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Reply to "You will know the right fit"

Tim, I couldn't agree more with you post.  I coached for 18 years for a small (one high school team per year) travel organization, so we usually didn't get the top tier talented kids in our area.  We had good to some really good players who wanted to play at the next level.  Our kids were in the mix with thousands of others, and were not the phenom, P5 dude that has many teams chasing him.  The best advice I gave our players was "do the little things," those things included taking care of your body, taking care of your grades, learn the game (not how to be a showcase player), be a good person and teammate, be a leader, hustle, hustle, and did I mention hustle?  Be the player that the opposing coach stops in the hand-shake line to talk to.  Some kids listened, and generally, they were the successful ones.

As for finding the right place, again, you are spot on.  My oldest went to a P5 as a walk-on because it had a top rated business school which he was admitted into their honors program.  He turned down money and promises to play, etc. from D2, D3 and NAIA schools because his goal was the business school, not the baseball program.  He walked on, redshirted, and was cut the fall of his sophomore year with a coaching staff change.  He was content with his "cup of coffee" on the team, and moved on from baseball.

My younger son, is all baseball.  He had a few P5 offers as a walk-on (one that happened to win the CWS last year), but chose a mid-major where he was told that he had an opportunity to play as a freshman.  In fact, on the recruiting visit at the mid-major, he accepted the offer, with me sitting next to him without consulting with me other than our talks beforehand on the trip.  Afterwards, he said, he knew it was right.  Well, he was given the opportunity as a freshman as promised, broke into the lineup at DH, and an injury led to him starting the final two thirds of the his freshman season as a position player.   All that to say, he knew it was the right fit from the recruiting visit. 

We are very fortunate that we our two sons had/are having great experiences.  Many of the kids that I assisted in finding a place to play were not so lucky, and despite not coaching any longer, I am now helping them find transfer spots.   Bottom line, don't let chasing the P5 or D1 moniker affect your decision.  Go to the place that the player, and parent, feel is the right spot.   

Good luck to you guys in the journey. 

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