2019 Grad

Michelle112, did your son graduate (or will graduate) high school in 2019?  (your title)

Select schools that are a fit athletically, academically, financially, geographically and culturally.   Get baseball people that know him to provide input on the list and talk to the coaches there on his behalf.   Attend a camp at the #1 choice.   Repeat if necessary with #2 and so on.

If you can't afford a summer team, will you be able to afford college?  Perhaps a JUCO will give him the exposure he is missing at a lower cost. 

More info on the player is needed.  If he's a P with velo the path is easier than for a possition guy.   That's where baseball people who know him will be your best resource.  They should know where he could play and have relationships to help make it happen.

keewart posted:

Michelle112, did your son graduate (or will graduate) high school in 2019?  (your title)

My son Graduated this year. He has played on a great summer team in the past, but because I just started back working after a year he has missed out on opportunities. His dad works early in the and gets off late, so it’s hard for him to try and help keep up with what is going on all the time with the kids. My son has 4 other siblings. 2 older and 2 younger. It hasn’t always been this way, but life happens. We are now looking at JUCO. 

bandera posted:

Select schools that are a fit athletically, academically, financially, geographically and culturally.   Get baseball people that know him to provide input on the list and talk to the coaches there on his behalf.   Attend a camp at the #1 choice.   Repeat if necessary with #2 and so on.

If you can't afford a summer team, will you be able to afford college?  Perhaps a JUCO will give him the exposure he is missing at a lower cost. 

More info on the player is needed.  If he's a P with velo the path is easier than for a possition guy.   That's where baseball people who know him will be your best resource.  They should know where he could play and have relationships to help make it happen.

Thanks for the info. While he was in school  I applied for the FASFA and he qualifies for the Hope Scholarship if he attends a school in Georgia. We are definitely looking at JUCO for him. He plays Center Field. He has also reached out to his summer Baseball Coach and they are also trying to help, but as a parent you also want to do everything to help your child in every way possible.

Agree with others... need more information.  How did he do in HS?  Any interest from colleges when he played summer ball last year?  Any dialog with local JC's/colleges?  Does he have measurables?  I would think if money is tight for summer ball, it would be very difficult to pass on the Hope Scholarship, so that narrows the search field quite a bit.  What does he want to major in?  What are grades like?  What type of college setting is he going to be comfortable and happy in?  

 Looks like you are new to posting here... be aware that you can also search previous threads for any information.  There is much discussion about the importance of keeping the 40 year plan in mind ahead of the shorter 3-4 yr (maybe) college baseball plan.

Yes, I am new to posting here. I will keep that in mind and check out other postings.

Thanks

Sounds great... also, I didn't mean to discourage you from also continuing with this thread as well.  If you answer those questions, some here can perhaps provide more specific insight and direction.

No, I definitely appreciate the feedback. I should have been more prepared with his stats and other things. He’s a good student with a 3.4 GPA , he had 26 steals for the season this year, and he is a left batter, and lead off hitter. I know his 60 is under 7.0 and as far as other numbers. I’m not sure. My son basically thought from what he was told by his high school coach was to wait and he would help, but that has not turned out so well. He’s talked to some JUCO coaches since and they have been communicating by email, so hopefully he will find a College that’s suited for him and can start in the fall.

OK, so he definitely has some tools... we don't know how well he hits against better pitching and don't know what his academic aspirations are.  So, you and he will need to factor those things in as well as budget, college environment, etc.  At this late hour, obviously, there needs to be a quick scramble and he will likely need to lean heavily on those travel/summer and HS coaches who hopefully have some relationships with some of the schools where he may be a fit.  Also, if the talks with the JC's were positive, that may be the most likely option if he is determined to continue playing baseball into college.  I would caution, however... no sense in spending college tuition money so that he can have a chance to play three or four more years of baseball.  Make sure the college choice makes sense for his career objectives.  There are other baseball options.  Many of the bigger schools have club programs, some pretty darn good.  There are also men's leagues with teams that would love to have a young speedy CF who can steal bases.  Both of those options require a heck of a lot less time commitment and the former allows the young man to have the full "college experience".

He is definitely not alone in being in this situation this late in the game.  Things can still happen but he must be very proactive in making them happen.  

We left out a glaring question... does he have a recruiting video?  If he has that, you can PM me along with his other stats and what level his HS played.  I can try to advise further with that info.  If you are comfortable sharing that on the public forum here, you will get more feedback from others.

This is very helpful. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to help me. I really appreciate it, and will definitely look into some of the bigger schools for the club programs and men leagues. 

CabbageDad - Great advice all around!

Michelle112 - Time is not on your side.  Your going to have to mobilize and get organized quickly.   I'd follow everything CabbageDad suggests and I would start today seeking help (again) from HS coach, travel coach but also reaching out to more JCs and other 4-year programs ASAP that interest your son.  Set an artificial decision deadline and work toward that deadline.   My son had set an artificial deadline of Aug 15 that ended up being pushed back a couple weeks due to activity.   Good luck, use HSBBWeb to answer questions you have along the way!

Thanks FENWAYSOUTH.

You could also contemplate a Gap Year. (There are some issues on eligibility if he takes college classes during that time; I dont know those rules.)

During that GY, he could work and use some of those $$ to get lessons, and notice. There is no penalty - other than a year of youth lost - for a GY. This gives you time to figure out a recruiting path (now hes really behind).

make your best effort!

I took all the advice given and I’m proud to say that he was accepted to Truett-McConnell on a partial scholarship and his doing very well.

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!

Thank You so much!

Congrats. Best of luck to your son

Thank You!

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