LousyLefty posted:Since this thread briefly talked about “culture”...any advice on how to tell/tools for deciding if your kid can hack it in a completely different environment? Husband and I are both lifelong Westcoasters. Lefty is a high academic kid. It looks like most of the schools on the list we are building are in a significant distance away. Most would also involve a weather change and a culture change. Granted he will change quite a bit in the next 2.5 years, but that’s a lot. If he were going for just academics I would worry less. Seriously, how do your pitchers keep their fingers loose enough for movement on pitches when it’s snowing?!
Snow isn’t the issue. You don’t play in snow storms. The issue is cold and wind. Thinking about it is part of the problem. Until we moved I never thought about being cold as a high school player. I just went out and did my job. Being loose on the mound was a huge advantage over a hitter coming out of the dugout if the hitter allowed it to be.
In high school my kids never complained or thought about the weather, hot or cold. They saw it as a competitive advantage due to the distraction it caused others. However, avoiding wind and cold was part of the college selection process. My daughter (softball) choose warm. My son chose warmer than high school. His team traveled the first three weekends.
Many New England programs don’t play home series until April.