Thanks CD! Your opinion carries a lot of weight ... as do the thoughts from so many others of our seasoned veterans.
Like others have said, when you get enough "specific" advice out there, addressing so many different situations, you eventually get a "generic" library of ideas that can be applied by different players/families.
What I often find most helpful is having a context from which the advice is given. In our community we have current and former Coaches, Scouts, parents of professional players, current and former pros, parents of phenoms, parents of those guys who had to make it the hard way, you get the idea.
As I have learned some of the back stories of some of our posters -- and their players -- the context has often helped add richness to the advice being shared. I sometimes think that some of our veterans are afraid they will come across as bragadocious about themselves or their players when they offer personal context that explains their perspective. As a Dad who is trying to navigate an often confusing and time constrained maze, those "back stories" are very valuable in personalizing what might otherwise be "generic" advice.
I can tell you this for sure ... the advice we have gathered from the members of this community has helped us greatly in devising the plan by which my son (and our family) is navigating our way through the maze. In a few years, I hope to be a seasoned veteran sharing how my guy got to the school of his choice with the folks who are a few laps behind us.
A generic THANK YOU to all of our trail blazers!