Ja'Crispy posted:This thread seems to have to migrated to a D1 vs D3 thread. People assign WAY to much credit to this mythical "D1" level that everybody wants to play at. I agree most every baseball kid growing up would like to play in front of big enthusiastic crowds at top tier D1 schools on TV all of the time. Once you get past the top 40-50 D1 schools and the actual recruiting begins I completely disagree. There are plenty of reasons to not want to play at not fully-funded D1 North West Mid-Major State where the baseball coach lets you know you cannot have a major that would have the most bang for your buck coming out of a mid to lower level academic school.
Not all D1 baseball is great baseball. You can see some very bad D1 teams pop up on TV from time to time, check them out and decide for yourself. Their level of pitching drops off very similar to "lower" level pitching. There is a reason why "lower" level teams consistently beat these teams. They get roughly the same level of talent and the "lower" level team develops the player better. At all of these levels it comes down to a coaches perception on the type of player he likes and needs. I really doubt very many of those lower level kids are wishing the were going to the D1 school to pay full tuition and lose a lot just to say they played D1. There are some very nice places to play at all levels you have to find yours. You would be lying to yourself and cheating yourself if you thought otherwise.
There are a lot of generalizations that get thrown out around here from time to time. You have to play travel ball at 9u or your are going to be left behind playing crappy rec ball with no way to develop. Everybody wants to play D1 so you better throw 90+, run a sub 7 60, or have 90+ mph exit velo by HS Sophomore year or you have no shot at D1. If you end up playing D3 you will be playing with and against average HS talent. The one absolute you must do is keep developing the best you can in strength, speed, and baseball skill set. I know when you are in the middle of it with your son it seems like the time is flying by and you have to keep up or you are done. Take a deep breath. The reality is the gap from 9u to HS Freshman is huge you have time to develop and catch up. The gap from HS Freshman to College Freshman is huge, this speeds up a little more because of recruiting but you still have time to work hard and develop. Take all advice with a grain of salt and use your brain nothing is an absolute.
Interesting perspective and I appreciate you taking the time to share it here.