College Fall Season - 2011

Just thought of something... this thread is open to all college players and parents and players and parents who have moved on. For players and parents who have been here before, let us know how the experience has changed if at all from the freshman season... thanks

OK, Dan. I'll start.

Son went to summer school with most of his fellow freshmen teammates. The conditioning coach put them through daily workouts that were intense, purposeful, and fun. The guys were given the run of the stadium and facilities for unsupervised throwing and hitting every day.

After summer school, he had six days off in mid-August, then began fall classes last week.

So far, he is in heaven.

He is totally impressed by the professional staff, especially the conditioning coach, on whom he has imprinted like a baby duckling. The conditioning coach said he can make him as strong as he wants to get, so he's doing extra workouts to test the theory.

He likes his teammates, roommate, and suite mates. All the frosh players live in the same wing of the same dorm. They have good work ethics and he never has trouble finding a partner for extra throwing or stretching work. Says he could never go back to being the only guy on the team who really wants it like he was in high school.

The schoolwork is much harder than high school. Mandatory supervised study hall is a good thing. He's real glad of the cushion he has from summer school and his AP work from high school so he doesn't have to take such heavy course loads during the school year.

The food in the athletes cafeteria is amazing. He's been hitting the free protein shakes pretty hard.

The upperclassmen players are grown men and very strong. (When college coaches tell recruits they'll be able to compete for playing time right away, they don't always mention that they'll be competing against guys who have already been through the fire of extreme testing and conditioning. There's a reason most freshmen sit.)

The baseball coaches aren't allowed to work with the players until official practices begin next month, so he has no idea where he stands baseball-wise. Everybody understands that the arrival of a new coaching staff that didn't recruit them means everyone has to earn everything from scratch.

He seems tired, busy, and happy. He knows it's going to be hard, but he thinks he's in the place that gives him his best chance to develop and improve.

quote:

Originally posted by Swampboy:
He is totally impressed by the professional staff, especially the conditioning coach, on whom he has imprinted like a baby duckling.

I know that guy , and I beleive it when recently told me that the best thing a freshman can do is get acclimated by attending summer school and begin conditioning.

Those studs coming out of HS look like little kids compared to most upperclassman.

I'll be honest here and say that when I saw this Thread started by CD I had a mixed bag of emotion. My first instinct was to smile. I remember the flood of emotion I had 3yrs ago with anxiousness, sadness, and great pride to be able to reply to such a thread.

My son was just now a new freshman beginning the dream of his life - college baseball. Away from home the first time. Making new friends and teammates. Embarking into his first chapter as a young adult.

3 long years of many twists and turns have past. The things I thought would happen and Id LIKE to see, well, some have and some haven't. For instance I remember taking the stance that when you commit to some THING, i.e. program, coach, etc. that you stand by it no matter what happens. Don't get me wrong, I still believe in that but little did I know that I couldn't see the UNFORSEEN things that my son would go through and cause me to see things in a different light. There was a certain Member on here at the time who tried to convince Me to be more open and I wouldn't have nothing to do with it. I wish I could remember his name so that today I could apologize to him.

Any new mom and dad whose son is away for the first time this fall...it's an exciting time for your son. He has a new world that is opening up to him that is unlike anything he has faced before. New responsibilities, choices, decisions, friends, classes, Professors, peer pressure, et al. They are "sizing" themselves up with the Upper classmen and all the other players on the team. They haven't a clue what will be expected of them when fall practice begins. How the competition will be stout. The conditioning will be ramped up. The tiny innuendos and quirks that the Upper classman will place upon them as frosh players.

When you call your players and they don't have much to say about things, don't force it. They may be dealing with some things that they're not ready to open up to you about just now. Just send them encouraging texts and emails supporting and loving them. When they want to talk they will call YOU. I promise. They will have some struggles - on the field and off. With Professors, coaches, and yes - teammates. Let them learn how to handle these things on their own. If they want your advise, they will seek it.

If you've heard it once here on HSBBW, you've probably heard it 100,000 times but let me be the one who tells you that 100,001 time. Please, if nothing else, make sure your son is taking classes that are towards his degree and NOT classes that are recommended by a coach just to keep him eligible to play in the spring. Today my son should be a Senior and he will be a Junior. He learned he hard way. Not for only this reason trust me but it contributed to it.

Good luck to your sons this fall and this year. I know there is a large amount of anxiousness on all your hearts and minds. It's the "unknown" that is the culprit! I know.

I am just blessed with the many friends on here who have supported me and my son these past 3yrs on his journey, and know how thankful and blessed I am today to be able to say that I am so glad that my son is HAVING a College fall season this year. God has been good to us all and my son is a better young man today for all he has been through.

If there are any parents on here who want/need advise on something new, please feel free to send me a PM. I'm pretty sure that I've been through it and might have something on the subject to say..lol.

Good luck to all!

YGD

That is simply a beautiful post. The kind of post I have only found on this site. From the heart. Honest. And with nothing but good intentions for those who read it. Thank you YGD. Thank you very much.

We dropped our son off at school on Saturday. He took a class earlier this summer and was able to get familiar with the lay of the land. He said the class was a lot of work but is glad that he went as he now has an idea of what is expected of him in the classroom. He found out Friday that he got his high school jersey number and can't wait for baseball to get started.

YGD - Thanks for the offer of advice, I may take you up on it some day.

For the first time in a long time, there is no fall season. The four years of competition are over, and he is in the "victory lap" as he calls it, to finish the 5 classes remaining due to the multiple transfers.

I think it is our friend Coach B25 whose signature reads "if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans". The journey certainly did not follow the roadmap we thought we had laid out in the spring/summer of 2011. In hindsight, would there have been some things done differently? Absolutely. Definitely some negatives in every stop along the way. However, the positives win in a landslide, even in the first (and worst) situation. He grew up, he made amazing friends and contacts, and still managed to maintain good grades, and prove to himself and those that doubted him, he put in the work, played at a high level, and was recognized for it. He knows how hard it is to achieve something he wants badly. The hours in the weight room, the running, time in the cage, and becoming the person he meant to be.

Just remember, it never goes as you think it is going to. Just be ready, deal with the situations as they arise, and make the most of every opportunity presented.

Nice post younggundad, all very true and I hope some of the folks that are just starting that journey read it a few times.

Our Fall season is soon upon us, this will be my son’s final year of Collegiate Baseball, he completed his final year of Summer Leagues last month or so.

Not too sure where I stand on this anymore…we are looking forward to a great season, hopefully his best ever…

The journey has not turned out exactly as planned, and the phrase “enjoy the ride” constantly comes to mind. These are perhaps the most enjoyable years that we have spent and will ever spend with our son. Sure he may get married one day and have kids, but these days will still be some of the most joyful days we ever get to experience.

My guy is working, putting on weight while he can (he lost a bunch over the summer), fine tuning his swing every day, and hitting the gym.

He will be a Senior this year, and I suppose will also be a team leader. He is a good leader, and it is a role I believe he will be successful at.

But it is a very bitter sweet time, knowing that my son may be done after this next season. It is a day that I have not adequately prepared myself for, and one that I have always hoped I would never have to face.

It is a day most do face however, some sooner than others. The opportunity to play at this level, is a privilege denied many.

When I begin to feel despondent, I realize how blessed I am, and my family is. Our children are healthy, and happy. For many, that would be more than enough to bring great joy and happiness.

As the journey enters this new phase, I need to continue to remember to relax and “Enjoy the Ride”, and accept the many blessings that my life has brought me and continues to bring each day, and be glad.

Dropped my son off Thursday at a D III. He is looking forward to Dall baseball starting and texted his Mom that he was in the middle of a wiffle ball game and he would talk to her later. he is getting to know his team mates and has already been to a Fraternity that some of the baseball players are in. They encouraged him to apply for a scholarship (the balanced man) that they offer. The coached searched him and a couple of other Freshman out on the first day to help get them ready. I wish him the best but sure do miss him already.

quote:

Those studs coming out of HS look like little kids compared to most upperclassman.

TPM: you aren't just whistling Dixie! Mine weighed in at this years Fall physical @ 25 lbs. over his Freshman weight. The transformation from boy to man this past year has been jaw dropping. He's especially enjoying today's on-field speed and conditioning work since it's 99 there but feels 102. The poor cool weather school & JC transfers are dying out there! Welcome to College baseball in the Southeast!


Great opening by C-Dad and terrific post by YGD. What a great place the HSBBW is for learning and sharing baseball and baseball parenting experiences!

I can only echo what has already been said a number of times regarding the surprises and twisting turns during "the journey."

I will remain positive both for myself and all of you pumped up about the excitement this coming year hopes to bring. There will certainly be a roller coaster of emotions for everyone, some exciting and some disappointing. Just remember the value of perseverance and a positive attitude. As a parent remember that as you "support your player" on and off the field.

Best of luck to all and I too am looking forward to both reading about the good times and hoping to post some of my own!

I am looking forward to the spring where I hope to make many more games this year than I did last year. Also I am looking forward to meeting some more HSBBW posters this coming season. Prime9 I hope Prime JR has as tremendous season. Even when we play you guys as long as we find a way to beat you.

Good luck to everyone's son this fall and spring.

Coach May,

My son played on the same summer team as Prime9's son and I don't know if you got the opportunity to meet him or the son any last year. But they are top notch folks and true baseball parents. His wife keeps a scorebook better than anyone! I was gonna suggest one day he break down and buy her an IPad for her but I honestly think she prefers the "old school" way. lol

His son is an absolute BEAST and CSU is going to have a tremendous season next year with him in the field and especially at the plate. I saw what he did this summer with a wood bat. I can only imagine what he will do with some metal in his hands!

I'm sure Jeff is looking foward to a big year as well.

I have not had the pleasure yet even though we did talk through pm some last season. I am hoping I get the chance this season. CSU is very good and I have no doubt PrimeJr is going to have a great season.

We took our son to his new home 1,400 miles away last week and got back to the empty house yesterday afternoon. This is when it really hit me that he will be away, more or less for good. I know he will be back in spurts, but he is off spreading his wings, as he should. As CD posted this is what this site is all about. I am thrilled for him as I think we have found a good fit, but as they say, time will tell and I expect there certainly will be challenges for him.

So far the roommate is a good match, his mom made the bed for the first, and probably the last time for the foreseeable future. The HC STILL seems genuinely excited to have him there (we will see once practice starts ) and he has already hooked up with a few of the incoming freshmen and they have fit in some baseball workouts during the weeklong general orientation. He has been on the school strength and conditioning program all summer and is already using the gym and is looking to make up some ground to the upper classmen as far as strength, size and speed. As TPM pointed out the reality of being the super stud HS senior to the incoming gremmie probably has not hit him yet. We have found the school’s approach and resources available for him to be incredible, and from a first impression we could not be happier with his choice. The friendly, helpful people of Texas are unsurpassed. Wow is all I can say.

I can’t emphasize this enough for those still looking into schools – look first for an academic match and THEN weigh in the baseball program. I believe the hours we spent in Fiske, Princeton, US News, and the countless websites have paid off. The 2615 posts here certainly have helped! Thank you to all who have PM’d me over the years. I would also be remiss without mentioning Mary Ann, who welcomed me and gave me my first advice on this site. God bless her and her family.

We have officially turned the page to a new chapter in his life. We have also moved from the “car salesmen phase” (what my wife calls college coaches) to the honeymoon phase. (before the reality of having to throw strikes to a 6’4” 230lb Sr with the bases loaded ) I am very excited for him, and a bit saddened for me….. hmm…...I wonder if his Jr. friend up the street needs some BP this evening?

