I just got back from watching my son’s final college games at the DIII CWS and thought I would add a few notes for those still looking to select a place to play.(plus some other thoughts)
All of the truism’s that have been posted here remain the same. Pick a school where you would be comfortable without baseball, etc, etc, but I thought I would add a couple of other reflections that really hit home for me this week.
- Pick a school where you are 100% sure that the coach’s there are not only going to make your son not only a better baseball player, but much more importantly, they are going to help him to become a man that you can be proud of.
During his next four years your son is going to spend more time with these “molders” of him than any other person in his life - including you. They will be with these men for 40+ hours per week, and this is just practice. They will be on busses, in hotels, on airplanes, in all kinds of strange new places and will have more influence than any other person during your son’s college experience. Make sure this man, (or men) are who you want your son around more than any other person during the next four years.
Fortunately, there are a great many of these guys in the baseball world, but this is something to be considered when picking a school and program. This means you will have to get in contact with a lot more former players and their parents who can give you the real scoop on a coach (or staff). Do your homework here as this is as critical as any reflecting back on it.
- Select a school (or coach) who has been successful. While winning is not everything, and obviously it is a lot more fun to win than lose; however I was thinking about this in regards to possibly picking a D1 program with a poor winning percentage vs a D2,D3, NAIA program that has a history of success. This also could be between programs at the same level.
I say this because looking back at my son’s last four years the most memorable games have been those that mean the most. Conference tournaments, Regional tournaments, and of course the CWS. My son has been blessed to win his conference 3 of the last four years and has been to 4 Regionals, and and this year the CWS. (finally for his program, but that is a whole other story) I can say that the players, parents and fans have had much more fun and will remember these events more than any other during his last four years. These games are significantly more intense and in many cases are in new and unusual places that you (and he) will likely never visit again. League games blend together, but the tournaments are etched in all of our memories.
- Pick a place that you can get to. Obviously you want to choose the best fit for him, but if given a choice - pick one closer to home.
My son had the opportunity to play at a great school that was completely across the country and fortunately he saw how difficult it was getting to and from there (as well as the weather) and chose a place “only” half way across the country. For us it meant that we would become “A-listers” on Southwest, but we could get to and from his city with a three hour direct flight, which made it possible to see weekend tournaments without blowing out our PLT time at work. It will also make him much more comfortable if he can get to and from home during the major holidays.
- Budget for travel - A LOT. It is going to cost you a lot more money than you probably figured but make sure you put this in the equation as this is an experience you do not want to miss.
You will make new and potentially lifelong friends from all over the country travelling around watching your son play the crazy game of baseball and you really need to be there to share it with him so budget for it.
- Pick a school that has a video feed.
As crazy as this sounds I have been shocked how many programs do not have good video feeds to watch games on. Obviously this is a minor decision point, but if they don’t have one, get involved with other parents and help fund a video program. It is insane in this day and age to not have a quality video feed that allows for parents and fans to watch their games.
My son has been blessed to play for a great program, but most importantly coaches who have impeccable reputations and qualities and he will be friends with them for the rest of his life, and for this I am truly thankful.
Postmortem: My wife and I have been joking about what we are going to do with all of our free time, (and money!) she even suggested we go watch some local T ball games, but figured someone would wonder what those creepy old parents are doing at the field watching other's kids play ball.
He was just in HS????
