royals he asked if it was ok if he just stayed in the minors and be moved to SS. I think he could have probably pulled it off.

My daughter plays 3rd, she is athletic but has a cannon, always has. In rec ball growing up, I needed someone that could throw from 3rd to 1st, usually she was the only one. She is also a pitcher and does some spot work catching. She was coach’s kid, but you’d never know it by her work ethic on and off the field.

All my answers were yes. But wanted to play varsity as a freshman and only spot open was CF. Ended up working out and played RF in college. Just how you said everyone looks at SS, the same is for CF. All my collegiate OF teammates were CF in HS.

Good job on ripping the band aid off. I wish everyone could see this video.

That was very honest, appreciate it

Lmao that's why I'm an outfielder

Played SS and pitcher when i was younger. Stopped to play football instead because i was so much bigger than every other kid until about 10th grade came around and i stopped growing and everyone else started growing. And now i regret more than anything in my life that i quit playing baseball. I know i could have gone somewhere as I've always been the best player on any sports team ive been on. I know that sounds conceited, but it was true and upsets me from time to time. My parents are both tall. My dad being 6'4 idk why I stopped growing at 5'9 but it is what it is. Maybe my son will be tall lol

This totally reminds me of the first all star team practice around middle school. The coach asked us what position we played, every kid on the all star team answered short stop. Some of us pitched too. The coach was delighted haha.

This is very true. You can see when someone has potentials. It's sticks out like a sore thumb. It's starts back in little leagues.

i am a shortstop...... (im actually a center and just a backup shortstop cus im the fastest on the team)

Hey, good video! I was wondering if you could talk about the "intangibles" when it comes to playing baseball. Thanks!

I was primarily a pitcher who played shortstop because I was "the best fielder" on my team up until JV. I had a very good glove, a great arm, and very bad foot speed. My hand-eye coordination was also very good, and once I got to a level with better athletes I moved to 3B on days I wasn't pitching. I also was not much of a hitter, so it was really just a stop gap to the higher level, because my pitching was top tier for the level at that time. I could have worked my ass off to try and be a pro pitcher, but I ended up ending my baseball aspirations to focus on my studies, and I think this is an incredibly useful insight to understand how to transition from being the best player on your team to understanding how to hone your talents to continue to mature as a baseball player. The MLB is full of little league shortstops, but the sooner you learn another position, the more ahead of A+, A, AA, etc ball you get if you want to try to be a professional. This is the video you won't find anywhere else, but absolutely need to see if you want to consider making a career out of baseball.

Tbh I never understood the obsession with SS, Catcher and Pitcher to me are the more significant and cooler positions.

Good video. Unfortunatly it appears that alot of people are missing the point you are trying to make. I agree with the majority of what you are saying. Parents are often too blind to see or do not want to admit that their kid is not good enough. Or their kids just dont put in the work or they believe that since they paying hundreds upon thousands of dollars for lessons and select baseball, thier kid SHALL be granted any position he wants. While my child is not the best on his team he is a quality defender and plays 2B. I as a parent realize that given his genetics, he most likely will not be a SS due his parents being short shits. I coached his team and he was not good enough to play SS and he also batted 7th in the lineup becuase he is not a consistent hitter and cannot be dependable to hit lower in the lineup. Being blind to your kids actual talent only hurts them in the long run. I am not saying discourage you kid but find ways to be honest about their talent so they do not have a false sense of confidence, ability, and accomplishment. Be thier #1 fan, but also be thier #1 critic.

My younger son plays catcher, third, second and occasionally first. For first second and third he finished the last _season_ with 2 errors total for all three positions and the second highest batting average. He's shorter and quick footed, amazing reflexes, muscles have muscles for a youth player and has a cannon for an arm with great accuracy. I have no idea if he'd be good on short because he's never played it, the coach has two kids in the team. Our shortstops, have a lot of errors.. This coaches kid business really needs to stop being a thing, when I first got into baseball I thought it was just a joke.. 😑

My son is his 13u's ss. I'd say our catcher is physically stronger and a bit faster when it comes to base running but I checked off every other box. He is also lead off as he has great discipline on the plate and a great stick to compliment it. No I'm not the coach but I did coach in the past and we put in the work to keep him mentally and physically prepared. I really enjoyed the video and all the info. I'm actually going to show him this video just to keep him on his toes and working extra hard if he wants to continue in this position. Thanks again for the info

could u discuss pitchers and centerfielder too?

That throw in the 5.5 hole will let you know if you're a SS or 2B , yea they have the radar on you at showcases but they wanna see if that throw has true carry or if it's sinking and dying.

Well said coach!