Like others I am looking forward to hearing the other stories over the coming weeks.

This thread has already exceeded expectations...

How about some newbee's out there in the audience. You've read what has been posted thus far, get off your duff and sign up and let us know what is happening

This is a great thread.

FF, sending u a PM.

Oh it's going to be some fun years coming up. Three boys I watched grow up together, play on the same youth teams together, the same young travel teams and then high school. Now they've gone their seperate but connected ways. Off to play collegiate baseball in three different programs but all in the same conference. Look out Big South! Winthrop, CSU and Coastal.

Congrats to all!! I'm sure you are all very proud of your sons as they start their college careers. Also, to those who have veteran returners! Good job, it takes a village!

Gun had his first baseball activity Sunday. Class started today, first practice scheduled for Friday. I have to admit, we are blessed to have him close, he only went 4.2 miles to get to school. No cross country or long distance for us, we realize how special this opprotunity truly is.

The rest of the week will involve conditioning, physicals, equipment/gear issue, more meetings and some light throwing. GUN threw on his new field today for the first time as a rostered player, he was smiling from ear-to-ear!

The Chaps will hit it hard until the end of October. The fall workouts will end with the DUCKS and SKUNKS Intrasquad series. The best-of-five series dates back to the fall of 1970 when LCU coach Larry Hays devised the series to celebrate the end of fall practices. The name Ducks/Skunk dates back to 1962. At that time, LCU’s first baseball team needed uniforms. The Post Cereal Mill generously donated some left-over uniforms with a Skunk on them. So, the name stuck and the series evolved into an intrasquad match-up with bragging rights on the line. It also will serve as an opportunity for the LCU coaches fall evaluations and is the connerstone for preparing for 2012.

After their "runner-up" finish in the 2011 National Championship, they have very high expectations for the 2012 squad.

Life is good..... GED10DaD

GunEm,

Good luck to your son on the upcoming season. LCU is a fine program and they had a great 2011 season. I hope to see you in Lubbock in 2012.

BUM - Thanks very much. I can't wait to see Rusty throw again! I know he's ready.... I will be around for the Red & Black series for sure. The new Dan Law Field upgrades are moving along very quickly, its looking good!

Please let us know when you are in town. GED10DaD

Best of luck to all the incoming freshmen and their parents. Everything will be just fine. If any questions, I suggest the book "Don't Tell Me What To Do, Just Send Me Money" by Helen E. Johnson. This book was a great reference, and source of information for me. It is all about letting go of your college student, but still showing you care as this is going to be a new relationship with your son.

It was a heck of a lot easier saying goodbye as a rising sophomore parent than it was last year as a freshmen. But I have to admit his college did a fine job as surrogate parent, and turned my son into a learning machine. Not only about engineering and other studies but about life. He gets the "life thing" now...at least most of it. On that same note, he realizes a college sophomore is a great place to be and not in the record sweltering Virginia summer heat doing a Civil Engineering internship. Going to college, playing baseball and studying like nobody's business looks like a pretty darn good situation. He learns fast!

Son was fairly disciplined with his summer job, baseball conditioning & workouts, taught himself to speak German (I think it involves a girl), and managed to put on some weight by eating well and smart. His head coach wants to see him hit this Fall despite being a starting freshmen pitcher last year. So, he is psyched to get the opportunity to show what he can do with the bat. We'll see.

Captains practices started yesterday. They requested that he take one of the freshmen starting pitchers under his wing and show him the ropes. I told him he should be honored. He's looking forward to the official practices, and all the administrivia stuff is out of the way....so they can practice real baseball and play real baseball.

My wife and I are vowing to see more games this year, as I realize how precious this time is. Freshmen parents take note.....do whatever you can do to see as many games as possible. These 4 years go by so quick. If you have to take off a few days at work to see your son, by all means do it.

Son is considering college summer baseball or a summer or Fall semester abroad for next year. We'll see where it takes us, but I do know he really, really missed playing baseball this summer.

Swampboy said...

quote:

It sounds like traumatic emotional experiences have been taking place on the concrete ramp to the upper deck of the football stadium. Young men seeking God with hitherto unknown fervor . . . and seeing their lunches for a second time.

Swampboy...We have the same sick sense of humor, because I also love hearing those stories too. Son's football stadium stairs pray on unsuspecting (and unconditioned) freshmen both in the morning and at night! Good theatre.

fenway. Looking at the batting stats for Cornell from last year I can see why they want him to swing a bat. It surprises me that there are not more 2-way players in college. I get the programs that are top 50 where the level of competition (and resources) is very high, but for the rest of the mortals it seems strange that this is not done more. In HS the number 3 hitter is quite often the number 1 starter, so many pitchers can hit if given the chance. Remind him to "pop the chain" when he hits one out….

quote:

Originally posted by BOF:
fenway. Looking at the batting stats for Cornell from last year I can see why they want him to swing a bat. It surprises me that there are not more 2-way players in college. I get the programs that are top 50 where the level of competition (and resources) is very high, but for the rest of the mortals it seems strange that this is not done more. In HS the number 3 hitter is quite often the number 1 starter, so many pitchers can hit if given the chance. Remind him to "pop the chain" when he hits one out….

BOF, don't you think that programs have largely moved away from the old two-way player, pitcher hits approach during the past 10-15 years?

We play very competitive baseball here, as you do in Cal, and I can't remember a single #1 pitcher in our program that was a middle-of-the-order hitter much less played a position regularly. Not saying they can't, but believe it happens infrequently now just as is the case in College.

Not all, but many, have the top pitcher(s) as one of the top hitters. If I mentally scan through the local teams 1-no, 2-yes, 3-5hole, 4-yes, 5-5hole, 6-yes, 7-no, can't remmber beyond this.

So I get 3 of 7 plus two others with 5 hole hitters.

I agree CD, already a great thread. My son doesn't leave us until September 17, as his school is on a quarterly system. A few of his friends have already left for college, and his best friend leaves this weekend. Oh, did I mention his girlfriend leaves this weekend too? I'm going to have a bored 18 year old kid hanging around the house for the next three weeks. In the meantime, I guess he's going to have to play catch and work out with his old man for a few weeks!

I sincerely hope the best for all of the families that have kids going off to college for the first time...my FB page has been flooded with parents on the same boat as us. It's definitely a new chapter, I'll have more to say after 9/17.

Prime9 said...

quote:

BOF, don't you think that programs have largely moved away from the old two-way player, pitcher hits approach during the past 10-15 years?

I assume we are talking about college. Common sense would tell me the more competitive the conference the more difficult it is to be a two-way player. The Danny Hultzens of the world are extremely rare.

For son's conference I think it has more to do with the coaches philosphy, the players and results. We're not talking about SEC, ACC or PAC 10, 11 or 12. Son's team did not really have a two way player last year, but they had two-way players in previous years. The previous head coach allowed pitchers to hit if they proved they could do the job is what a couple senior parents told me. Last years 2010 conference winner had at least two two-way players (SS and 1st base) that come to mind. One two-way player was all-conference and the other was a freshmen all-american. The conference winning coach had no problem with two way players. I have serious reservations about the longevity of a P/SS two-way player at the college level but it worked for them last year. I think any coach has to (at least) consider the athletes he has at his disposal to give his team the best chance to win. When you have a conference champion that successfully utilized two-way players, I think it is worthy of looking into if your team is not wearing a conference ring.

bsbl247,

Best of luck in the coming weeks. Enjoy your time with family.

Well, it's been a week since we dropped 1B off at school. He is adjusting, and I believe he has ditched his new friend "Murphy's Law". Had a rough couple of days in the beginning, I'm thinking the stress of being away from home, new friends, sizing up the competition and stressing about classes made things seem worse than they really were.

Had a genuine conversation with him last night and I could hear the beaming smile in his voice! He is adjusting. Classes are good, professors seem cool, and the baseball is "sick".(his words) Practices started on Tues and depending on this weekends weather they are going to inter-squad.

We are going to make a trip down in a couple of weeks to bring him his car, and check out a game or two, so looking forward to it!

Dropping son of today for second year of college. My worries and sadness are almost gone, compared to last year. Would feel a bit better if we werent dropping him of right before a hurricane hits. Son is excited to get back to school and more baseball.

Update that I thought the parents of freshmen players might want to read.

Make sure your players stay as hydrated as possible and eat...every meal. Son had a short stay in the ER yesterday BECAUSE of not doing these things. And knows better. Encourage them to drink water or something hydrating every hour during this conditioning period.

He's back in the dorm now (only stayed 3hrs) and was ******* down a gallon of water! lol

YGD

Jr has been at school for 2 weeks now and last night was the first time I got to talk to him longer than a few short words, followed by a “I gotta run”. He is completely settled and into routine now. At this point (baseball wise) they are doing mostly strength and conditioning. There is on field activity but the individuals schedule their own work. Because of the limited contact hours it seems like the older players are really driving the program right now. I can also see how a successful program feeds off of the previous success of Jr’s and Sr’s. The older kids are using a lot of words like “success starts right now, success in the spring happens in the fall, you want your class to be one who has been to 4 straight regionals” They are also not putting up with any BS, and seem to be preparing the freshmen for the coming storm of the “psychotic head coach” once full practices start. If the team does not do certain thing the head coach wants when he wants it done, then they will be out running on Sat morning at 6AM. Also sounds like he is learning lots of new colorful words. The kids at his school have to be pretty smart just to get in so they are using some pretty descriptive words for the coming fall grind. (google ELE, pretty funny)

They have broken the team up into groups of three for S&C work. Two upper classmen with a freshmen. Later in the fall they break them up into teams and they compete against each other. It makes the S&C a bit more intense and more fun once they get to their competition.

Some video form last years group. Looks like a lot of fun mixed in with hard work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...JoAY&feature=related

Son is a freshman and is experiencing talk of freshmen hazing from upperclass baseball players. What is it all about and do we have reason for concern? I realize this is probably common but we are concerned for him.

"talk of hazing from upperclass players."

I wouldn't be concerned about talk. I don't believe that hazing, the real demeaning and physical stuff that you've heard and read about in years past, is at all common in baseball. My son experienced just the opposite; an immediate welcoming by his teammates and involvement in all things social and baseball by all the upperclass players.

There will always be some special "jobs" (heck almost all the on-field jobs) reserved for Freshmen along with the usual jokes etc. It's part of "boy"life. I can remember my wife, who grew up with only sisters, watching our young adolescent son interact with a bunch of boys, saying " why are boys so rough and mean to each other?" To which I replied, "they aren't being mean, that's just how boys relate."

If anything beyond that behavior occurs, your son will need to man up and fend for himself. In the end, his baseball skills and his character will trump and put an end any other non-sense especially if he's unwilling "to rollover"and be a victim.

GUNs first two weeks have been a tornado of activity. He's taking 16 hours, classes are going well and he's settled into his normal academic routine. We are very thankful his high school focused strong academics while balancing athletics. Daily, in the gym from 0745 - 0900, then off too class until 1300. They have a break, mon-thur for chapel at 1100-1130. Baseball from 1430-1730. So far, all OTAs involve meetings, strength training/conditioning. Thankfully, he's bought into the program and is actually thriving. But, again he's close to home so he is not dealing with being homesick.

Baseball practice starts September 12th. Wooohoooooo!

BTW - here's a pic of his strength and conditioning coach. Nice guy, but he's intense!



GED10DaD

I have really enjoyed reading about all your guys and am excited for each and every one that gets this experience. No matter how it all ends up it is just too much fun along the way!

