I'll never forget the excitement when we dropped my son off on campus in the late summer of 2005. Seemed like it was only a couple of weeks later he was calling with good news that he had several hits in a scrimmage game and more than that, the coaches were complimenting him on his conditioning. I started thinking maybe, maybe my son would be the exception to the freshmen rule. At Christmas time, we received a nice handwritten note from the head coach and telling him how much they respected his work ethic and how they were expecting big things from him in the future. Obviously, that kind of encouragement jazzed the whole family up.
Fast forward to the spring...
I know he did not hit as well as he did in the fall but figured he had built up at least a little baseball capital with them. The last thing on my mind was that he would not make the team. A day before opening of the season he called very worried. He said that guys were getting their uniforms and he did not get one. I told him to check what was going on. He asked the equipment guy who told him they just did not have his uniform ready yet although that turned out not to be true. The next morning (Opening day 2006) he said they still did not have a uniform and I told him to ask the coach. That is when they informed him that he was redshirted and he called me in tears with the news.
When he told me, I thought what a cra-ppy way to manage a team - not letting a guy know his status until opening day and not informing him until he came to you. I didn't let on to my son however that I was discouraged. I do what I always do with him when there are setbacks and clemsonp, you better get used to this now, there are going to be setbacks EVERY year your son is in baseball. The one you are describing now is a minor one because right now, it appears your son has a roster spot. It is how you deal with setbacks that is the important point - not that they occur imho.
To finish the story, I told my son he could sit around and feel sorry about it or he could do something about it. Told him to have the best attitude on the team. Be the hardest worker. Be the first one there and the last to leave. Be willing to do all the team's dirty work like shagging balls and performing field maintenance. In short, I told him to go out there and be the best redshirt freshmen player in the country - and I meant that.
He did all those things and more to his eternal credit. His team started out horribly that year. They started their season 5-12. About four weeks into the season, a decent player who was not happy sitting on the bench asked the coach to be redshirted. They obliged and that turned out to be my son's first BIG break as that put him on the roster. That is my second piece of advice here clemsonp - the harder you work, the luckier you get and I have never seen anything to make me think otherwise. The joy in my son's voice when he called to inform me that he had been put on to the roster was priceless. It still brings a tear to my eye when I think about it.
About a week later, he got into his first game as a defensive replacement and of course our family was thrilled by that. He wouldn't turn 19 years old until a month after the college season was over. Imagine how your attitude changes toward things when you don't have something and suddenly how thankful you become for SMALL things.
He started getting put into the game as a defensive replacement but if the game lasted long enough where his turn would come up in the lineup, they would pinch hit for him and yes, he was disappointed by that but I kept encouraging him.
March 17th, 2006 and I am corny this way, tears come to my eyes every time I tell this story on the hsbbweb...
I worked past 6:00 PM that evening and coworkers encouraged me to go out for a drink to celebrate St. Patties day. It was a game night and frankly, I did not expect my son to play that night so I went out and had some fun as is customary on that day. When I got home, before checking the results of the game, I checked the hsbbweb and there seemed to be all kinds of hoopla down in the Ohio forum. I opened the thread and all kinds of people were congratulating me and my son for what he did and I hadn't even heard about it yet
Apparently, he got into the game as a late inning defensive replacement and his turn came up in the lineup. This time, they did not pinch hit for him. The game was tied in the 9th with the winning runner on base and two outs. All he did was line the first ball he saw and win the game and of course he was mobbed. That one hit changed his entire career. IMHO, he had the toughness and mental fortitude to be ready for that one at bat and that is something that I will always admire about him. Of course, he was lucky as well - it was St. Patties day for crying-out-loud and we have a little Irish on my mother's side of the family
When he called that evening, it was one of the greatest conversations I've had in my entire life. There have fortunately been other conversations like that but no doubt that was one of the best. He shortly thereafter became a starter and hit nearly .400 the rest of the season. The team started that evening at 5-12 and ended the season at 30-27 and I have no doubts at all where they got their spark. They never won less 50 games in a season the rest of his career and they played in some very big games.
St. Patties Day will always be special in our family clemsonp and I would encourage you, your son, and your family to never be DISCOURAGED but to always be READY. You can't control other people's decisions but you can always control your own attitude and effort.