My son tore his MCL and PCL in his first showcase post junior year. He was in a brace and on crutches until the end of October senior year. He missed senior year of soccer. Then in November he tripped in rehab and separated his shoulder requiring surgery. For both situations we took him to where the pro and major college sports teams send their athletes.
After the shoulder surgery the surgeon told my son he wouldn't be playing baseball that spring. He wasn't going to be able to throw until May. My son looked him in the eye and said, "I'm going to be in the lineup opening day. You're going to help."
On March 1 my son tossed the sling. He couldn't reach first from second. On March 15 he was the DH opening day. Two weeks later he was in left. In another two weeks he was back in center.
That was the setup for freshman year. While my son was high school ready to play He wasn't college ready. He lacked strength. The plan became play Legion with a focus on working out and gaining strength in the summer. Showcase in the fall. get noticed and start college in January even if the offer was for the following season.
He drew attention from colleges at Legion states. His hitting coach/previous travel coach and pro scout decided there was no reason to wait to showcase in the fall. My son had applied to colleges in case he didn't want to wait a year. His grades were good enough to get into any college except Ivy and other top equivalent academic colleges.
The third week of August the hitting coach made a call. My son was off to college three days before classes started. He had to attempt to walk on freshman year. But he was guaranteed a spot for he following year.
He had a great walk on tryout (according to him). He's played seven positions. But the only opening went to a pitcher . My son took a humble pill and asked if he volunteered to be a manager could he take BP with the team. So he was a water boy freshman year. But the BP gave him good exposure. He also caught bullpens. He said it was a little scary at first catching pitchers throwing 90. He hadn't caught since 13u.
Then there's the college life side. He was arrested for underage drinking in the parking of a football game. He said, "90,000 people and they pick me." I told him he was lucky he wasn't on the baseball team that year. He would have made headlines in the local paper. He might have been tossed off the team. It's a revenue generating opportunity for the town. A first time offense charges are dropped pending passing a $500 alcohol awareness class provided by the police department. My son asked for $500. I turned him down.
He also got a 2.7 the first semester. His academic ride requires him to average a 3.0 for the year. I told him the local JuCo (they couldn't beat our high school team) is looking real good. That lit a fire under his tail.
The he only difference between my son's first semester and mine was he got caught drinking.