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Reply to "Helicopter/snow plow parents and college"

Wechson posted:
collegebaseballrecruitingguide posted:

I don’t necessarily agree that a high school kid needs to have a job in order to mature, especially as an athlete. If your athlete is aspiring to play ball at the D-1 or a competitive program at any college level, they are going to have to work far more (and harder) than a 2-hr practice after school when out of season. Oh...taking AP courses? Tack on time for that too. Look, I get it, everyone on this board walked 7 miles in the snow to school, barefoot no less, and that is what made them adults.  But let’s face it, and this is for the parents of 2022-2023+ kids who aspire to play competitive HS and/or collegiate baseball: If they aren’t working hard on their game or grades, don’t gripe to anyone but yourselves that they didn’t have time to get extra practice in because they were bagging groceries. It’s a different world, and while I know there are always one-off exceptions, you are really kidding yourselves if you think any parent is getting their kid a roster spot because of the work ethic they showed by having a part time job.

Not sure these things have to be mutually exclusive.  My son is training his ass off 3-4 days a week.  Takes demanding courses, including 2 AP's. He has been working with a tutor since July to prep for the ACT.  My point was about forging an appreciation of money and agency w/personal time management.  Not really about the "uphill both ways" trope, but more about understanding that those tutors, travel teams, camps, hotels...all come at a cost. And if they work on their own, they realize and appreciate it.  'Hey, I just worked a whole day as a counselor and made 80 bucks..that wouldn't even pay for a personal training session, or a hotel room".  It's good for kids to understand this, not just theoretically.  And they have to be on time, deal with a hard boss, not slack off, etc etc.  I am not arguing against any of your points about the hard work required...I'm saying to really grasp the college experience (including the exorbitant costs of it), and fully prepare for it, having a job at some point before they ship off is invaluable IMO 

I'm very much with Wech on this one.  Even when the baseball work becomes extensive, to many kids, it is not perceived as "real work" and there isn't the direct correlation of "earn this to pay for that".  Also, with baseball work, there is (or better be) a passion attached.  We will all face situations in "regular life" when we have to work in an environment where there is no such associated passion, even if for short periods of time.  Definitely a lesson better learned at an early age.  It's not about getting a roster spot because of work ethic.  It's about being prepared for life outside of baseball.  In fact, most of the many teammates son has had during his college career have had to balance some amount of "regular work" in with their significant baseball and academic time demands while in college.  

Last edited by cabbagedad
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