quote:Reading over some of the topics lately, I keep thinking about what expectations parents and players have of the recruiting as well as the college baseball experience. Draft? Done Different?
My son is a freshmen pitcher at a mid to lower D1 program. His goal and expectation was that it was going to be fairly easy to find a D1 baseball program with top academics. Nothing could have been further from the truth from our experience. It was a vastly different experience than what we expected, and the journey took us off course a few times. After a few months of frustration and mistakes, we circled back to the original goals and that is when things started happening in spades.
Program prominence vs playing time expectation. We discussed this alot between my son and wife. Question: Go to a very successful D1 program (and sit the bench for 1-2 years) or go to a rebuilding program with the opportunity of getting freshmen playing time? This is a huge decision, and one that should be discussed in depth by players and parents IMHO. We opted for the opportunity at freshmen playing time for many reasons.
My expectation was for him to play baseball at a top D3 and study engineering. I didn't think he would be able to enjoy his college experience playing D1 baseball and engineering. As it turns out, we were able to find a situation that fit perfectly for him that is kind of a hybrid between D1 and D3. I'm very glad his expectations were different from mine.
My son is really enjoying his college baseball experience. He performed very well this Fall and caught the coaches eye with his progress and results. He is hoping to be a starter at the back of the rotation this Spring as a freshmen. The baseball and engineering studies has made it difficult but so far he is getting it done on both ends. He really likes and respects his coaches and spends a lot of time with his teammates when he has some social time. The strength and conditioning workouts have been brutal, but he tells us that it is really helping him step up his game.
He really surprised us when he told us he wants to get an engineering internship this summer instead of playing summer league baseball. We'll see how that develops.
We have no expectations of him getting drafted. I don't think he does either, but he has talked about getting masters and other advanced degrees. He loves baseball, but he has other focused interests once he leaves the field or work out area.
This has been such a wild and unpredictable ride that I'm beginning to think setting expectations is a bad thing. You always have to set goals, but setting expectations can back fire. I played college tennis many, many years ago. I know how delicate the academic/athletic balance can be. I had it in my head that D1 baseball was going to be too much of a commitment based upon my sons major. Thankfully, my son is stubborn and he had other ideas.