Steve A. posted:Real quality commentary here. From what I observe, the main obstacle to overcome here is the inability of parents to be objective when evaluating the talent of their own kids. Obviously, everyone is going to be a bit biased & tend to see more of the "good" vs reality when looking at their own. I think you start with identifying the most seasoned & honest evaluator of your kids talent you can find & ask that person to tell it to you straight. Be prepared to have your feelings hurt. Where does my kid rate? How does he project? Is he unlikely to play beyond HS? Is he a PO? Is he Div 1, 2, 3 etc. The Div 1 guys do not have to ask, everyone pretty much knows, with a few exceptions.
After trying to establish reality, you can then begin to plot a strategy to get your boy an opportunity to play WHERE HE FITS. This is the key. Shoot for a place where he can play & enjoy life. If that is Div 3 baseball then so be it. Go to the school camp. Reach out to the coaches. Ask for help from your travel ball coach or anyone who would have a contact there.
Parents need to get a grip on the level of talent needed to play Div 2 or 3 baseball at a high level. You know the 3 hole hitter on team X who just rakes your kid when your's pitches? He is probably one of 9 identical kids who he would face at Div 2 or 3. The easy outs are gone & the hits are hard to come by because everyone is the best of the best now as you move forward.
As for the $$ part. Agree totally. It is certainly an issue. The way I look at it is this: I am perfectly willing to spend whatever I can afford, that makes sense, based upon the knowledge that my son will be engaging in a productive experience that demonstrates many life lessons. Is there a better use of my $$ than spending it on my kid & I getting to spend time together while he competes with his friends, gets instruction from a quality guy etc? I think not. What would he be doing otherwise? Working on his girlfriend relationship. Learning how to vape in the HS parking lot. Looking at his phone. So regardless of the "payoff", scholarship or not, I have no regrets about the $$ & do not realistically see much change away from the ramp up in competition as we move forward. The competitive dial is only going to get turned up as more & more quality athletes turn away from football and move our way in the years to come.
this^ He said it much better than me.