This is definitly valid info, ill take it into consideration as i want to play baseball for a college in the united states. Thanm you, the video was great

Always wanted to play SS but had some arm injuries and arm felt dead the longer I played. So enjoyed the hell out of playing 2B for years until I stopped playing. Kids should just have fun while playing and everything will sort itself out like it always does. My last year playing I had to play SS a few times and was dreading it knowing the throws they make. My arm was killing me after haha but still great times, nothing that high of level just having fun. My brother was better than me and pitched and played SS so he had the arm for sure. But I agree with video SS is no joke and you cant afford to not have your strongest arms and players there. Gets magnified like crazy the higher you go.

Good point about true shortstops being rare. By the time an SS is at the MLB level they’re almost a super player in the field with unreal fielding/throwing ability

Damn good break down Coach! This is exactly the cold hard truth!

Im a pitcher and i still loved this

Good point 👍 Hopefully the Parents understand now!

I checked off all of those questions and I’m a CF

Shortstop/ center field/ and catcher beyond athleticism it's about being a leader/ captain of the infield and outfield. I do think there are alot of guys that could play shortstop that they make 2nd baseman at the pro level.

I said yes to all of these questions as a shortstop myself so this video is legit

Watching this video because I want to learn about baseball, very informative

I was a great short stop then I fractured my ankle carrer over back in 2003. Wish I was growing up now days

the only reason this is a problem is because the coaches son is generally the SS .. doesnt mean that they dont deserve it .... but ive never seen a coaches son playing 2B

Yea I quit baseball because there was too much daddy baseball. Wish there wasn’t a such thing

Grew up playing SS. At 14 was switched to 2B. At 16 was switched to OF. What this man is saying is the truth. The only thing that kept me moving up even though my position changed? Gotta rake, son.

If you’re an infielder, you should mode yourself to be a short stop. Not saying you will play at a SS but nearly every higher level tryout has players taking ground balls at the SS position because it is one of the tougher positions. My kid has primarily played 3b most of his baseball life but will take infield practice at short and plays SS on occasion.

always love ur videos

We had rangy shortstops that could get to every ball, but the strongest arms on our team were our center fielder and first baseman when they weren’t pitching.

Those reasons are why I ended up at Catcher. I could beam it but I was too slow. Still am!

And this is why we stress to the kids, and parents, that at the youngest levels they need to learn some about every position. You never know what puberty brings.

If this is disappointing news for young folks out there, keep in mind, Mickey Mantle was a shortstop until he hit the bigs...there's no shame in not being the right fit for SS. Willie Randolph - who had an amazing career and had one of the best arms of any 2Bman I've ever seen - started off at the youth level as a SS, but he has told the story of how a scout early on pointed out his inadequate arm was going to eliminate him as a candidate for SS at the next level. Humbling, but this video does an excellent job explaining how you can make the best contribution once you're matched to the right position.

You’re absolutely dead right coach. When I played little league back in the early 80’s the best kid in the league by far was a shortstop and I played shortstop as well. He went on to play at Mississippi State and start at shortstop as a freshman alongside Will Clark and Raphael Palmiero… he was drafted by the Orioles and if I remember correctly never made it out of AA. Most parents are clueless

Strongly disagree with the “If not now?” portion of this video. As a college baseball player myself, I can promise any parents out there that your sons 12u or 14u travel season and ability level do not mean anything when it comes to the future of their playing career. When I was 12, everyone thought I would be a pitcher, I am not. As a freshman in high school I was told I would never play D1 baseball, I did. Point is that it is silly to project young kids into the future and does not benefit the player. Best advice I can give to parents of young players or young players themselves is to embrace your individual journey and enjoy the time you get together because it will be over before you know it. I don’t remember any scores or games I played when I was that age but I do remember traveling with my dad and having a good time with my friends.

Great vid. Baseball was my whole life; I got called up to varsity to be the starting shortstop my sophomore year. I was doing well at showcases in the meantime, starting to hit home runs from both the left and right hand side of the plate on the big field and I was in great shape. My arm strength continued to increase and at 16 I was able to hit 89 mph across the diamond. Things were looking up. My high school coach was big on CrossFit, and we never took ground balls at practice or had any hitting practice aside from side toss with smoosh balls. I began to argue with him a bit over this, and by the same time the following year I found myself at third base. In the summer I was a leader on my teams and played very well with and against people I watched on tv in this most recent a college World Series. It was impossibly frustrating to be keeping up as a starting shortstop with a team full of d1 commits in the summer, and not even be earning the starting role on my high school club. After this I became lazy, a lot of my muscle turned to fat and by the end of my junior year I was lucky to see an inning per series at shortstop. As we missed the playoffs for the 15th year in a row (as our jv team had won their 4th consecutive playoff series’), I cursed out my coach and quit. It always pains me to see these videos and think of what could have been. Players I’ve played with at a high level are being drafted and making their major league debuts (Nolan Gorman), and now I’m an overweight 22 year old who hasn’t stepped on a diamond in almost 5 years. Life is crazy. If you have a talent, don’t let anything stop you from pushing yourself to be the best you can

