Biggest adjustment

My son doesn't play D3, but he does play D2.  I will say this, there is a wide spectrum of talent across any division, so a lot of it depends.  The high end teams that have realistic hopes of competing for a National Championship will have a much different set of challenges than a team that is in a weak conference and a bad team.

 

With that being said, I think the universal challenges are the managing of one's time and the general increase in competition.  And really, I'm not talking about competition from teams you play, but competition amongst your own teammates for play time.  Everyone playing at the college level has the talent to get them there.  Nothing is a given and every inning you play will have to be earned.  You will have to beat out your teammates for your time on the field.  For those who make it to college, that was usually not a factor on the HS team.  It was pretty much a given that they were good enough to start on their HS team.  Not so when you get to college.

 

In terms of managing your time, this is a big challenge and adjustment.  The kids will be on their own for the first time.  Practices and games are 5-7 days a week for multiple hours.  They have to learn to discipline themselves to get their school work done.  Teachers don't generally care if you pass or fail and will not go out of their way to help you.  There are no chances to make it up if you miss a HW assignment or test or quiz.  You miss it, you get a zero.  "Sorry, nothing I can do to help you" is usually the teacher's response.  It takes a lot of work to manage it all.  Better to start off strong during the semester than to struggle early and have to fight your last 2 weeks of the semester to make sure your grades are what they need to be.  It is not easy for everyone.

 

Hope that helps.

Yes, yes, yes, yes and much more.  Good post by bballman.  Biggest adjustment is cumulative effect of some or all of the following... better internal and external competition, away from home for first time, do your own laundry and cooking, learn to live with roommates, lengthier practice time and workouts for more months of the year, more demanding and tougher coaches, more demanding school work that you have to manage on your own for the first time, fight for PT for first time, missing friends and family, new social and geographical environment, new teammates, transportation issues, etc., etc.  Typically the biggest transformational year from boys to men. 

I think the more appropriate question should be "What is the biggest adjustment kids face going from high school to college baseball?"

 

Every preceding post has been spot on.  It's not just adjusting to a higher level of baseball, but an adjustment to college life in general - first time being away from Mom & Dad, adjusting to harder courses and professors that don't care if you are there or not, a new and/or different social atmosphere,  managing the demands of baseball and school work.  Almost have to think of it as having two jobs - the primary one is classes and school work, and a second job, baseball.  At JuCo and at D2, Foxson was on the go from 5-6 am until 10 pm on an average day.  Then add in spending all weekend at the ball park for games (3-4).

 

Then add in earning playing time, and 5-6 games a week as well as practice.  It's a grind.

This biggest adjustment is managing time and being responsible about it. College only gets hard if the student falls behind. Go to class (you'll miss some with baseball) and do your homework on time. Grades will never be an issue.

Agreed on college only getting hard if a student falls behind, PRESUMING the student is in a major that (still) makes sense for them and they are healthy physically, emotionally, and socially (e.g., bad break up with a GF), etc. Always go to class if humanly possible and do reading on-time or in advance to provide a buffer when you can't. Its all about time management.

 

Biggest this is the stuff off the field. The baseball is about the same.

I guess I respectfully disagree Infiekd. and agree with BBallman.  The off field is as everyone says but the on field is different too. As said before, probably every player that is playing in college, being on the field in HS was a given. Most of these guys played key positions  Many from freshman on sophomore on varsity. So that fact that there is someone as good if not better than you can be hard. Roster for HS goes from 12-20. college is 30- 35. Literally fighting for your position. I guess that happens in HS as well, just not to the guys who are playing in college, so for them it is very different. 

Whether it's D1 or D3, relative to the level there are five or six studs. They rest are fairly equal. The difference between playing and not playing becomes more mental than physical. The mentally tough survive the competition. The mentally tough stay prepared mentally and physically for the one moment that may be the door opening in their college baseball career.