It's been a couple of months since my last update to this thread so here goes. WARNING: This may be a little bit of a downer in the midst of all the fantastic news of commitments so read at your own peril .
2019 shoulder impingement rehab has continued with PT, band work, strength/agility/mobility, hitting, and position specific training. His throwing has ramped up to five days a week with max distance at 120ft and max effort at 80% (but not those together). He came home yesterday after throwing and the look on his face told me all I needed to know. He's feeling pain but his physical therapist has assured him this is normal. Still, it crushed me to see it so obviously on his face that he thinks this may not ever go away. I'm trying to be optimistic for him as it has only been two months and "results may vary" on recovery in these cases but, as a parent, I hate seeing him down like that. He doesn't really have the luxury of time in his favor and he's trying to be ready for a few chances in front of some coaches he's been communicating with by mid-September though October. I think he's frustrated because it's hard to sharpen up throwing to bags, for example, when you can't actually make a throw at the effort that it will need to be. It's hard to get better at baseball without actually playing baseball and I think he's feeling that pressure right now, especially with activity all around him from teammates and other kids he knows. He told me the other day that he feels like it's been so long since he's played, and it has. Longer than he's ever gone without playing.
Someone mentioned way back in the thread that, to paraphrase, he might end up at surgery anyway. With a 12-16 week recovery for this type of surgery it would effectively be January before he could get up to full speed so we're not going down that path as it would likely be the end of baseball for him, and I don't think he's ready for that.
We will continue down the path we're on with him and hope for the best. To say that this has been disappointing to him would be a gross understatement and we're just trying to be supportive along the way. The road is uphill even if he's 100% by mid-September but he's fairly confident in the decisions he's made i.e. doesn't want to play badly enough to sit out a year or take the JuCo route. Not hating on JuCos either, he's just interested in a high academic college experience that doesn't involve transferring mid-way through.
I'll try to update in another month or so. I suspect the water will be much less muddy by that time as college applications will be being filled out, and financial aid estimated, along with continued assessment of pain and progress.
I am sincerely happy for all those who have secured commitments and have no intention of overshadowing that with this post. The process is different for everyone and there are things to be learned from all journeys. I'm hoping that updates to my son's might help others who may experience any similarity of ups and downs.