Son is settling in for his Junior year, and we have witnessed the biggest year to year change in him yet. He is one of the three longest tenured players on the team, and while he has been a humble, hard working player all along, he has not carried the inner confidence I sense in him right now. It must be a transition that several experience but it is neat to see it first hand.

I think a lot of the change came with turning 21 this summer and the brief injury shortened summer experience in the Coastal Plains League. It was there that he got confirmation from coaches and teammates that he belonged, that he could have a little more time left in the game if he would only reach out and grab it. It may also come with what he calls “man-muscle” and the strength training he has committed to. He has added between 10-15 lbs. from last season.

Most likely this change is the natural progression to manhood that everyone takes, but when you remember flipping the whiffle ball to him like it was just yesterday, it is fun to watch, but difficult to sit back like you now have to. And you quickly find out – you can’t talk to him like you used to, you give less advice, and atta-boys have less meaning now – because the boy is not a boy anymore.

He is fortunate each September to get interaction with all his former teammates that return from MILB. They share the stories, the work outs, the problems and the fun with their buddies. It is a constant cycle at the local university that we have witnessed for the last 3 years, guys that have hung up their cleats returning to finish school (Tino Martinez took classes last year to get his degree); guys in the midst of chasing promotion from rookie ball to Class A, from Class A to AA, etc; and guys returning to coach after there MILB experience is up. It is a pleasant cycle to witness – and is only a result of an excellent coaching staff that builds leaders, one ballplayer at a time. Leaders that are successful no matter the path they end up on.

The one trait son hasn’t changed, and I should be careful about it too, is messing with Baseball Karma. No predictions of success, no comments about the next level, no obviate outward appearance of ME - other than to work as hard as possible…every single day…to be in the best shape, have the best mindset and carry the best attitude to be prepared for whatever may come his way. I only know of one goal he will admit to outwardly – to have the team win the DII championship this year.

I can live with that.

Nice! We look forward to enjoying another season with you both!

Back at ya FF!! Best to you and Wendy!

BOF,

I enjoyed the you-tube video that Trinity put together. It reminded me of videos that University of San Francisco used to send out a couple years back to recruits. What a great way to build chemistry with the team, some good old fashion hard work...and bobbing for apples, good stuff!


GED,

I remember your son in Arizona last year, he was a big strong kid. After seeing the photo of his college strength and conditioning coach above, it looks like you don't have to worry about him staying in shape? Hopefully the coach recognizes the difference between a Body Builder (his above photo) and a baseball player!


Seriously, as I said to BOF via PM last week, I'm going to enjoy following our HSBaseball kids this season. Good luck to everyone!

quote:

Originally posted by bsbl247:
GED,

I remember your son in Arizona last year, he was a big strong kid. After seeing the photo of his college strength and conditioning coach above, it looks like you don't have to worry about him staying in shape? Hopefully the coach recognizes the difference between a Body Builder (his above photo) and a baseball player!

Thanks, and yes the S/C coach is very good. We are very fortunate.

quote:

Originally posted by bsbl247:
Seriously, as I said to BOF via PM last week, I'm going to enjoy following our HSBaseball kids this season. Good luck to everyone!

It is going to be a very good year!

GED10DaD

Even though my son is so far away I couldn't be happier. He is so happy at school and loves his team. He had his first captain's scrimmage yesterday and thought he did well. He even likes his classes. There is nothing better than a happy child.

You are so right- there is nothing like a happy kid to make a parent happy. My son is a senior this year, or as he said to his academic advisor a redshirt junior. He was injured and had surgery last season so hopefully gets another year of eligibility from the NCAA. He has been able to make lemonade out of lemons this summer. Without being able to play summer ball while rehabbing his injury he had a great summer internship in finance.

He has had a great college experience despite being injured. He chose the right school and bb program for him. Coaches have integrity and are excellent role models. The academics have been excellent. We did tons of research prior to comitting but in the end there is still lots of luck involved in how things turn out. Best thing the boys can do is what has been said here many times-control what you can (work your butt off) and learn not to sweat the things you can't control.

My son is a senior as well, and I can't believe how quickly his college days are passing by. Although three years have passed, it seems like yesterday that we dropped him off for the first time. His time there has been a positive one overall, even though there have been hills and valleys along the way. You never know what's going to happen in a career -- issues can pop up that range from academics to rooming situations to playing time to injuries -- but that's which makes the experience so rich. This is how your student and player learns to fend for himself and develop as a person, and this is where the control levers move from the parents to the kids.

We've been lucky in many ways. He's still at his original school -- many of his high school and travel teammates have switched once or twice -- and he still really enjoys it: the program, his teammates, the classes, the professors, the campus. Sure, there have been a few frustrations, but he's grown up so much learning to handle his own life and career, from his academic workload to playing summer ball to doing an internship. And he's on track to graduate next May.

I would tell freshman parents to relax and let your sons find their own way. Your support should remain steadfast, even if things don't always go perfectly on the field or off. But it helps him to know that you're behind him. Now that my son's a senior, he's trying to help new freshmen adjust just as some of the former players helped him.

As the lifting and skill work switches over to the fall practice stage in a week, he's ready to do it one last time. I can't wait to watch him.

Great senior Dad advice here from CaBB and catfish342. This sophomore Dad is soaking it in!

CaBB said....

quote:

We did tons of research prior to comitting but in the end there is still lots of luck involved in how things turn out. Best thing the boys can do is what has been said here many times-control what you can (work your butt off) and learn not to sweat the things you can't control.

Amen to that brother!

catfish342 said....

quote:

We've been lucky in many ways. He's still at his original school -- many of his high school and travel teammates have switched once or twice -- and he still really enjoys it: the program, his teammates, the classes, the professors, the campus. Sure, there have been a few frustrations, but he's grown up so much learning to handle his own life and career, from his academic workload to playing summer ball to doing an internship

I would tell freshman parents to relax and let your sons find their own way. Your support should remain steadfast, even if things don't always go perfectly on the field or off. But it helps him to know that you're behind him. Now that my son's a senior, he's trying to help new freshmen adjust just as some of the former players helped him.

Great stuff.

Last week son said he ran until he could run no more, then he ran again.

:-)

Son starting his freshman year as a walkon. It's been like a yo-yo so far.

The paperwork and aggravation before his final decision was made were torture. Then the orientation, and meeting the coaches and players, seeing the facilities were "awesome".

At first classes were a lot tougher than he expected. Once he got settled (study tables and tutors) and realized that classes aren't 7 hours a day like high school, it seems to be smooth sailing.

He thought he was in great shape and then the early "hell-week" type conditioning made him wonder if he was going to make it. By week's end it seemed everything was under control and he was competing well with the new and returning players.

The lated hurdle is all the changes the coaches are suggesting across the board. As one would expect, the changes feel clumsy and it's frustrating as he knows he could do better the "old way". Also frustrating is that the coaches haven't really seen him in action before suggesting changes. A lot of assumptions being made (on both sides IMO).

I've been telling him to listen to the coaches. Watch the upperclassmen, ask questions if he doesn't understand, and to give the new things a try.

I'm guessing there will be some other yo-yo event on the horizon.

For better or worse, he needs to listen to the coaches. They in fact have his best interest in mind and success as their goal.

That said, however, there is no guaranty of success even if he makes those changes.

If he makes the changes and succeeds, that's the end of the issue.

If he makes the changes and it doesn't work, he can either return to his old style in summer ball or try a new style in summer ball. If he succeeds in summer ball with his old style the coach will probably tinker no more.

Here is an awesome article written locally about our very own BUM's son, beginning his 1st year at Tech.

Ready For His Chance!

Guns up! GED10DaD

Thanks for posting that. Great stuff!

Great article! He looks strong and I was impressed by his maturity throughout the article. I am sure the rest of the team will benefit by his presence, and the coaches will have someone that they can rely on.

Good luck and go get 'em Bum Jr!

quote:

Originally posted by GunEmDown10:
Here is an awesome article written locally about our very own BUM's son, beginning his 1st year at Tech.

Ready For His Chance!

Guns up! GED10DaD

"Good things come to those who wait." Great article. Best of luck!!!!!

My son is a freshman. His school brings freshmen in for a short session in July. He was able to take two classes and start working with the strength and conditioning guy. In our opinion, this was a GREAT idea. He got two classes out of the way, he learned the lay of the land a little bit and he gained 8 pounds of muscle!

He's not a huge fan of going to school but he is getting good grades. He acts like he has no time to do all of the work but the mandatory study halls for freshmen are filling that perceived void.

Weightlifting is intense, practices seem to be fun. He's learning a new position and gets tons of swings and groundballs each day.

This weekend were the first two scrimmage games. I think he was excited and nervous about the weekend. Didn't get much out of him until he called Friday night. He was 0-4 but hit the ball hard four times and he was happy about that! Then on Saturday, he got his first two hits...a double and a 3-run home run!

This experience seems to be all about him realizing that he belongs there and he CAN do it. HS was always easy in the class and on the field. Now he's got tougher assignments and much more competition for a position in the lineup.

Every day he learns that he CAN get A's in his classes. He CAN get up and lift at 6am every day. He CAN figure out how to eat properly. He CAN learn a new position. He CAN hit D1 pitching. He CAN deny the partying peer pressure.

He is so much more mature and advanced than I was when I was his age. I could not be more proud of him.

Thank you all so much. God bless America.. we shall never forget.

Pappi awesome post. I loved reading that.

Bum- Great article on Rusty. Best of luck to him this season, I'll be pulling for him to have a big year for the Red Raiders.

GED10- Thanks for posting the article, very good stuff.



Hey biggerpappi- I enjoyed your post and your son's CAN do spirit!

Congrats BUM. Only the best for him this Fall and Coming Spring.

I'm one of those guilty ones that spent alot of time on this site researching the recruiting process my son's HS SR year but have been AWOL since. Sorry for the absence.

Son went to Jamestown ND (NAIA, about 560 miles away) Fall of '10. He was miserable. Just wanted to be back in his hometown reliving his senior year of HS and hanging with his HS buds. No idea how fall ball went that fall (he offered very few details) but I imagine it could not have been too great given his state of mind. He wound up redshirting.

He is now back in school as a redshirt freshman. What a difference a year makes. He was anxious to have summer end so he could get back and hook up with his college buddies. Fall ball started a week ago and he texted me (that's a major communication breakthrough for him) that he went 2-for-3 in the 1st scrimmage. Anytime he tells me ANYTHING it means he's feeling good about things.

A friend of mine and I decided we'd make the drive to go see him this weekend. We are hoping to catch Friday's practice and are very excited to see how practice is run and how he stacks up.

Way too early to tell if he has a shot at varsity this year. But who cares? He's feeling good about his college and his baseball and thats good enough for me.

Can't wait to see him.

Nice post MT. Keep us posting and I hope he has a great year. And the most important thing is he is having fun and feeling good about things. Good luck

Welcome back MT. A GREAT post, best of luck on a great year to your son!

GED10DaD

I agree, great post MT. I like your son's new attitude. The excitement in your post is something all of us parents can appreicate.

Good luck to your son.

Tomorrow(Wed.) son's team starts their official Fall practices with scrimmages Friday and Saturday. I can hardly wait! I'm eagerly awaiting the posting of the Fall roster also as the team only has 16 returnees not including one out for the year with an injury. I'm curious to see who all the new guys are since son said there's around 42 to 45 guys doing the pre Fall workouts and meetings.

.

quote:

Originally posted by CaBB:

....We did tons of research prior to comitting but in the end there is still lots of luck involved in how things turn out. Best thing the boys can do is what has been said here many times-control what you can (work your butt off) and learn not to sweat the things you can't control.

