@JucoDad posted:I’m on this site because I’ve outlasted my non-virtual baseball parent circle that grows increasingly smaller the longer your kid plays. That, and I’d like to think I can add a little value sharing the parental perspective of HS, juco, D1 and pro ball (although time makes it a little less relevant with each passing year).
My eldest was a good swimmer, made 5A state (Texas) but didn’t medal. Neither he, nor any parent I spoke with ever mentioned wanting to swim in college, even though there are roughly 500 programs: Juco – D1. Maybe the talent level wasn’t there, or maybe swimming doesn’t elicit the same fanaticism or addiction that baseball seems to create?
In 2014, the last year of HS baseball in our house it seemed that every senior varsity starter had a place or was looking for a place to play after HS. Huge difference from swimming. Some never found a place, some never played for the places they found but there were juco, d3 and NAIA commits aplenty. Is this an anomaly to baseball, or are there other HS sports with the same athlete and parental fever? If not, why do you think that is?
I think the subjective factor of baseball performance plays a big role. In baseball really every player who has a minimum of skill can hit .300 - against the right level of competition. For one that level might be a beer league or little league as a kid and for someone else that level is mlb.
So if you performed decently in high school you can have hopes that that transfers to the next level.
HS players of course have heard thousands of times that college is harder and on an intellectual level you understand that but deep down a kid who never experienced failure and produced at the plate or on the mound probably does see his success continue even though intellectually he knows it is going to be harder.
Swimming or track and field is different though. A time is a time and either you can swim a 50 second 100 meters or you can't.
Sure in baseball there are also measurables but there are still those exceptions in baseball like that one starter who throws 86 in mlb or the one hitter who only has a 100 mph max ev but makes contact every time.
This doesn't exist in swimming, if you are slow you are slow, "intangibles" can't make up for this.
So even guys who maybe competed in a weak swimming HS region and won some meets know whether their times can carry them to the next level or not.