Author: kflubacker

For a moment, jump into the way-back machine with me and think about tryouts two weeks ago. Remember your nerves while stepping into the cage to hit for the first time in front of unknown coaches with clipboards and serious expressions? We do. And while we didn’t record any video of your swings, I’ve done some research and found clip that nicely simulates your walk to the batting cage that fateful Monday afternoon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTqs609tTDA&sns=em

If that was just your approach to the cage, you can only imagine what your ensuing swings looked like.

Right. Even more painfully robotic.

To be fair, who wants to be evaluated? And who wants to potentially get cut and pushed into early retirement just months after buying those new batting gloves at Dick’s? Nobody. So being a bit tense made you normal. There was a lot on the line, after all. And being tense can certainly rob your swing of some fluidity. But your swing didn’t change much as the week progressed–or as we entered and exited the following week, because your roboticism is not merely about nerves. Continue reading “A Swing and a Whiff(le Ball Bat)”

A uniform announces to the world that a group has formed over a common cause and pledged to support one another in the face of adversity, often representing a greater community. That would-be strangers are now allied and that the welfare of one member of the team cannot be separated from the welfare of the others.

When I played at Barrington High School, the team hat was a familiar red but featured an oversized, unadorned white “B”as opposed to the fancier one of today. Rumor has it my varsity coach, Kirby Smith (a man both helped and hindered by extreme attention to detail), had a slew of hats mocked up with Bs in different fonts and sizes and then, like an optometrist, field-tested each at a distance of 90 feet until everyone said, “Definitely not an 8!” That hat won because, for reasons that remain elusive to me, an 8 would have been a very bad thing. Continue reading “Uniform Day”

We’re thrilled that you’re interested in playing baseball for BHS. I played baseball for BHS once upon a time (when dinosaurs roamed and ruled the earth), and those were some of the happiest and most meaningful years of my life, which in no small part explains my decision to return as a coach a few years ago. I didn’t think it possible to deepen my feelings for the program, but the sands of time have made my second tenure even more meaningful.

This upcoming week is always the most challenging of the season for me and the other coaches, however. A lot of tough decisions need to be made, and there’s no sugar-coating the reality that most years there aren’t enough spots for everyone. Just as you’ll show up and give your best in each drill, we’ll do our best to evaluate your skill set as objectively as possible while we consider the countless other variables of building a team that can excel on and off the field. Continue reading “Welcome! Two Days and Counting….”

What’s the official tryout schedule?

Click here for the most up-to-date version of the freshman tryout schedule. Coaches may divide tryout sessions into smaller groups of players and shorter sessions to better evaluate everyone. Any adjustments to start and end times will be within the blocks on the attached schedule and communicated to players as soon as we’ve made them. This website as well as our Twitter account (bhsfreshtryouts) will reflect changes, and you should expect an updated schedule to be published here during tryouts. Cuts will be finalized and shared in private with each player immediately after school on Friday.

What must I do before tryouts start?

You must provide the athletic director’s office with documentation of a physical within the last calendar year. The office, which is located down the hall from the wrestling gym, will then provide you with a colored photocopy to be submitted to the coaching staff before tryouts begin. NO PAPERWORK, NO PARTICIPATION. Failure here is an unfortunate way to become memorable in a sea of hungry and detail-oriented players eager to jump past you. Those who’ve played another sport this school year must also submit a colored copy. Continue reading “Tryout FAQ! Read before February 29!”

Please note that this schedule is subject to change throughout the week. Coaches will communicate changes to players at practice and update the team Twitter (bhsfreshtryouts) and this blog as soon as is feasible. If there’s confusion about what information is good information or you need additional clarification about directive given to your children, please email Kyle at kflubacker@gmail.com or Hagop at hsoulakian@barrington220.org.

Freshman tryouts: Unless otherwise instructed by a coach, report outside main gym 10 minutes before practice starts!
Day	Date	TIME	TURF-TIME*
Monday	29-Feb	3- 6PM	5 – 7 PM*
Tuesday	1-Mar	3 – 6 PM	5 – 7 PM*
Wednesday	2-Mar	3 – 4:30 PM	5 – 7 PM*
Thursday	3-Mar	3- 6PM	5 – 7 PM*
Friday	4-Mar	3 – 4:30PM (CUTS)

*Turf time only if weather permits.

Coaching Core

Apart from ensuring player safety and supporting academic performance, the coaching staff has four primary responsibilities that will shape all decisions on and off the field throughout the season.

• Create an ecosystem in which players can develop and increasingly value character, self-motivation, team interdependence, and leadership of peers in goal-oriented activities.
• Augment and refine each player’s baseball skill set and game knowledge through instruction and other team activities.
• Craft a culture in which discovering, defining, and laboring through constructive challenges is integral to relationships and success.
• Sharpen the first three objectives through an explicit and unequivocal valuation of performance and winning.

For Parents Continue reading “Coaching Core and Parent Expectations”

Serve One Another

• A player’s fully orbed definition of success must include the success of his teammates.
• Conscientious teammates better one another through daily accountability on small and large, important and unimportant tasks.
• An other-oriented practice partner remains focused and engaged when assisting a teammate in drills.
• Constructive feedback and face-to-face, tactful criticism are healthful and expected ways of speaking when working toward a shared goal.
• Connected teammates thirst for opportunities to pick up a struggling teammate on or off the field.

Study the Game

• A smart player understands the proper techniques or skills for a whole range of baseball situations.
• Heady ballplayers avoid thinking of knowledge as a pass-fail distinction and instead continuously strive to deepen whatever knowledge they do have.
• Learners shamelessly seek those who know more and ultimately enjoy the company of and conversation with experts.  
• Experts become experts only by confessing the limits of their knowledge countless times along the way.

Continue reading “Our Daily DNA”

In the case of game cancellation during the week, the AD (and perhaps the booster club) will send out emails to subscribers. Coaches will text parents and players and update our Twitter. Same on weekend except no email from the AD. 

With practice changes or cancellations, coaches will texts parents and players and then update Twitter.

Should a player need to switch teams, the coaches will make every effort to text and email the player and his family at least a day in advance.    

Less time-sensitive information comes in two forms:

Program updates via booster club emails, the booster club website, our blog, our Twitter, and coach emails and texts. 

Freshman updates via our blog, our twitter, and coach emails and texts. 

You should IMMEDIATELY

• Sign up for Email Alert through the athletic director’s office at the athletics page.
• Sign up for booster club emails at the booster website. 
• Follow the freshman Twitter @bhsfreshtryouts.
• Make sure you’ve accurately entered your contact information in the Google Doc emailed to you on 3/11. 

Mike Obsuszt

Phone: 847.842.3215

Email: mobsuszt@barrington220.org

 

 

Linda Ray

Phone: 847-842-3216

Email: pray@barrington220.org