My son is 12 has played baseball for 13 months. Plays 13u is already starting at shortstop unbelievable athlete. Oh he was born in Venezuela 😂 so it's got to be in his DNA 😂

Quick question. If you are left handed can you play shortstop someone told me you cant

Most teams I was on stuck me at SS but I always thought of myself as an average fielder. If the ball was hit hard I wasn’t getting in front of it I’d try to Olay it every time. Always wished I was a CF

Yes my question would be what happens when at every practice the kid is by far beating out the others. Everything from timing the transfer to 1st, the balls caught, the range, the knowledge of the game and also the strongest arm. But come game time the kid with the weaker arm, the slower transfer and forgets bag coverage plays short and the stronger player goes to 2nd? How do you even handle that? Just keep quiet and watch as the spot earned is given to the weaker player?

When your left handed and nothing matter 🤷‍♂️

Agree. Go to any mlb draft. There’s a bunch is SS drafted. Buster Posey was a SS

I have all the traits except number 1 must be the most athletic. Also I am not too fast(sprint times) but I have some of the best range on my team. So as a result in my 14u team I am 2b/CP/backup catcher.

Many natural shortstops don't get the opportunities to show what they can do. A lot of poor youth coaching going on and it's getting worse.. It's a shame really.

This weekend my kid was called true shortstop by the opposing team in an out of town tourney. Prompt me to do a search on what it meant and led me to this video. Thank you for the information. Tells me we are doing a good job with the kid up to now.

The sad thing is that I’m the best shortstop on my team and I’m left handed

I always played third or center had great speed for the outfield and a great arm but i never had that falshy side in the infielder I was a good third baseman and really good at pretty much anywhere from the outfield threw a few guys out backed up against the outfield wall straight to home so had a the arm my issue was being able to have the guts to lay myself out in front of some of the balls that's why I was okay with third it took less flash and just more reaction but really I was happy with any position had the most fun at third though

"The best players are the ones that practice the most." 👈

I'm a Lefty(RF).. but I switched to my right hand for 2B. SS was not even an option.

I’m showing this video to every coach ever

Thank you for the point blank reality check and for preempting a potential trip into lala land.

Played corner OF/1B in high school and actually got cut from the team my senior year. Went on to get recruited as a first basemen for my college, worked my ass off and converted back to RF during my redshirt year and won a starting spot in the lineup my freshman year playing next to the best CFer in the conference for his senior season (and best defensive player I ever ended up playing with throughout my career). I took over for him in center after he graduated and ended up winning a gold glove that season along with all conference mentions. I finished my college baseball career in center and I understand I am the exception to the rule explained in this video, but it goes to show that if you put in the hard work, you can still win a spot at SS/CF at the next level. If any of you younger guys have questions feel free to ask me anything :)

My son isn't a good runner, his reaction times aren't great, and he can't throw a ball that fast or far, but he's more than good enough to play shortstop because I own the county's biggest car dealership

My JV coach forced me to be a shortstop when all I ever done was pitch, catch, and play a bit of 2nd. I SUUUUCCCCKKKEEDDD. But he insisted me to play there for whatever damn reason I hated it.

Throughout the majority of baseball history SS was a defense 1st position like catcher. Any offense was a bonus. Now it’s the sexiest position, but defensive ability is still what’s most important. Nobody cares if you can rake when you’re giving up extra outs every inning, even if it’s not an error.

Grew up a second baseman and now I’m playing short in an adult baseball league and I remember why I played second

Great information. Give them truth and let them respond.

Fastest on the team, best arm of the team, best accuracy of the team. Those are the words of me, a 14 year old who plays travel ball as a starter and a third baseball.

Growing up is realizing 2nd base is just as fun as short.

100% on point. i've been a great outfielder and was asked to play short on a co-ed adult team. While I may have been the best SS for that team, I was not what the team needed at short.

I was always told that 2nd baseman were shortstop without the arm

My son’s blessed & constantly does want you described with ease … when he makes the ridiculous plays look super dope easy there’s nothing more exciting to see on Diamond for me

Im a third baseman and I watched for sh*ts and giggles and enjoyed this vid

The sound you just heard is the hearts of a bunch of youth coaches breaking. 💔💔💔

Can you discuss what it takes to play catcher at a higher level

Great Video. Should be mandatory watching. 2 other ways to get recruited: Be a great Pitcher or Catcher. Bottom line... it ain't easy.