44
.

I have not posted much since June. June was a real disappointment in our home. It was amazing how teams can build up expectations, and how crushing it can feel when all you are left with is a sense of discouragement.

This will be my guys final collegiate season. Fall practices have begun in earnest now, hitting in cages, loosening up the arm and getting ready for a new spring season.

Coach did not want them throwing much before last week, and my son has said that he can tell he has been shut down as he reawakens his arm. Although he stopped playing the end of July, prior to that he played every inning of every game, so I don't imagine the downtime will have a lasting impact in any negative way.

Fortunately for us my son plays about 80 miles away, so once they begin scrimmages we will probably head down and catch a few of those. I always try to get there early enough to watch them warm up on the infield and take BP. This season I will do likewise and try to savor every moment.

Spring will be right around the corner here in Florida. I believe our season begins at the end of January.

One thing that had my son excited was the possibility of playing the Yankees early in our season. Unfortunately it appears that the only opportunity for that would occur just before we begin our conference games. Coach is not sure he can afford to use our pitchers in a practice game so close to our season begining.

We shall see! And as everyone out there who has been through this knows, but those who are just begining or in the middle of this experience may not know: Enjoy the ride, it goes by faster than any of you could possibly want.

FF, keep that head up and look forward. Fortunately for you and especially for your son, the fat lady has not even began to warm up yet. Talent cannot be hidden or kept at bay but for so long. I have a feeling that Eric is about to go crazy next spring.

J-Dub had his first fall inner-squad scrimmage last week. (seems like his first in 10yrs..lol.) He too has not pitched since the end of July on his summer team. Just a lot of long tossing, couple of bullpen's, etc. They were given a 30 pitch count. 27 strikes, 3 balls. He was happy as a lark. lol

YGD

p.s. Isn't it ALWAYS spring in Florida? lol

The time had finally arrived. My wife and I dropped our son off at college Sunday afternoon. It was a little easier than I anticipated, as I could feel his excitement of being on his own and the independance he'll now enjoy. We helped him set his dorm up and took him out to an early dinner afterwards. We spent some good quality time together and gave him the typical parental advice. I drove him back to campus, and I had a gut feeling that it may become emotional for my wife. So rather than walk him back to his dorm, I pulled to the curb and kept the motor running in my Suburban, I got out, gave him a big hug, told him that I loved him and I was proud of him, nice and quick.....Okay, in comes my wife. The waterfall was flowing before she could get to my son for her hug and she continued with the flow of tears for the first fifteen minutes of our drive back home, we're going to miss him!

During the drive home I reminded her that he's only 72 miles away. She replied, "yes, I realize he's close, but it's never going to be the same again. He is a baseball player, so he won't have as much time at home during the holidays and summer." I thought about it, ya know, she's right! My son will go through the 2011-2012 school year and baseball season and be finished in mid-June. He has already been assigned to his summer team in Washington, which will start immediately after school ends, and leave him with about three weeks with mom and dad next summer before he's back at school again for his sophomore year.

There are many parents on this site with children in college much further away than our son. Some are student-athletes playing baseball or other sports, and some are just students finding their way. Other parents have kids that are in the military serving our country on foreign soil thousands of miles away. It doesn't matter if our kids are ten miles from us or ten thousand, as parents, we miss them just the same. But I'll admit, I'm very fortunate.

My son has batting practice tomorrow morning, and his first college bullpen. I'll call him tomorrow night to see how everything went. I'm sure he'll do great...he has worked his buns off to get where he's at, I'm proud of him.

P.S.- I have a daugter that's a senior in HS...my wife and I will go through this again next year and become "Empty Nesters"...but that's another thread!

quote:

P.S.- I have a daugter that's a senior in HS...my wife and I will go through this again next year and become "Empty Nesters"...but that's another thread!

LOL yes it is.

Best of luck this year.maybe we will meet if were around for the weekday games aginst Irvine.Your wife is right, it will never be the same,BUT it changes, and its a new phase.Your wife and you may both be a little down that this phase of childrearing is over,but new challenges arise,and you will enjoy seeing him face and overcome them.He has great parents so he will make you proud,That I am sure of.

Hey Fan,

Hopefully my kid gets the opportunity to travel with the team, and you and I can meet up at USC when they play this season. Your son had a very good summer, and I know that he'll take that swagger into the regular season for his senior year. Take care and thanks for the kind words.

bsbl247...I hate to be the bearer of bad news but since no one else seems to be stepping up to the plate to tell you, I will.

Empty nesting is a FALLACY. lol. Trust me. I'm learning first hand.

My daughter is a freshman in college this year...and I'm not seeing a end to freedom anytime SOON. lol.

Enjoyed your "drop off" story. Thanks for sharing it with us.

YGD

Greetings All...this is a wonderful thread and its great to hear how the Fall practice season is going for all of our kids.

My son has had a wonderful start thus far to his Freshman year. He attends a top NAIA University in the Central US which finished 2nd in their conference last year, just missing the Regional by a single win.

Coach informed him yesterday that he will be suiting up and playing with the Varsity this Spring as a Pitcher! Woot! I'm so proud of him right now, he's getting to live his dream of playing baseball at the collegiate level!! Does it get any better than this?

I have to admit, living only 30 minutes away from his school has been something of a God send for Mom and I. We've gotten to swing by and watch him compete on the hill in two scrimmages this far and we relished every single moment of it.

My son has arrived. Thanks to all of you for helping make his dream come true!

-ltf

quote:

Originally posted by LuvToFish:
My son has arrived. Thanks to all of you for helping make his dream come true!
-ltf

Yes he has Mom! Congrats to you and your son.

Loved the post!!!

I began following the discussions on this site as a guest when I was a high school sophomore dreaming of a chance to "play at the next level." But now, one month into my college experience as a student-athlete, I realize something...I didn't quite understand what the "next level" actually meant. I didn't foresee the hours of lifting and running and batting practice that awaited me; I was just a 16 year old who had decided he wanted to play college ball. Now, these activities are the norm, and they have been ever since that point when I decided that I had a dream. I couldn't have wished for more from the experience. The lessons I have learned from my high school teachers, coaches, trainers, friends, and most importantly family members, are indeed directly applicable to college life (or for the rest of my life, for that matter). I have felt so well prepared for my classes, practices, social interactions, and I have only the great people who have been around me to thank. I also want to thank the insightful posters on HSBBW for your willingness to share so much knowledge about baseball and life in general through this forum. The experiences that I have read about here are starting to become so real to me now on and off the field. Patience and persistence are truly virtues required of any student-athlete who wants to be the best that they can be. If I could share one thing with a high schooler with a goal of playing baseball in college, it would have to be that this experience, the experience of moving from high school to college, only comes once in a lifetime, so you have to embrace it and take ownership of the identity you want to create. I have survived one month of college classes and baseball at an Elite-Academic DIII school. And I can't wait to experience the rest.

Just returned from watching son's scrimmage. He told me beforehand he would throw only one situational inning, but I nevertheless felt compelled to drive 16 hours to watch him throw what turned out to be 13 pitches.

He pitched well enough to encourage the hope that he can eventually grow into a useful role on the team, but the highlight of the trip was the dinner afterwards.

Seeing the skill of some of his teammates who clearly possess a higher order of athletic talent while still falling short of true prospect status reminded me that the rungs get farther apart the higher one climbs on the ladder and might have caused me to lower my estimate of his potential baseball ceiling.

However, talking to him over dinner raised my estimate of the quality of man he is becoming and the kind of life he is building for himself.

What I heard at dinner was a young man who is joining a community of hard working, disciplined men and learning what it takes to succeed at whatever he puts his hand to.

He is tremendously impressed by the professionalism of the coaches and the staff. He has figured out that these people have the cool jobs they do because they committed themselves to mastering their craft and they pursued it with discipline and purpose. He marvels that the coach posts a minute-by-minute practice schedule in the locker room every day, covering the activities of every player, and every player is expected to know the plan before he steps on the practice field. He further marvels that the coach has already written, subject to change, plans for every practice for the rest of the fall, and that the players are on notice that any minutes of practice lost to bad weather will be made up on the weekends because the coach is determined to use every minute the NCAA gives him to its best advantage. Similarly, the conditioning coach has a plan for every workout, and no workout ever gets repeated.

Because he has these role models setting these examples, he is taking more responsibility for organizing his own life. In order to go to dinner with me, he had had to perform that night's mandatory study hall hours in advance. A month ago, I'm not sure he would have diagnosed the time conflict in time to permit solving it.

He is also buying into what the coach is teaching about taking responsibility to meet performance standards. For example, in the scrimmage, each pitcher started with a runner on second and one out and faced four batters. After each batter, the situation was re-set to one out, but the runners stayed at whatever bases they had earned. The performance standard for the pitchers was to prevent the runner from scoring and to retire three of the four batters while throwing 15 or fewer pitches. That's the goal. Overcome whatever bad luck befalls you and take responsibility for meeting it. The batters had their own standards based on the situations they faced: if there was a runner on second, their assignment was simply to get on base; if there was a runner on third, their job was to get him home one way or another.*

I see this sense of responsibility carrying over into his schoolwork. So far, his assignment and quiz grades are excellent, but more impressive to me is that he seems acutely aware of what is coming up on the horizon and how that affects what he should be doing right now. He insisted I drop him off at his dorm by 9:30 because he had to be in bed at 10:00 to get up at 5:30 and carry out a plan of the day that won't have fifteen unclaimed minutes until he goes to bed.

He is using his time wisely. He respects the people he is spending it with, and it looks like he is beginning to earn their respect in return. Whatever line of work he pursues after college, he will be better at it because of what he is learning and doing now.

I went back to my hotel jubilant and encouraged, and baseball was only a small part of the reason.


*Note: In case you're wondering, he did meet the standard for the scrimmage. The runner on second stayed at second. He got three outs: a strikeout and two pop flies. Only the 2nd batter achieved his objective: he reached base by leaning into an 0-2 two-seamer and getting grazed on the forearm.

GREAT post Swampboy!


Moneyball...keep working hard, and keep us posted on your progress.


LuvTofish...enjoyed your post as well, take advantage of that 30 minute drive!

Moneyball12;

Welcome! It's very insightful to read a new players perspective of College baseball experiences.

Swampboy; you nailed the description of how detailed the daily practice plans are at a serious baseball program. I was most impressed by their preparation and dedication than perhaps anything else except the execution of it on the field. It is a whole new world and agree that the impact certainly carries over into our players character!

Swampboy- great post that should be in the thread about D1 practice hours. Congrats to you for raising such a great son that is smart and motivated and is figuring out college and baseball and thriving.

I think your 16 hour drive was worth every minute! Your son knows how long that drive was and I'm sure really appreciated your effort. As a parent it is priceless to see how they are adjusting to college life. You can now be certain he will be successful on and off the field. Obviously success is measured differently by everyone but I just felt my son was a success just getting to the level of college baseball that he aspired to. Any thing else on top of that was gravy. Luckily he didn't share my attitude and has continued to work his butt off.

Again, congratulations on your sons success and enjoy it- goes waaaaaay too fast!

Son called today and I don't know who's happier, me or him. He's off to a great Fall start with ten hits in fifteen at bats with a couple of walks and five or six steals. Today he hit his first homerun off the top of the scoreboard which is a pretty good shot in that park. The coach even called a pitchout immediately after giving him the steal sign but he still beat the throw. He was wondering why it was a close play when he had a good jump. But the coach told the guys in the dugout, watch this and then tried that trick on him. But he still made it. Any way, he's battling and I hope it pays off in the spring.

