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Hi,

I am a first-time poster though I regularly read the advice on this forum. So thanks in advance for any advice you can provide. My son is a RHP who last year (summer/fall of 2017) after his freshman year received numerous offers, including a full ride offer from a Pac12 school. He felt very much like he wanted to keep looking because he didn't know what he wanted (and the Pac12 school is in our hometown and he wants to go away for school). Anyway, fast forward to this year and he struggled with a shoulder injury all year. He didn't play the high school season. Had a few solid outings in big tournaments, but then didn't finish the summer because the injury came back. Now, we don't know what to do. Some offers have gone away and some, from smaller schools, remain. He is trying to decide whether to take the offers from a mid-major or to rehab, get stronger and see what happens in his junior year. I worry that the 2020 slots will be taken by next year, and - having hedged our bets once and lost - that taking an offer is better than not. However, I know he would really like to be at a P5, but I think we're no longer sure if he can make it. Maybe the "projectability" he had a year ago is no longer there. Any thoughts or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated.

JAM24

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Jam - Has any doctor been able to figure out the source of the problem? That needs to be the first order of business if he going to continue pitching. 

The word may be out that he has an injury and RC’s now want to see if he will be and can remain healthy going forward. 

Best wishes on a full and speedy recovery to your young man. I hope that it all works out in the end.  

bandera posted:

If they 've pulled their attention, do you really think they would have sent a NLI on signing day?  You would have had false security.  Verbals are not binding.  Worse case kid attends fall and gets cut.  Lost a year of eligibility.  

I started to add something similar to my post. I really don’t think that you hedged and lost. It’s likely that, as Bandera stated, no school would have honored the offer IF he’s not healthy. 

The good news is that IF he can get healthy and return to form, the interest from schools should return. 

hshuler posted:

Jam - Has any doctor been able to figure out the source of the problem? That needs to be the first order of business if he going to continue pitching. 

The word may be out that he has an injury and RC’s now want to see if he will be and can remain healthy going forward. 

Best wishes on a full and speedy recovery to your young man. I hope that it all works out in the end.  

That’s a good question about whether there is a specific mechanical or physiological cause. I don’t know but we have a good doctor and can ask that question. Thanks for your comments and good wishes.

Jam24 posted:
hshuler posted:

Jam - Has any doctor been able to figure out the source of the problem? That needs to be the first order of business if he going to continue pitching. 

The word may be out that he has an injury and RC’s now want to see if he will be and can remain healthy going forward. 

Best wishes on a full and speedy recovery to your young man. I hope that it all works out in the end.  

That’s a good question about whether there is a specific mechanical or physiological cause. I don’t know but we have a good doctor and can ask that question. Thanks for your comments and good wishes.

Have you been to an orthopedist at all?  From your response above, it doesn't sound like it, which is a bit surprising given the potential your son has shown to have gained high interest early and that fact that he missed his entire HS season.  As others have stated already, seek some serious medical opinion, but you need to look beyond the family doctor (and apologies if you have, but your post above just mentions "a good doctor") and seek out an orthopedist that has some specialty in sports medicine, shoulders in particular.  Someone needs to be ordering an MRI and getting a diagnosis and corrective plan of action for you.

I'm starting to think that the early commit pressure high school kids and their parents feel applies more to position players than to pitchers. Colleges never stop looking to add the right pitcher it seems. So I worry less about slots being filled as a pitcher. 

My 2020 LHP is in a somewhat similar situation where he picked up some elbow tightness this summer. No structural damage, but no real urgency to push it as a 2020 in the fall of his junior year... so he's going to rest it. Just want to get it right for next spring and summer, and our belief is when that happens, the right schools will be looking then, too. If he couldn't deliver on his projectability as a sophomore, he wouldn't have kept any early offers for very long anyway.

 

TheRightScuff posted:

I'm starting to think that the early commit pressure high school kids and their parents feel applies more to position players than to pitchers. Colleges never stop looking to add the right pitcher it seems. So I worry less about slots being filled as a pitcher. 

My 2020 LHP is in a somewhat similar situation where he picked up some elbow tightness this summer. No structural damage, but no real urgency to push it as a 2020 in the fall of his junior year... so he's going to rest it. Just want to get it right for next spring and summer, and our belief is when that happens, the right schools will be looking then, too. If he couldn't deliver on his projectability as a sophomore, he wouldn't have kept any early offers for very long anyway.

 

Spot on, especially for LHP.  You're smart to take the fall off.  Let him rest and get into the gym to build strength.

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