I feel compelled to make one last comment here. From our experience and what I've seen over the last 3 years (son is a 2017, just signed letter of intent this week). No matter when you commit- you better continue to work and improve. You are still competing for that spot right up until LOI day. and then of course throughout your career. Even in our little corner of the baseball world I personally know a handful of kids that were "decomitted" by the school they committed to. Some didn't continue to develop, a couple just lost the competition even though they continued to perform.
These are the numbers that have been reported to PG ( there are likely more that just haven't reported it yet):
Displaying all college Commitments for the last 50 days:
Class of 2021 (8th graders) = 3 (PG doesn't have a 2021 top list)
Class of 2020 (9th graders) = 29 (1 out of 10 of PG's top 2020 list is committed)
Class of 2019 (10th graders) = 66 (9 out of 10 of PG's top 2019 list is committed)
This can all be brought under control in one simple way... take away all these silly NCAA rules and let anybody talk to anybody and commit whenever they like - one caveat- once the college offers and athlete accepts it is irrevocable no matter what!!! You would see a great slowdown of all this.
2020dad posted:This can all be brought under control in one simple way... take away all these silly NCAA rules and let anybody talk to anybody and commit whenever they like - one caveat- once the college offers and athlete accepts it is irrevocable no matter what!!! You would see a great slowdown of all this.
I have another view. This is about college. Keep the colleges away until post soph year. Let the kid have an opportunity to grow up and make better decisions about his education.
2020dad posted:This can all be brought under control in one simple way... take away all these silly NCAA rules and let anybody talk to anybody and commit whenever they like - one caveat- once the college offers and athlete accepts it is irrevocable no matter what!!! You would see a great slowdown of all this.
Agree 100%
Are you dancing? Are you asking?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbzJtP75NqM
CaCO3Girl posted:These are the numbers that have been reported to PG ( there are likely more that just haven't reported it yet):
Displaying all college Commitments for the last 50 days:
Class of 2021 (8th graders) = 3 (PG doesn't have a 2021 top list)
Class of 2020 (9th graders) = 29 (1 out of 10 of PG's top 2020 list is committed)
Class of 2019 (10th graders) = 66 (9 out of 10 of PG's top 2019 list is committed)
Not sure about 2021, but if you don't limit it to the last 50 days, for 2020 it is 43, and for 2019 it is 224.
RJM posted:I have another view. This is about college. Keep the colleges away until post soph year. Let the kid have an opportunity to grow up and make better decisions about his education.
I strongly agree! My kid is an 8th Grader. As all of you know who have been through parenting (I have a 25 year old son, too, so this isn't my first rodeo), kids change rapidly and repeatedly from the age of 13/14 through the age of 16/17. There is no way that 90-99% of 14 year olds have the slightest clue as to what would be the best college experience for them at age 19. Coaching staffs change rapidly, priorities change over the course of time for both the coaching staff & the player, and the right academic fit is complicated to sort out.
Even the very nature of college baseball itself changes over the course of time. My son will be a college freshman in 2022. I feel fairly certain that NCAA Baseball will be a little different in 2022 (and perhaps more so when he's a senior in 2025 or if redshirted in 2026!) than in 2017. More emphasis on the long ball? More specialized pitching/shorter stints for pitchers? More emphasis on small ball? Who knows.... we're talking about 9-10 years from now!!!!
Without even knowing what the trends of College Baseball will be in the years 2022-2026, let alone how my kid's skill sets might fit into that era of College Baseball, let alone which programs will be strong and most importantly not knowing exactly what type of academic study will best suit him, to think that we as a family could make an educated decision now as to what is best for him as a college fit is foolhardy at best, dangerous at worst, and quite possibly to the detriment of my kid's future.
3and2Fastball posted:RJM posted:I have another view. This is about college. Keep the colleges away until post soph year. Let the kid have an opportunity to grow up and make better decisions about his education.
I strongly agree! My kid is an 8th Grader. As all of you know who have been through parenting (I have a 25 year old son, too, so this isn't my first rodeo), kids change rapidly and repeatedly from the age of 13/14 through the age of 16/17. There is no way that 90-99% of 14 year olds have the slightest clue as to what would be the best college experience for them at age 19. Coaching staffs change rapidly, priorities change over the course of time for both the coaching staff & the player, and the right academic fit is complicated to sort out.
Even the very nature of college baseball itself changes over the course of time. My son will be a college freshman in 2022. I feel fairly certain that NCAA Baseball will be a little different in 2022 (and perhaps more so when he's a senior in 2025 or if redshirted in 2026!) than in 2017. More emphasis on the long ball? More specialized pitching/shorter stints for pitchers? More emphasis on small ball? Who knows.... we're talking about 9-10 years from now!!!!