Nice report! Sounds like your son is doing very well, when are you headed over to watch a game?

Thanks floridafan. I hope to head up in mid October to catch the three Green and White games that close out the Fall. A heavy work schedule has prevented me from going any sooner.

quote:

Originally posted by Three Bagger:
Son called today and I don't know who's happier, me or him. He's off to a great Fall start with ten hits in fifteen at bats with a couple of walks and five or six steals. Today he hit his first homerun off the top of the scoreboard which is a pretty good shot in that park. The coach even called a pitchout immediately after giving him the steal sign but he still beat the throw. He was wondering why it was a close play when he had a good jump. But the coach told the guys in the dugout, watch this and then tried that trick on him. But he still made it. Any way, he's battling and I hope it pays off in the spring.

The excitement just oozes from your post as it should considering your boys .666 performance! I know the pitching can't be that down so I'm with you in that he must be hot!!

Best of luck, hope to see you this year. I'm guessing we go out there if we play??

Prime9,

When our schedule came out about a month ago, one of the first things I checked was if we were playing you guys again( after what yall did to us last year, that might not be a good thing for us. ) Unfortunately I don't see yall on our schedule. So good luck to your son this season and maybe we'll meet in the playoffs! By the way, is your son working out at first or the outfield or a combination of both?

quote:

Originally posted by Three Bagger:
Prime9,

When our schedule came out about a month ago, one of the first things I checked was if we were playing you guys again( after what yall did to us last year, that might not be a good thing for us. ) Unfortunately I don't see yall on our schedule. So good luck to your son this season and maybe we'll meet in the playoffs! By the way, is your son working out at first or the outfield or a combination of both?

A combination of both; with older experienced players ahead in both spots. He needs to really hit!

They haven't posted our schedule yet, was hoping we would come your way. As you say, "hope to see you then in post season play and will follow your progress.

I, too, have somewhat strayed away from this and other baseball related websites since my son went away to play college ball in the fall of '10 but I have recently gotten that urge again to peek in on what people's thoughts are and what similar baseball fanatic's like me are chewing on these days. That lead me to this thread and I have to admit that many of the representations folks have shared are spot on with what we experienced with our son last year during his first year away and then again with what has gone on with him this year thus far. It's actually quite amazing how similar some of the various posters experiences are to our own sons'. We had a little additional twist to our individual experience which I don't believe I've seen written about thus far on the thread which I would like to share and that is dealing with having your son get injured during his first year away from home when he is simultaneously going through a boatload of "first's" in his life. As with most players, I'm sure, who are fortunate to go to college and are afforded the opportunity to play collegiate baseball, our son had experienced mostly success in his career up to that point and did very little (if any) bench-warming or "charting pitches" which, upon incurring a debilitating stress fracture to his lower back in fall ball of his Freshman year - unfortunately improperly diagnosed the first four weeks of fall ball which contributed to the coaching staff getting somewhat the impression that maybe he was not quite the player they had recruited which I guess we can say was thankfully was forgotten upon him having his meeting with the orthopedic physician who gave us all the bad news of his injury and made us aware he would need to be fitted with a custom made back brace which he would end up wearing night and day for 12 weeks - he got to do a ton of plus in addition to all the observing - probably for the first time in his life - having to do so in a place that was 1,700 miles from home. This all added up to an arduous first year and one that has provided lessons too numerous to count for him. I'll just mention a few key ones he learned - such as you shouldn't ever take anything for granted as things that are very important to you and you put an extraordinary amount of credence in and import can be taken away from you in the blink of an eye. Another is that you need to learn to figure things out on your own in life and you grow up very fast as a result of being forced to do. As an injured player, you find yourself to be someone who understandably doesn't garner a whole lot of the coaching staff's attention as they are attempting to win games and deal with the myriad of issues that the healthy player's have and can't necessarily spend a lot of time coddling the injured players or making sure they are mentally progressing or know what they should be doing or focusing on and that they are still a viable part of the program and need to simply work on getting healthy so they can soon contribute as they were expected to when they were recruited. Those sound very simple but we're talking about 18 year old kids . . . who, three months earlier were putting their cereal bowls in the sink at home and asking Dad for gas money and money for Chipotle after practice . . . As a parent, I admit that it was so very tough to see our son standing there in his street clothes first then eventually his uniform just not being able to do anything about his situation other than to count the days, weeks or months it was going to take to allow his back to heal. Praying incessantly or wishing/wanting so badly just to be able to get out there and contribute doesn't help the healing process or speed things up in the least or I can guarantee you he wouldn't have missed a single inning of a single game! Nonetheless, it's a new year and (knock on wood) all of his hard work and rehab seems to have done the trick as he is poised to start to realize his potential and thus far, is getting rave reviews from the HC on down for his work the past month (bootcamp and now practice) and each day last year seems to get further and further in his rear-view mirror. By posting this, I guess I wanted folks to understand that your player might go through a similar type of thing while he is away from home and at college and knowing what we were faced with might allow you to maybe giving some thought in advance on how you might collectively deal with that were it to happen to your son. Things like flying out to be with him for various doctor's appointments or MRI's or X-rays are must do's as I can promise you attempting to get updates from your 18 year old about what was said or what needs to be done when you aren't in attendance can also be almost just as frustrating. Lastly, the one thing we didn't maybe do a good enough job of (looking back now through the lens after the fact reflection provides) was just appreciating what he was enduring and should have probably given him some space and not (while obviously well meant) asked him twice a day (mom once, dad once) "how's your back feeling?" as that probably only served to cause him as much frustration as not being able to play did! That's it for now and it's good to be back in the blogosphere! Thanks.

Thought people might be interested in fall update on this story:


Baseball America Article:

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—Nearly eight months after receiving a kidney from Wake Forest head coach Tom Walter, outfielder Kevin Jordan returned to the field for the first time during the Demon Deacons' first fall practice Sept. 27.

"This is a special day for me and for our program," Walter said. "I mean, to see Kevin out here running around and doing the things he's meant to do is pretty amazing."

Jordan needed a new kidney after developing a condition called antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody vasculitis during his senior year of high school.

After establishing himself as a marquee prospect as a high school junior, Jordan played sparingly and was not at 100 percent during his senior season but was still drafted in the 19th round by the Yankees.

Two days before classes began last year, a doctor's visit revealed that his kidney function was down to 8 percent and a transplant was recommended as soon as possible. When his mother and brother were ruled out as matching donors, Walter stepped up to the plate for the transplant, which took place Feb. 7.

Jordan said Walter offered to be tested as a potential match during Jordan's first visit to the doctor.

"Seeing as how I met him and talked to him just a couple times before all this, it means a lot," Jordan said. "I'll always know what kind of person he is, no matter what happens from here on out."

Walter said the transplant hasn't just brought he and Jordan closer together, it's bonded the entire team.

"It strengthened my relationship with all my guys," Walter said. "Through all this, we're a closer unit as a whole. I think the guys have a new appreciation of what coaches go through on a daily basis just because they watched a little more closely because of this. Not that it was sympathy or anything like that, it's just that they kind of had their eye on it a little more than they normally would. So I think all of our guys are closer because of this."

Jordan kept a positive attitude through the whole process.

"The whole time, I just felt like something good was going to happen," he said. "Even if I didn't play baseball at this level again, I wasn't going to be in that situation forever. Everything happened relatively quick, so I didn't have time to doubt myself."

Although he said he's not quite 100 percent yet, Jordan has been cleared to participate in all baseball activities.

One of the biggest challenges will be overcoming any tentativeness and getting back to his usual instinctive style of play—he hasn't had to dive for a ball yet or slide head-first into third base.

Jordan, who will be a redshirt freshman this year, was able to practice a little bit with his old high school team last spring. There is some rust to shake off, but he was in great shape considering all he's been though. After losing 30 pounds because of the sickness, the dialysis and the transplant, Jordan got the weight back quickly. He's back to 195 pounds now . . with just 6.3 percent body fat, he added with a smile.

"I thought he looked fantastic," Walter said. "I mean, he ran a 6.58(-second) 60-yard dash and he did it back-to-back times. One of the things we're kind of looking at is his stamina, and I thought that looked pretty good today. He's certainly not 100 percent yet, and the other thing is his timing. Anytime you take a year and a half away from baseball, it's going to take you a while to get your timing back. So he's going to take a little while in BP and in game situations to get caught back up, but he's such a good athlete that he should make that adjustment pretty easily."

Opening Day is still more than four months away, but Walter believes Jordan will be a key piece of Wake Forest's lineup this season.

"We're hoping that he's going to be a starting outfielder and hit in the two-hole," Walter said. "That's the current plan. He has the athletic ability and the baseball skills to do that. Whether it comes between now and February—the timing's all the way back and the stamina's all the way back—remains to be seen, but if we were opening up tomorrow, I'd put him in the lineup."

What a nice day for baseball. Got a call tonight from Bum, Jr. who said in fall ball he's thrown 9 innings, 10 k's, 2 bb's and 1 run.

Then got an email from his younger brother (West Point cadet) who was at Yankee stadium for game 1 of the ALDS -- unfolding a huge American flag before the start of the game in center field. All I could see in the replay was his grey, shadowy figure amongst so many others. But that's okay. How fitting: "The long, grey line."

quote:

Originally posted by Bum:
What a nice day for baseball. Got a call tonight from Bum, Jr. who said in fall ball he's thrown 9 innings, 10 k's, 2 bb's and 1 run.

Then got an email from his younger brother (West Point cadet) who was at Yankee stadium for game 1 of the ALDS -- unfolding a huge American flag before the start of the game in center field. All I could see in the replay was his grey, shadowy figure amongst so many others. But that's okay. How fitting: "The long, grey line."

Doesn't look like the boys have followed the old mans "moniker" name sake; as they certainly aren't "Bums!" A West Point cadet and a young stud pitcher! You are one lucky Bum!

Thanks, but my daughter is even a higher achiever. A National Merit Finalist who plans on becoming a reconstructive surgeon.

I'm counting on them to support my bumming ways.

You got room for another Bum, Bum? Your going to need someone to hang out with and take you fishing.

Absoulutely. But you'll have to be the designated boater.

OK quick update on Jr. We were in town to see him for the first time since we dropped him off in mid August. His words - “I am working very hard”. Now he has always been a very hard worker but has never used the “very” term, so my ears perked up with the addition.

When he took his shirt off to change to go out I could immediately see the “very”. They are continuing to lift, but now are transitioning to more running and explosive work, and you can see the impact of having a world class gym, a trainer who has developed a program and who is monitoring your progress while living 300 yds from it and doing it every day. He has increased his muscle mass, and you can see it in his body and how his clothes fit him and by how much he says he is lifting, but he has actually lost 3-5 lbs on the scale. My guess is that he has put on 5-7 ish pounds of muscle mass and lost 5-10ish pounds of fat. He has always been on the thin side also but when you see a really cut athlete you know what I mean. He says he feels much faster but they have not timed his 60 so I am not sure how much just yet. They have started their throwing program and will start official practices soon that will run up to Thanksgiving. He has also stopped eating anything other than very healthy food, but says he allows himself to eat desert once a week. They have redone the food program at his school so there are a lot more fresh options so it appears he is able to do what he wants as far as eating choices.

My point is simply that “the next level up” is just that. You can see it in the athletes and for my son it has only been 6 weeks. I cannot imagine what he is going to look like after 4 years of this. TPM told me she saw some pictures of her son recently when he was a freshmen and she said he looked like a baby and I can now see what she is talking about.

