LousyLefty posted:fishnsail posted:I just wanted to post an update as maybe this can help other players or parents or both.
We visited our Freshman Son last week at school. We were quite happy to see him. He is a super good kid that everyone likes..A real good Egg.. The previous few weeks he has been doing well in Academics ,good at getting on with a new busy routine and making friends and doing Ok in baseball. What does OK mean? It's probably Borderline at best as you they have 53 kids fighting for 35 roster spots and 27 travel spots with about 15-18 JUCO transfers...on a mid D1
When we visited him you could tell he was off. His mind was on his girlfriend who is at another school far away(who also visited him a few weeks earlier). He seemed nervous and worried about his "making the team" and was often focused on his phone rather than us or the task at hand. He didn't seem himself. He was focused on how he doesnt like the area where the school is and the town its in and looking at all the negative side instead of the positive side.
And there are always positive sides. He is healthy, He is smart, He is Free.. I can go on and on.
It is true that the only reason he picked this school was for baseball and the coaches and he would of never went there if it wasnt for that. I just want to highlight that. He seemed like he would be "loved" there and he has some ties to the staff but , in the end, he probably would of stayed more local if he had a better deal closer to home and "if" he knew there would be almost 60 kids at the start of fall ball..
We saw him pitch while we were there where he did well for 2 innings and then "not so well" in the third. Same thing happened this week. 2 good innings and roughed up in the 3rd.
He looked off to me on the mound. After a great dominant summer + working out heavy for the first time we thought he would have a great fall . Instead it appeared he was a bit lost and not smooth. Command was off. etc.. He isn't hurt so we can rule that out.
maybe its the workouts, maybe its eating 5k cals a day to put on weight , maybe it is his girlfriend, maybe its being homesick, maybe it is a combo of all of the above.
When we left we really tried to accent the positive and good things but realized that a Plan B or C may have to be implemented.
maybe it wasn't the right fit in the first place. maybe it still is. Maybe in the next 2 weeks he will turn it around and find himself.
Adversity is a strength builder. Happiness is key.
So that is where he is right now. It is tough for us and tougher for him I am sure. I know that if he gets redshirted he probably will not stay . It may be time to start looking into this portal thing, or a temporary juco or both. Maybe that was the Universe or God's plan all along for him. Not to go the easy route. Things are rarely easy. Of course there are the gifted athletes, the "Freaks" as I call them. They will make all the teams no matter what. It is the other 90-95% that have to have it in them ..to work hard.... to have it in their heart..to overcome adversity.
I just wanted to put this out for all the players and parents who are in HS right now and looking for schools.
You need to ask yourself.. "Is baseball the only reason I am going to this school"? If your answer is mostly yes then maybe it might not be the correct fit.
best of luck to all of you. Have a great weekend
Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it. - Michael Jordan
Thank you for sharing what I’m sure is a deeply emotional time for your family. I just read your post to my 16yr old as we sat down to make his initial list of schools. You can make a square peg fit in a round hole. But it takes an immense amount of “grinding” and sometimes alters the integrity of the peg. Wishing your son luck in finding his path and, above all else, happiness.
thank you so much for that We really appreciate it 
The square peg analogy is pretty spot on...
Best wishes for your son and his baseball career. Enjoy all the HS games ,Travel games, Tournaments and college visits. they are all special in their own way.