@DanJ posted:This is interesting as I think my 2021 may now have some regrets over what he did with his summer. In our area, most high school players go straight from spring HS ball into playing Legion ball in the summer with the very same team and coach (just different uniforms). While 8U-14U travel ball has long since taken hold of youth baseball in our area, travel ball at the high school level is newer/limited and still ramping up. The HS coaches here HATE it and are fighting tooth and nail to keep Legion ball alive albeit on life support. At any rate, I strongly encouraged my son to play either HS travel ball this summer or see if he could get onto a collegiate summer league roster. No chance. As his HS swan song, he wanted to play summer ball with friends, get days/nights at the lake, etc. He didn't get lazy at all. Was still playing/practicing/lifting almost 7 days a week. But when he got to his Juco campus this fall, it was clear that A) the sophomores played collegiate summer ball and were primed to go day 1 and B) at least some freshmen came in more ready than my son did. I'll have to ask him - comes home this weekend! - but my guess is that he now wishes he would have taken a different approach to his senior summer. It sucks. I can absolutely appreciate any HS senior wanting to enjoy his last summer before college. They certainly deserve to. But those who sacrifice more of their personal preferences are better poised to steal souls the moment they step foot on campus. #growingpains
My son did the same after graduating HS. Note, he played travel ball since 13u, so when he graduated, he played 1 yr of legion with Bordentown (NJ). Had a loaded team, was expected to compete with perennial favorite Brooklawn. They were expected to get out of districts, one the first game (son pitched 8 1/3 no-hit baseball). Yeah, he started just focusing on the mound vs two way player (bad decision).
Anyway, it was the best decision because after the 4 year grind of travel and HS baseball, a breather was required.
So I would say, most players struggle with the transition, college is a different animal, so each individual has to work at a pace that is comfortable to them.