The thing that has struck me from this is: 1) For the top level programs in particular I can now see how freshmen better be something special if they think they are going to start or even play much. 2) The level of commitment is incredible when you look at how hard these kids are working even before they really step on the field.

One other comment, I asked him how the hitters were and how he fit in. He said EVERYBODY rakes here dad. They are only hitting BP right now, but he thinks the major difference will be the mental approach which will translate into in game success. (or not). He says he will be listening to his Steve Springer CD a bunch come intersquad time….

I enjoyed your update BOF, good stuff! As you know, I don't have to travel quite as far as you to visit my son, and he's only been gone for a couple weeks. However, we drove out Friday night to pick him up after practice and brought him home for the weekend. No, he didn't miss his mom and dad already...his girlfriend's college was having their Homecoming Dance and of course he was attending it with her, but we'll take the short visit.

I hadn't received too much information over the first couple weeks from him directly, more than likely due to the fact that our phone conversations were done while his roommate was in the dorm, so maybe he needed to be cool? Well, I learned a few things after picking him up and taking that Long 90 minute drive home.......

*He's really enjoying his freedom. As I said, he's only been gone a couple weeks...but it's evident that he has grown up some during this period.

*His dorm room really smells bad! Okay, I'm a guy, I expect a little sloppiness....but it's pretty bad. On the bright side, they have a 47" Flat Screen TV that his roommate brought from home (utilized for X-Box games) that did not fit into the space for TV's, so it's on their Desk. I purchased them a 27" Flat screen (that fits) to watch TV, and oh yes, they have a fridge too. So apparently their room stays pretty occupied by other teammates, and I understand a few girls too?

*Social Life for baseball players at his school is no problem thus far. They've attended a couple Womens Volleyball games, and a Womens s****r game. And yes, they've been to a handful of Frat parties in Newport Beach. Baseball players aren't required to be members/brothers of the fraternities to attend, as the majority of the frats appreciate the females that the ball players bring in...atleast that's what my kid says!?

*The coaching staff encourages the incoming freshman to take a smaller load to acclimate themselves during the first quarter. Therefore, he only has three classes (12 units). He loves one class, is very bored in the other, and the jury is still out in the third class. I'm told that the quarterly system goes by fast, so he best not fall behind, and I've reminded him often. I said, have your fun, but you're there to work hard in the classroom and on the field. I'm pretty sure he gets it, if not, he'll learn fast.

*As for the baseball the first two weeks, he appears quite confident. They've had group and individual workouts thus far, but haven't practiced together as a full squad yet. Their first full squad practice was scheduled for today, but I didn't want to bother him right off the bat. So far, they have two separate times that they can choose to lift weights, and it's not too early in the morning...atleast so far. He's been throwing bullpens on Monday's and Thursday's (Fastballs & Changeups only), and breaking balls on flat ground. They've done tons of drills with the pitching staff (PFP, Pickoff moves, and there are plenty more signs to learn at this level), and of course plenty of running. He is the only pitcher that's swinging a bat in the Fall, so he joins the position players for BP, but hasn't had time to work any outfield drills. I believe that their first inter-squad game is on Friday? I'm not sure if I'll head up there to watch or not? It's my understanding that several parents come out to watch these scrimmages, but I'm going to hold off until that's confirmed...I don't want to be the only dad out there watching his kid, I'm sure it would embarrass him.

**Just received a text from my kid...he's pitching two innings on Saturday in a scrimmage. I have a strong feeling that I'll be driving out there to watch...we'll see?

Bum, Jr. says the frosh and the upper classmen can be distinguished by the number of times they puke during fall training.

quote:

Originally posted by bsbl247:
I believe that their first inter-squad game is on Friday? I'm not sure if I'll head up there to watch or not? It's my understanding that several parents come out to watch these scrimmages, but I'm going to hold off until that's confirmed...I don't want to be the only dad out there watching his kid, I'm sure it would embarrass him.

We get to watch our son quite a bit with him being local, my wife especially takes time to run down to the University for most fall scrimmages. As far as I'm concerned, I say forget about what other people think. Last year we provided some food after one of the scrimmages for the whole team, so maybe the rest of the team forgives us for being there because of that, and as far as our son being embarassed so far it has not been an issue. Some days there are 5 or 6 parents there, some days none. I don't think the players or coaches really pay any attention to who is in the stands. Summary - go as much as you can, this only lasts so long and then its over!!

asdf

quote:

Originally posted by bsbl247:
...I don't want to be the only dad out there watching his kid...

I go often, 99% of the time it's just me... all alone in a 4,500 seat stadium. But I agree, as long as Gun's ok with it, I'm good. The coaches don't even look up there as far as I know. One thing for sure, I'm invisible. No cellphone ringing, no clapping, no chasing down foul balls, not chit-chat, etc. I'm lucky to be in the same city, no doubt.

GED10DaD

As a parent whose son is playing 2500 miles away, I am very jealous and I encourage bsbl247 to go as often as he can (assuming his son approves). As far as possibly being only dad there, I have only been to the parent day games in the fall at my son's school, so that won't help; however, I have umpired fall D1 intersquad games here in the Bay Area, and on weekends, there are at least a dozen parent looking types in attendance. Based on a relatively small sample size, my guess is bsbl247 will not be alone. Even if he is - though - I'd still attend. The time passes way too quick to miss any opportunities of this nature.

My son's fall season ended a little prematurely this past Saturday.

Practice started at 7:30 Saturday morning. He is at a local juco so he commutes. My phone rings and his name shows up on the phone...never a good thing when he's calling during practice time.
Me: what's up
Son: My baseball career is over, I don't think I'll ever play again.
Me: (as my legs weaken) what happened
Son: I was hit square in the eye with a ball and I'm blind in that eye.

Not the call you want to get as your settling down with the morning coffee.

After trips to the ER, an optomologist, and Wills Eye Hospital in Philly, all before noon, it turns out there is no long term damage but he is bedridden for a least a week and no baseball for a least two more weeks.

Luckily they were practicing indoors due to bad weather and the ball was a tennis ball, hit directly into his left eye from about 10' away. The batter really pulled the ball as my son was standing slightly ahead and to the left of the hitter. No broken bones, or retinal damage. He was temporarily blinded from the blood between the lense and the eyeball.

A very scary Saturday morning but it did show me how much he loves playing baseball. He realized for about 24 hours how empty his life would be without baseball. I don't think he'll be taking it for granted anymore.

Wow fillsfan,

Tough day over at your house. Very happy to hear that your son will be fine, but what a scary brush with tragedy!

Prayers on the way for your guys speedy recovery!

"Prayers on the way for your guys speedy recovery!"


Ditto!

Tennis balls are just the right size to sneak inside the eye socket and impact the eyeball with no bone to slow it.

I had that happen to me in a tennis match. The damage stayed with me and really hampered my vision in bright light for some time.

Glad to hear that surgery isn't required. Hope he gets back to baseball soon. Injuries are no fun for anyone.

fillsfan,

That had to be a scary phone call. As parents, we can hear it in our kids voice when something isn't right. I'm happy to hear that it's not quite as bad as you originally anticipated, but I know that you have a couple anxious weeks ahead of you. Best of luck to your son, I hope he heals quickly with no after effects.

filsfan,

My heart goes out to your kid and you and your family. I hope all goes well with his recovery.

I received a phone call from my son earlier this evening. It's ironic that it occurs when his roommate is gone, but I'll take it. He's fighting a head cold that began last week when we grabbed him from school, but he anticipates that he'll be ready to go for the two scrimmages this weekend.

As I said earlier in a post, bsbl247-son is scheduled to pitch a couple innings on Saturday in a team scrimmage. They're also playing on Friday afternoon and he thinks he'll receive a couple AB's, but he's not sure if he'll play the OF? The pitching rotation is posted on the website, so I assume that parents will be out there? We went to a couple Fall scrimmages last year (one during his visit) and there were several scouts scattered throughout the stadium looking at the draft eligible kids. Anyway, after I read the responses from Backstop-17, GED10, and especially GrabSomePine who has a son playing 2500 miles away, I've decided to take advantage of being 90 minutes away and check out the scrimmage(s). Besides, I picked up the okay from my kid tonight.

Good luck to him. My son is starting a scrimmage tommorow but even if I drove all night long (900 miles) I wouldn't get there in time.

Makes you miss h.s. ball.

quote:

Originally posted by Bum:
Good luck to him. My son is starting a scrimmage tommorow but even if I drove all night long (900 miles) I wouldn't get there in time.

Makes you miss h.s. ball.

Thanks Bum, same to your son. Statements like yours is the reason I'm going to the scrimmage. Besides, there's no guarantee that he'll get any playing time when spring comes around...I have to take advantage of watching him play while I can.

bsbl247,

Those are my sentiments precisely! That is why I am awake at 5:30 trying to persuade my husband to leave home at 5 o'clock tomorrow morning, drive 4 hours, stop and have a telephone interview about a job, get back in the car and continue driving for 3 hours. All of that to watch our son's college team play their final fall ball game. After all, who knows where dad and I will be in February when they start up again! Wish me luck, guys!

Thanks for the well wishes. He has to go to the doctor's daily this week and the doc sees improvement each day.

My son was playing in North Carolina last fall and I drove the 6 hours twice to see fall ball games. He came home for the second semester which wasn't our plan but it was great to watch him play every weekend. If at all possible make the trip to see your kids play. Under the best of conditions this baseball "heaven" we've all been lucky to enjoy will only last a few more years. There is not one thing that I would rather do than watch my son play baseball and I intend to make every effort to watch as many games as I can while it lasts. I'm sure you all feel the same way.

Good luck to all your sons this fall and spring.

fillsfan,
Wow! Very sorry to hear about your son's injury. Prayers for a speedy recovery. He is very fortunate that he will heal without permanent damage. Scary moments, very glad to hear he will heal and be able to return to baseball.


1B has his last two scrimmages this weekend, supposed to be good weather, I am so looking forward to it. We saw some of his game last weekend, but it was cold and rainy and looonggg.
Hoping he has some better at bats this weekend.

Ohhhh it's going to be a long winter....

Get better soon FillsFanSon! GED10DaD

Fillsfan,

That's one scary phone call. Best of luck to your son with his recovery.

We will be headed 900 miles south at the end of the month to see our freshman son. Can't wait to see him

fillsfan,
Sorry to hear about jr. taking a tennis ball shot to the eye, but its good to hear its not serious and he's progressing along the road to full recovery!

My son is a pitcher. Every "pitcher parent" out there harbors a concern over a "come backer" accident on the hill. I've witnessed several over the years but can count ourselves lucky my son's reflexes have been good enough thus far to fend them off. (knock on wood)

My son has an inner squad scrimmage today and will be given two innings on the hill. Thus far I've dropped by to watch him play in two fall scrimmages against other outside teams but have stayed away from the inner squad games for all the reasons previously mentioned in this thread. I think my son knew that I'm going through baseball withdraws right now so he invited to come watch the inner squad today. After reading the comments in this thread, my mind is made up -- I'm knocking off early and dropping by to take in that scrimmage!

Wish my son luck!!

-ltf

From my door to my boys' campus is probably about 5,750 miles and about 13 hours of travel overall, and that includes a 9.5 hour flight. I probably won't get to see them play at all this year, though I will try every way I can think of to wangle a few days to get there. One is a senior, one is a freshman, on the same team, so it would be really special to be able to go, but I just don't know if I can swing it.

