CaCo,
You've certainly touched on an interesting aspect.
We are not talking about going to college vs not going to college. We are talking about possibly going to a lesser academic college for the opportunity to play ball.
In the recent past, you have actively defended the fact that your son plays so much travel ball at a young age because that is what he truly loves - what his true passion is. I think you may very well find yourself faced with this very dilemma.
My often-stated, somewhat tongue-in-cheek minimum requirement for each of our three kids as repayment for our providing for them over the years is... "Be a good person. Get a 4-year degree." Each is either there or well on their way with both. Each will get there via very different paths and driven by very different motivators. The ballplayer does not have a particular passion for school. Like your son, he does have a particular passion for baseball. He is a college junior. I can't begin to tell you how many times we have discussed career paths and explored ways to find that career passion for after baseball. Well, as it turns out, baseball IS the passion.
Consider this from Younggun...
"But at 19, he would major in baseball if that were an option. Without that single-minded focus, I'm not sure a player could make it to the highest level of any sport. In order to stay eligible to play, he has to do the academic part. That is what drives his education at this point."
I think this is the case for a large number of college athletes including mine. Now that he starts to recognize that he is probably very near the end of the competitive playing aspect of the journey, the passion doesn't just disappear. He has chosen a general major, both so he can continue playing and so that he leaves the option to pursue something related to the game (or sports) afterward. He has taken very risky (probably ill-advised) direction with school choices in an effort to push and see what the highest level of ball is that he can reach. We are both very aware and have discussed at length that academics should come first. But, for him (and I think for so many college athletes), this path is what fulfills the dream and reasonably protects the future at the same time. I've often thought of it as the "wrong way" or the "hard way" but for him, I think it is the "only way". Like I said, don't be too surprised if your passionate player ends up in a similar scenario.
Cabbagedad, I totally understand everything you have said, and agree with it, but that wasn't the scenario at question.
The scenario was the player has 4 year scholarship and there was a coaching change during the second year and the new coach tells player you won't see a day on my field. The player is not considered a high draft pick, what does the player do? Stay the other 2 years on his scholarship, although he can no longer play baseball for his school....OR....go to another school, be on the bench for his mandatory year waiting period and get to play during his fourth year of college.
For me, providing it wasn't some insane situation where my son was being treated like a servant boy by the coach, I would hope he would choose to get his degree at a discounted price rather than changing schools to play one more year of baseball.
As of right now my son plays a lot of baseball 4 months a year, he would play 12 if he could. He also wants to do something in the baseball world but he has also seen his father, who doesn't have a college degree, break his body in the construction world to earn half as much as my college degree allows me. Baseball is a vital part of my son's life, and I know it will be a part of him in some way for a long time, I would just hope his degree was a higher priority than one more year of playing in college, and I am surprised more parents aren't agreeing that that would be their advice too.
CaCO, I'm not saying I disagree with your position. All I am saying is that my son is at this crossroad in his life journey. Education is extremely important to me, as I have a doctorate. All of my kids have heard the value of an education their entire life. My point is that your child will be a young man at that point in his life and decisions start to become his and less yours. I know this is hard to fathom at your son's age. One of the most difficult things I have encountered as a parent is realizing that my wants and desires do not always match theirs, and they will always have the last word when it comes to their life. I can only speak for my son, but he has made it very clear that he will chase the baseball dream as far as it will take him, and then he plans to continue in baseball in some capacity after his playing days are over. Again, he is 19 and I realize his mind will most likely change several times before 25.