I rarely post but have often perused this site over the past 3 or 4 yrs. I haven't spent as much time doing that of late but since reading that the site may be shutting down at the end of the month, I just wanted to say thanks to those that gave caring and informative info. I have noticed of late that there are alot more put-downs of some of the posters which I have found somewhat bothersome but as anyone can, I just choose to go on to the next topic.
Having just lost the championship game for our D-III regionals and watching the guys (and the parents) get teary eyed over not quite making it and saying good-bye to the seniors, I thought about the fact that my son made the best decision for his playing and academic career and it could've been different if I hadn't found this site. Thanks to Bob H. for putting this all together.
My son finally picked a school based on the advice I gave him from one of the posters on here. I believe it was OldVanMan who once wrote about picking a school where you would actually play. If he's the newspaper guy who writes such great stuff for us to read, thanks, if I guessed the screen name wrong, then attribute to the one who is a news guy. The best advice I read on here was to go where you would play and if you got hurt, would you still want to go to school there. My son was not the best student and always struggled a little more than most of his friends. He wound up picking a school nearby-which was not his intention since he always dreamed of playing for a D-I down south, but as the time got nearer and his GPA was .2 less than he needed for D-I and alot of advice from his mom,that I gained from here, he picked a school where the coach seemed to really want him, the class size was smaller than a D-I would be and the team seemed to all get along and he had a good chance of starting. I was out of work the summer before his sr. year so we just couldn't afford the showcases that summer but TRHit talked with me on the phone and said the money wouldn't be an issue if I wanted to send him to CollegeSelect. So for those doubters out there that think he's all about money for his showcases, he's not. I didn't take him up on it but only because I've never been one to feel like I should take advantage of someone's generosity.
Anyway, I just wanted to let you guys know that we did take your advice and everything worked out. My son fit it with a great group of guys on his team who truly did get along so great and most importantly he set his goals for his life and knows what he has to do to get there. He even surprised me by ending the school yr. with a 2.9 GPA so we're all happy. Unfortunately we didn't quite make it to Wisconsin this yr. but there's the next 3 yrs. to try again and most importantly, he says he made the right choice 'cause if he got hurt he'd still want to go to this school.
So much advice if available on here and you can take away what you want from it and leave the garbage behind. Thanks for helping me to help my son reach the next level of success!
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