Without even knowing what the trends of College Baseball will be in the years 2022-2026, let alone how my kid's skill sets might fit into that era of College Baseball, let alone which programs will be strong and most importantly not knowing exactly what type of academic study will best suit him, to think that we as a family could make an educated decision now as to what is best for him as a college fit is foolhardy at best, dangerous at worst, and quite possibly to the detriment of my kid's future.
I thought there was always emphasis on the long ball?
CaCO3Girl posted:I thought there was always emphasis on the long ball?
Have you watched the College World Series recently?
3and2Fastball posted:CaCO3Girl posted:I thought there was always emphasis on the long ball?
Have you watched the College World Series recently?
Nope, have not. Are coaches actually telling players to NOT go for the long ball?
College World Series home run numbers arent what they were ten years ago but speed and athleticism is bigger than ever. So the emphasis on defense and base running are much higher...
nxt lvl posted:College World Series home run numbers arent what they were ten years ago but speed and athleticism is bigger than ever. So the emphasis on defense and base running are much higher...
A lot of that has to do with the difference in bat characteristics now, it's like comparing apples and oranges. My son's HS team had a season under the old bat specifications where they hit 75 homer us as a team for the year. We have a prolific HR hitter on the team entering his Sr year and even with his double-digit numbers the team is scratching out only 20-25 Hrs a year now. This number will drop significantly after he graduates this year.
CaCO3Girl posted:3and2Fastball posted:CaCO3Girl posted:I thought there was always emphasis on the long ball?
Have you watched the College World Series recently?
Nope, have not. Are coaches actually telling players to NOT go for the long ball?
The amount of bunting is absurd.
RJM posted:CaCO3Girl posted:3and2Fastball posted:CaCO3Girl posted:I thought there was always emphasis on the long ball?
Have you watched the College World Series recently?
Nope, have not. Are coaches actually telling players to NOT go for the long ball?
The amount of bunting is absurd.
Agreed but not quite as much with the new baseball.
SanDiegoRealist posted:nxt lvl posted:College World Series home run numbers arent what they were ten years ago but speed and athleticism is bigger than ever. So the emphasis on defense and base running are much higher...
A lot of that has to do with the difference in bat characteristics now, it's like comparing apples and oranges. My son's HS team had a season under the old bat specifications where they hit 75 homer us as a team for the year. We have a prolific HR hitter on the team entering his Sr year and even with his double-digit numbers the team is scratching out only 20-25 Hrs a year now. This number will drop significantly after he graduates this year.
Mitchell?
There were only two or three kids in California with double-digit homers in California last year?
nxt lvl posted:College World Series home run numbers arent what they were ten years ago but speed and athleticism is bigger than ever. So the emphasis on defense and base running are much higher...
Agreed and that is why catchers with great catch and throw skills are at a premium. I'm biased to the catching position but the evolution of the game with BBCOR over the past 6 years has changed the way catchers are valued at the D1 level. I understand that teams want catchers that can still hit but pre-BBCOR, a catcher that could hit the ball out of the park 15-20 times per year wasn't uncommon. It is these days.
2019Dad posted:SanDiegoRealist posted:nxt lvl posted:College World Series home run numbers arent what they were ten years ago but speed and athleticism is bigger than ever. So the emphasis on defense and base running are much higher...
A lot of that has to do with the difference in bat characteristics now, it's like comparing apples and oranges. My son's HS team had a season under the old bat specifications where they hit 75 homer us as a team for the year. We have a prolific HR hitter on the team entering his Sr year and even with his double-digit numbers the team is scratching out only 20-25 Hrs a year now. This number will drop significantly after he graduates this year.
Mitchell?
There were only two or three kids in California with double-digit homers in California last year?
I don't use names, not comfortable doing that in a public forum.
i know a couple of golfers committed in 7th and 8th grade a few years back to big div1, they hadnt even decided what high school they were going too. it worked out though both big time players and 1 even made it into the us open as a 15 yr old.
Gunner, I think many of the same external challenges would exist for a young golfer to commit... is it the right fit from a school standpoint, right major, size, academic level, distance from home, etc. And those are very important.
However, I think we are talking apples and oranges with regard to the sport specifically. A polished young golfer who shows good course management and the ability to handle pressure at big events is a much safer bet to be a top performer five, six, seven years later. He won't have grown men throwing the golf ball at him 94mph with movement to see if he can still hit it 
Ted Williams to Sam Snead: You only have to hit a stationary ball.
Snead's reply: But I have to play my foul balls.