@BB328 posted:@Momball11
Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I wish your son the best while he navigates college ball.
When my son was younger we bent over backwards to sign him up for every clinic or camp we could afford. Did our best to find the right travel teams with quality coaching and development. We were super into it. It was where he spent the majority of his free time. We definitely spent too much money on private lessons. He put in a ton of work over the past 6 years to become a quality HS player.
But as my son gets older I think he desires to not just be a baseball kid but develop other hobbies and continue to excel at school. As other kids hit puberty and due to the type of travel team he is on he is now surrounded by tall big strong kids who throw and hit the ball very hard who have a high ceiling. He has a good bat but he is average size and likely will remain so, athletic and struggling to maintain his weight and put on a few pounds because he is so active.
We will always prioritize academics over athletics and do not have the money to send him to school just because there is an opportunity to join a baseball team. As much as I would love to see him playing in college I have to be realistic and the academics need to be a good fit. I think if he has the drive to continue to push hard and train intensely he could end up somewhere but its now his journey not mine. I will provide support, help him practice drills, BP and get him lessons when I can but it's up to him now.
He has great travel coaches who have college connections and will play on a regional showcase style team this summer and guest play for fun in a local league. If anyone can get him noticed it would be these guys.
But at 17U next fall if he does not want to play in college we will choose a less serious program and dial it way back from the previous years and try to enjoy the remainder of his HS baseball career.
I can tell you're a great parent and have the right mindset. We didn't have the funds to do privates, but if I did I probably would have done the same. We did pay for a membership to a place where he could lift weights and have access to batting cages. I still am his pitching machine ball feeder when he's home. Except now he drives so I can continue to get my work hours in. I left teaching so I could have flexibility to help him when he needed me. No regrets. We're a bit more comfortable now, but I still do what I can. My latest thing is donating my plasma to help alleviate the expenses for my kids sports. Lol...the things we do as parents.