So, all of you, if you can go watch your kid, do it. Make the most of it. It's easy to think, "got plenty of time, plenty of opps coming up" -- no.....do it now. Take it all in. Just sit and relax and absorb it all in.

fills, sorry to hear about the accident. Tough kid! Hope he's back in action quickly.

Son's team had their final intrasquad scrimmage. Coaches had a draft and son was second pitcher on his tram. Pitched 4 innings. He did fine. Got the win when his catcher hit a Grand slam walk off. Was a good weekend.
He got some time in right filed at the end of the game.
I am fortunate, I will probabl be able to see most of his games.

Going down to Houston in the morning to watch my first practice and then the teams first scrimmage on Sunday against University of Houston. I can't even tell you how excited I am.

Laissez les bon temps roulez. Enjoy Stanwood....

Fillsfan, my heart skipped a beat reading your post. Thank the Lord he will recover and play again soon!

I learned a little bit about diehard college baseball fans today. Son says they use high school umpires for their fall intra-squad games. I guess it gives them some good experience as they wish to move up and work NCAA games.

Last week a fan was ejected for yelling at one of the umpires!

I can't believe I was worried about being the only parent's at my son's scrimmage. I'm happy to report that other parents enjoy watching their kid's play in the fall as well, so we were not alone. In fact, there were a handful of scouts at the park too, obviously scouting the draft eligible kids. I would have felt terrible had I missed his first AB's on Friday, or his two innings on the mound on Saturday. Thank you to those on our site that reminded me how fortunate I am that my son is close to home, and to take advantage of it! I'm not going to be able to make every scrimmage, but driving 90 minutes to see him once or twice a week will definitely be a part of my schedule.

We knew that he was pitching a couple innings on Saturday, but we weren't sure if he would be playing on Friday? We were pleasantly surprised that he started in the outfield on Friday afternoon's scrimmage, and looked like he belonged on the field. I was proud of him. Although he was a little nervous during his first AB. He took a FB for a strike on pitch one; pitch two barely missed outside; pitch three was fouled to the right (late); he took pitch four just off the plate; and struckout looking on pitch five on a FB right down the middle...he admitted later that his nerves were a little unsettled. He flew out to CF, and walked in his other two AB's.

He pitched two innings on Saturday. He struckout four, walked none, gave up one INF hit in his short stint with fastballs and changeups only. He didn't play the outfield today, but he received two AB's going 1-2. I realize it's only the Fall, but this was a big confidence builder for him and it showed that he belonged on a D1 baseball field with some pretty good ballplayers. There's no doubt it's going to be a grind for the rest of the fall/winter, but he may just have a chance to get a little playing time when spring rolls around? Only time will tell...but I think it's pretty cool that he has a chance.

That is great that you chose to head over to watch your sons scrimmages! I am sure you were able to enjoy a meal together as well.

I think I have missed maybe a total of 10 games since my son began playing ball, including scrimmages!

I learned early on when he was in Babe Ruth as a 10 year old and hit his 1st home run when I was not there to see it.

He is 22 now and I am looking forward to scrimmages begining next week. I don't think I will let myself miss much more, this being his last collegiate year.

FF,

Yes. We had dinner together after Friday's scrimmage. My daughter was able to make it out for the game, so the four of us had a nice time. She wanted to stay and hang out in his dorm for the night, knowing that mom and dad were coming back on Saturday. She's a senior in HS, and I think she's trying to get an early jump on college life? We didn't allow it...but maybe next time?

We took off immediately after Saturday's game, but I called him later that night to congratulate him on his day. He understood, as the pitchers have to run after practices/scrimmages, and he's one of the last one's out of the clubhouse. Besides, his girlfriend was there to hang out with him...so my wife and I took off and spent some time by the beach for the rest of the day.

I forgot to mention this earlier, but I thought it was funny. On Friday, we were waiting on my son as he was running his poles, and handling his field duty etc...we noticed that as the players were leaving the clubhouse, they all jogged across the outside of the field with their backpacks with them. My wife looked at me and said, "wow, there seems to be a number of kids that are running late for their Friday class?" Well, after watching every single player jog from one side of the field to the other, we figured out that not only do you hustle in between the lines when you're in uniform...You hustle Anytime you step foot Anywhere on the field...I Love it! So, my son jogs over and we walk to my car a couple minutes away, when he realizes that he left his bike outside the clubhouse. After all that, he had to run back and get it, we ended up meeting him at his dorm room. I've always preached it, and his coaches feel the same...Hustle never has a Bad Day!

quote:

Originally posted by ClevelandDad:
Just thought of something... this thread is open to all college players and parents and players and parents who have moved on. For players and parents who have been here before, let us know how the experience has changed if at all from the freshman season... thanks

Hey ClevelandDad, its me: Grandpop Bob...just getting into Jamie's 2nd Fall Season...things are going good...he had a great summer, played some summer Semi Pro ball, finished up with 7 & 2 record...he's looking forward to his Soph year...hope he can match, (or better) his Frosh year, if not, its not the end of the world...he knows that school is FIRST!!! Here's a critique of his Freshman year: http://www.wilmu.edu/athletics...cle.aspx?newsID=1155

http://www.wilmu.edu/athletics...cle.aspx?newsID=1144

http://www.wilmu.edu/athletics...cle.aspx?newsID=1141

http://www.wilmu.edu/athletics...cle.aspx?newsID=1135

http://www.wilmu.edu/athletics...cle.aspx?newsID=1113

http://www.wilmu.edu/athletics...cle.aspx?newsID=1110

http://www.wilmu.edu/athletics...cle.aspx?newsID=1103

http://www.wilmu.edu/athletics...cle.aspx?newsID=1088

http://www.wilmu.edu/athletics...cle.aspx?newsID=1041

http://www.wilmu.edu/athletics...cle.aspx?newsID=1021

Will keep in touch, your the BEST!

Grandpop Bob

I watched my son play in a college scrimmage this past weekend. It was the first time I have seen him play in three years. My son was cut from a D2 team in Colorado his freshman year after the Fall season. After his freshman year, my son moved back to Connecticut and played a year of junior hockey. He also volunteered as an assistant coach for his former high school’s freshman baseball team.

My wife and I relocated to Colorado in 2008 and then Texas in 2009 for my job. Our son went back to college last year at a D2 school in Texas. He volunteered to be the student manager of the baseball team as the coach had more players than roster spots. While serving as the student manager, my son attended every workout, practice, and game. He would help keep stats during games or anything else the coaches needed. Sometimes he would fill in at practice if someone was out. One of his jobs was to play catch with pitchers recovering from Tommy John surgery. He ended up throwing a lot. He did all the workouts. Toward the end of the season, he was practicing at shortstop often. After last season, the coach must have liked what he saw. He asked my son to be a player on the team this season. Now he is working his tail off with conditioning, practice, and lots of running. I am very proud of my son for many reasons.

That is a fantastic story!

Everything we tell our kids to do and your kid went out and did it! Perseverance, hard work, Stick-to-it-ness, follow your dream, never give up!

You have every right to be proud of that young man. Congratulations to the both of you! And momma too, or course.

From to

What an awesome story dad!

EaglesDad,

That is a great story. I'm glad I decided to check this topic today!

Awesome story. Thanks for posting it. It just shows what a young man can do when he has the right attitude and desire. Good luck

Wow! You must be very proud!

A great story of a young man who loves the game, and is determined to stay a part of it.

Congratulations, and best of luck to your son!

That was/is a very nice story. Thanks for posting EaglesDad.

quote:

I am very proud of my son for many reasons.

EaglesDad; I'm proud of your son as well, after reading your story, and I don't even know the kid!

That story should be inspirational for many aspiring baseball players.

quote:

Originally posted by Prime9:
That story should be inspirational for many aspiring baseball players.

That's a heck of a deal! Congrats to EaglesSon and kudos to Coach Penders for his leadership! Very familiar with the Hilltopper Baseball program, GO HILLTOPPERS!!

GED10DaD

Congratulations to your son! I can imagine how proud you are. I love great stories!

Thats great!

Well finally after working all night tonight, I get home at 6 AM, sleep until noon and then a 10 and a half hour drive to Mississippi to see my son's final Fall scrimmage against a D1 Saturday. Only game I get to see this Fall. I'll also catch a practice Friday so I'm happy.

LOVE IT !!!

HAVE AN AWESOME TIME WITH YOUR SON!

Special times Three Bagger enjoy it! My son is on his way home for Fall Break. They have been scimmageing for a couple of weeks now and this is his last break before Thanksgiving break. He will be home for a couple of days and head back on Sunday. I have not seen him since school started so I am excited to get to spend a couple of days with him. Have a great trip and enjoy seeing your son.

Drive safe 3Bags, tell Jordan to "Wreck Shop" this weekend in the Delta! Be safe - GED10DaD

We are going to make a trip on Saturday to catch an intersquad game. Fortunately for us it is less than 100 miles away, but exciting none the less!

Floridafan, Coach May, and GunEmDown10,

Thanks for the good wishes and yall enjoy yourselves this weekend too! I found out our team is going to play a dh so I get twice the fun!

Got to see a practice this afternoon and will see our first (and only) fall game tomorrow.

This is awesome!!!

I finally was able to see a Scrimmage game today. It was 3 hours and nine innings of baseball heaven!

This begins only my second year of watching his College team work. Watching a seasoned College Coach in a competitive program take their team through the pre-game BP, and then infield/outfield "in and outs" is like watching a symphonic orchestra perform!

Then the nine inning perfecta followed, which along with the perfect 82 degrees, just made the trip! Pitching ruled the day. Surely, if we can hit our guys we ought to be able to hit anybody! We didn't hit our guys very well. Team looks strong even though the entire infield, expect 1b, and one outfield position will be new from last year.

Let Spring come and the games begin, I'm ready!

Hey Prime - did your guy sign D-2?

quote:

Originally posted by floridafan:
Hey Prime - did your guy sign D-2?

He did and hope to see you and yours at World Series in 2012!

Scout Day today. Son called and said "he had a great day." I think doing well in front of that audience was a needed confidence builder.

It's nice getting that "enthusiastic" phone call. When I hear nothing about the scrimmage or whatever, then I know it didn't go well in his eyes. A double header scheduled against a JUCO Thursday that we plan to go see. Looking forward to that first real scrimmage game but temps are plunging to mid 60's. Guess I shouldn't complain.

quote:

Originally posted by Prime9:
Scout Day today.

GUN today. But, as a frosh he was not getting a serious look. He caught multiple bullpens and a little In/Out. A ton of scouts too, I was pleasantly surprised.

Prime - Glad JR had a good day!

GED10DaD

Back from Mississippi and saw son's DII absolutely pound a DI twice 10-0 and 7-1 allowing only 4 hits total and one unearned run in 15 innings. Got to give applause to his coach on the pitchers he found this year along with several good returning hurlers. Saw twelve different Delta State pitchers and was really impressed. Team speed is better and there is a good balance of power to go with it. Really feel good about this year's team although our early schedule is a killer. Son had a good day with a single, double, HBP and several good catches in center. Overall a very good weekend.

Sounds like a great way to spend a week end! We enjoyed our sons scrimmage on Saturday and he has another one this Saturday. It sure feels good to see some college baseball again!

Talked with my son yesterday to confirm the plans for the weekend. Their "series" starts this friday and my wife and I planned to take off Friday to travel down for some fall ball. He tells me he is "picking" one of the squads. Asked him later how it went and he feels he "has the squad"...

Oh my..... the eternal optimism of a "coach".....

Cant wait to see some baseball!!!Weekend before Thanksgiving is our sons Cardinal Gold.

