2022 Fall Camp/showcase priority

For us, it was when he was a Junior in high school. It was a tough decision, but there were fall events that helped him get his commitment. 

Son never focused on just baseball, although he dedicated more time to baseball during JR/SR years. Played 2-sports (football/baseball) all four years of HS. It was most definitely a challenge attending fall events but we made it work a handful of times. I say we because I was one of his football coaches so it was a butt kicker for myself as well. IMO, you definitely have the right idea which is to wait for personal invites or pick events where interested programs have already committed to attend. This allows your son to communicate with those coaches so that they are aware of his situation. IMO, does not get much tougher then playing high-level HS football on a Friday night then waking up at 4 a.m. next morning to travel and compete against high-level baseball competition while you are being evaluated by coaches! Still have to perform but I have no doubt that my son was given a little more wiggle room for mistakes from some coaches who were aware of his fall schedule. 

Feel free to PM me anytime if you have specific questions about making both sports work during the fall.

 

 

Jumping in on this since I have a 2022 who plays football. How do/did you handle injury risk during football season when fall baseball showcase/camps are important as well? My son wants to drop football next year (junior year) just for that reason, however he loves football and it would also be a tough one for his team to absorb due to declining football participation overall and because he is a starter so he will undoubtedly feel a lot of pressure to keep playing. Was injury  or risk of injury from football ever a factor in baseball recruiting?

I think there is a chance my son would drop football his junior year especially if Summer coach convinced him for recruiting purposes. I think risk of injury prior to an offer is second to risk of not being seen in a particular camp. I know that last year's baseball team had several D1 commits and still a few committed seniors today are playing football. It's a personal decision that may become clearer next year.

Thanks for the feedback.

PROBEAGLE posted:

I think there is a chance my son would drop football his junior year especially if Summer coach convinced him for recruiting purposes. I think risk of injury prior to an offer is second to risk of not being seen in a particular camp. I know that last year's baseball team had several D1 commits and still a few committed seniors today are playing football. It's a personal decision that may become clearer next year.

Thanks for the feedback.

Yes, it definitely is a personal decision for each and can be a difficult one.  If a HS athlete loves playing multiple sports and is talented enough to compete for playing time at each, I think it is a great experience - and once in a lifetime.  As has been discussed at length, there are also many cross-over benefits for the baseball player who plays other sports.  Of course, every decision comes with consequences.  The likely and potential gains and losses must be weighed.  There are certainly some circumstances for particular athletes where it is in their best interest to switch over and focus on one. 

To Wildcat's question - I love football but have seen more than my share of baseball careers derailed on the football field.   Sure, you can get hurt playing any sport but football takes far more casualties than others.  At the same time, it is a sport that cannot be played tentatively.  So, if you're in, be all in.  

Probeagle, I do think it is helpful that your son is a baseball position player as opposed to a P.  It is particularly difficult for a P to go through that physical pounding of football during the week and Friday night and then try to perform on the baseball field over the weekend.  Still not easy but more doable for a position player.

For the most part, if you are a talented enough baseball player, you can still execute an effective recruiting plan without giving up other sports... at least up to a point.

Baseball beyond HS may or may not happen, for a variety of reasons.  You will remember your HS sports experiences for the rest of your life.  At the end of the day, I always lean toward "go for it" where feasible.

wildcat posted:

Jumping in on this since I have a 2022 who plays football. How do/did you handle injury risk during football season when fall baseball showcase/camps are important as well? My son wants to drop football next year (junior year) just for that reason, however he loves football and it would also be a tough one for his team to absorb due to declining football participation overall and because he is a starter so he will undoubtedly feel a lot of pressure to keep playing. Was injury  or risk of injury from football ever a factor in baseball recruiting?

In my son's experience, playing football was always something looked at in a positive light by coaches during recruiting process. As for my son's thoughts, he never mentioned not wanting to play so it was never an option. He did have a scare during our first scrimmage of senior year where one of our DE's rolled through his leg/knee during a tackle. It happened on other sideline so I could not see who it was initially but when I could not find him walking back to sideline and saw the player in obvious pain holding his leg, I thought football season was over and his opportunities to play baseball were going to be put on hold. Sprinted over and our school PT was testing his knee which scared the crap out of both of us. I would say he was lucky that day (no ACL/MCL tear) but after watching film and talking to him about the experience, there is no doubt in my mind that his commitment to the weightroom (since summer before his frosh year), was deciding factor. It was such a significant blow to lateral side of his knee that the primary muscles involved in knee extension shut down so he could not flex knee at all while he was down. Obviously scared the crap out of him. 

I think much of it has to do with level of play/competition and football position. My son was an OLB/DE, playing for a top 5 program in our state. Probably way more risk in that situation as compared to playing a skill position in a smaller classification. 

My 2022, started out with soccer as his first team sport. He continues to love it to this day. While the injury risk is definitely there, I don’t think it’s as severe as football. It’s been great conditioning over the years and the added benefit of the schedule. It starts after football and the major fall baseball events. 

My son quit football in seventh grade when he got a stinger in a game, was carried to an ambulance on a stretcher, taken to a hospital 20 miles away, where they cut him out of his uniform on an exam table at a hospital to do an MRI (or something, I was too scared to know).

When it was time to register for the next season he told me--"Mom, I like football and I love baseball. I don't want to get hurt doing something I like and then not be able to do something I love."

He ran cross country and played basketball after that, but everyone knew baseball was his first love. Coaches put up with him because he was athletic and worked hard when he was at practices, but they knew if there was a camp or something, he'd be at baseball.

Just as a note — as he looked at colleges, he did decide he had to have one with a "big football" atmosphere. He loves Saturday game days still.

 

My son is in a bit of a different position with football and baseball.  He was just converted to a PO as a sophomore and is the starting QB this year as a Jr.  He has been to one camp since football started and it was about 2-3 weeks into football.  The offense that he plays in throws the ball A LOT and during practices he throws about 150-200 passes a week.  The camp he attended is FB was only 76 but during the summer he was throwing 82-84 consistently with a solid curve and change that has big arm side run.  Fall camps for mine are definitely now a no go since he bruised and battered every Saturday and I am worried that he may not get noticed.  

Thanks Umpin757. It makes sense that when they take the time and money to attend, we better have our best stuff to showcase. Otherwise, it may be a detriment.

Steve Wohnoutka