Sounds like everyone's sons are doing awesome.

February will be here before we know it.Last year for many of our sons.Senior year.

I am excited as my son will graduate on time this spring.I am very proud of that accomplishment!!!

Hey fanofgame,

Sure hope you have an awesome time and enjoy watching your son! As you know, my guy is a senior also...hoping we are not nearing the end!

Best of luck to your son this year!

quote:

Originally posted by fanofgame:

I am excited as my son will graduate on time this spring.I am very proud of that accomplishment!!!

Awesome accomplishment. I think he'll tear it up during his senior year, Fan.

quote:

Best of luck to your son this year!

Ditto FF, Thanks

Looking forward to keeping up with both your sons, and many others on this HSBBW this next season.

Son called last night and told me Coach is giving him the ball in today's Fall scrimmage. As a college Frosh, this day marks his first collegiate Fall start on the hill
And you can be sure, Dad will be sitting in those stands watching and relishing every moment of this game.

I've been checking this thread almost every day the past couple weeks reading up on all the great news that is being related here. I've attempted to respond multiple times but office work has gotten in the way. All I can say is....keep those Fall reports coming!!

Good Luck and may the good Lord keep all of our son's safe, secure, and healthy for the remainder of their college careers!

-ltf

I am headed up to South Dakota tomorrow to watch my son's fourth and final fall world series. It's always fun to check out the new freshmen and transfers and meet some of the new parents. This one will be a bit bittersweet though, since this is the last go around. The weather forecast is for highs of 60 degrees so maybe they can get it in before the cold sets in.

Last week my younger son who elected to walk on at his DII college in track and field even though he had baseball offers and not only made the team but is being trained to be a Decathalon athlete although he has never done half the events before shared this story with me. The track guys work out about 75 feet behind the baseball field and as they were going through some paces, here comes a ball over the left field fence right towards him. He said he ran up, scooped the ball just like he used to do in center field and did a perfect crow hopped line throw to second base. An ex high school teammate was warming up in the bullpen and started cheering, " That's my old centerfielder!" and the pitching coach started peering through the outfield fence to see who on the track team had the arm! The head track coach was there and he yelled to the baseball coach, "Don't even think about it, that's my Javelin thrower!"

I see that three or four of you were heading out to Scrimmage games. How was It?

Prime's team played a DH vs. CVCC (Juco: Tim Hudson's old school, coached by the guy who caught Tim when he was there) Thursday. We left about noon for the trip and got home and to bed about 1:00am. It was a long day Friday but well worth it just to get our first glimpse of son this year and all the new players.

Pitching, pitching and more pitching was the story from both sides. They used two pitchers per game, we used three. One pitcher on each team was gunned throwing in the mid-90's and three others in the low 90's. All had good command and there was some filthy stuff on display out there. I almost felt bad for the hitters.

The teams split games and both were close. Jr. was 2-4 but what I was most impressed, and surprised by, was his defensive outfield play. For a Dad to be surprised by his son's play may be unusual. He was converted to the outfield and I guess they knew what they were doing. He had an sb and an outfield assist. Kind of made me proud since he's really beginning to blossom (in my eyes). He has a tough job ahead to get into the line-up though as all the older, more experienced starters that were ahead of him last year, are still there!

I'm continually impressed on each trip how far and wide the talent is spread at the College level.

I hope all enjoyed their games as much as we did!

Three Bagger: I loved your story!

Earl, it's SO good to hear that G is blossoming right before your eyes in such a marvelous way. He has so much upside and potential that I can't wait personally to see it unfold as well.

Mine came home Thursday for fall break and when he walked through the door I almost fell out of my chair. He had physically changed in ways I had never seen before. Stout, firm, slimmed up in areas, broader shoulders....just overall in great shape. In high school his biggest downfall was speed. I use to tell him that he really needed to remove the piano from his back when he hit. lol. But now he is running the mile in just over 6 minutes! I couldn't even come close to that when I was a young Marine!

He goes down this coming friday to Auburn-Montgomery to pitch an inning in a fall All Star came for players in his conference. He is really pumped as am I. Im going down early friday to catch the 1st 9 inning game and staying to watch again on Saturday. I am SO excited to be going.

Javelin thrower..lol. That was an awesome story.

YGD

Last Saturday I received a text from my freshman son that said, and I'm paraphrasing because it was a little more colorful, "Holy chit, I am starting DH tomorrow!" We drove down to Houston Sunday morning for a barbeque at 11:00, meet the players at 12:30, and the exhibition game against Texas State started at 1:00. Stanwoodson only got one AB but that didn't really matter; he has reached one of his goals in his own long term plan. I saw him at the plate with the Old English R across his chest and right about then I got something stuck in my eye! I was so excited I forgot to take pictures!

Watching him grow up and attaining goal after goal, with a few setbacks here and there, has been a fathers dream. All that he has learned in baseball, even if it ends tomorrow, is directly applicable to life itself. When baseball eventually quits him he'll be well prepared to handle any curveball that life throws at him. Good job, son.

I have noticed that we are all alike. We are all littl boy's and girl's on Christmas morning, we can't wait, we are all excited to go downstairs and see what Santa brought us. When I read whats been posted on this great site I feel so much better that there are a lot Parents that are as excited as we are. Thanks for all advice, you see we are new to the College experience and I assure you the posts have invaluable advice. Our son went to school in the summer and it was in our case the absolute best thing to do. baseball 21 had Tommy Jon surgery at the end of May so there will be no pitching till next year. He was recruited as a two way player and he was cleared to hit at the beginning of Fall practice so that has really helped. I forget who posted that the quality of College Players was thru the roof, but boy is that well said. BB 21 was a very good high school player and so is everyone on his team. We have played 22 of 26 games so far and he his has been forturnate to be the DH in all the games, but bear in mind we don't play any other teams we scrimmage amoung ourselfs so I am sure that helps him getting atbats. I'm not sure if its a league rule or just his school rule tht we don't play other teams. I'm sure 3fingered glove will know. Thanks again for all your help !!

quote:

He goes down this coming friday to Auburn-Montgomery to pitch an inning in a fall All Star came for players in his conference. He is really pumped as am I. Im going down early friday to catch the 1st 9 inning game and staying to watch again on Saturday. I am SO excited to be going.

Ken, PM me and let me know how it goes. It sounds like Josh is getting himself in shape for a great year. I hope so, love watching him pitch.

All the best in the coming year!!

Astro21; yes we are like little children in a candy store when we get to see our kids play and talk baseball. Not sure of the rule you are referring to but at sons school think they can play three unofficial games in the fall. I don't believe they can play any conference foes or the games would count against games allowed for 2012 season. Our Coach seems to like to schedule JUCO's. Not sure why.

BUM's son pitches great in GM2 of the Texas Tech Red & Black Fall Series. Rusty goes 4.1 innings and gets the win.



LUBBOCK, Texas - Junior left-handed pitcher Rusty Shellhorn and two other Red Team pitchers combined for a one-hitter against the Black Team during Red's 5-3 win in game two of the annual Texas Tech baseball Red & Black Series on Monday at Rip Griffin Park.

The victory gives the Red Team a 2-0 lead in the five-game series.

Shellhorn allowed a single to third baseman Reid Redman to lead off the game, which was the final hit the Black Team would tally the remainder of the game. Shellhorn (1-0) earned the win while going 4.1 innings and allowing two runs (both unearned) on one hit with three strikeouts and two walks.

Atta-boy! GED10DaD

Thanks, Gun'em.

Rusty has worked hard for this opportunity.

Way to go Rusty!

Looks like he's gripping a slider there Bum. Good looking kid! Mom's side no doubt?

YGD, that was amazing. I know I am behind but that original post of yours was just amazing.

UC IRVINE played their annual Spooktacular Baseball scrimmage at Cicerone Field on Saturday, October 29, 2011. Here are a couple links to some pictures. One set is from the UCI website and the other via good ole Facebook. The guys were pretty creative with their costumes.


https://www.facebook.com/media...&type=1&l=8531692abe


http://www.ucirvinesports.com/...12/photos/0001/index

Thanks bsbl. Hooters chick is hot.

GED10, you have a PM, thanks

Trinity held their first Halloween scrimmage and finally got their pictures up on the web.

Enjoy bsbl247.

http://www.trinitytigers.com/s...ween_Game_2011/index

Thanks for sharing BOF. Gotta love The Pope. Do you think he taught Domingo how to pay his respects as he crosses the plate?

quote:

Originally posted by BOF:
Trinity held their first Halloween scrimmage and finally got their pictures up on the web.

Enjoy bsbl247.

http://www.trinitytigers.com/s...ween_Game_2011/index

The Pope is the best! I thought stuff like this only happened in California!

Got back the other day from watching the final two fall world series games of my soph son's team. Had the opportunity to watch a football game as well (vs ND no less) and spend time there with not only my son but my nephew who is a senior cadet and member of the Air Force Jump team. His Wings of Blue were invited to jump into stadium before football game. My nephew and my son are very close having grown up a mile apart and played travel baseball together growing up.

Like those parents who have made the fall trek and reported here, you come home full of thoughts to fill a book. Here are a couple of (lengthy, sorry)observations that could be helpful for those going through the recruiting process and going off to school for their freshman year.

My first thought reviewing the weekend is what a wonderful group of team mates and friends my son has associated himself with. We tailgated with a bunch of his team mates and they are the nicest group of kids you would ever want to meet. Many of them compete for playing time with my son but you would never know it. Very supportive of each other, friendly, polite and simply a great group of young men. One friend came out to breakfeast with us and everything was "no sir, yes sir." For those from the south that may be common but being from Chicago it was very nice to hear. I mentioned to my son that you are making many friends for life (and business contacts) and that I couldnt be happier with the choices he's made. (A note to parents going through recruiting process, make note of the kids on the current team you're looking at. Imo, it matters what type of kids your son will be around for a few years, aside from their talent level.)

On a personal note, last fall my son struggled adjusting to high level college pitching. When I visited him then (I called it a mission of mercy to my wife) I was there to listen and support him as he went through the adjustment. Frankly as a parent during that season, I learned a lot from a note on this site from Rob Kremer who wrote a wonderful post about freshman struggles. He basically said that at that age, facing hardships and working through them should be seen as a blessing not a curse. You should embrace them for they will teach a lot to your son (and his parents). For me, wiser words were never spoken.

For book lovers, I am reading True Measure of a Man, which discusses how to face these difficult times we live in. Similar perspectives.

Getting back to baseball, this fall Ive never seen my son happier and more upbeat. He was recruited as a ss and still competing for that spot but in addition this fall he has opened a lot of eyes with his pitching. I mentioned to him before I left that there are many life lessons from last year that he should always remember.

Finally a note on my nephew at the Air Force Academy. He too was recruited to play baseball there but was unceremoniously dumped in the fall of his freshman year. Devasted, he thought about leaving the academy but stuck around and quickly discovered the Wings of Blue sky diving team. He put the same hard work and dedication into that new challenge that he had for baseball for many years and made the team. Fast forward a couple of years and he loves what he's doing and his team mates on the squad probably far more than had he stuck on the baseball team for four years. He has been accepted into flight school next year and ready for that new challenge.

One lesson on that front is even though baseball ends for everyone, it doesn't mean that the larger life lessons learned from it have to end too.

Ps. We were at the football stadium Friday night to watch nephews practice jump. Athletic Dept was all there, even local media. Problem was the airplane they used had instruments down including the one measuring outside wind speed. They jumped from 5,000 feet thinking wind was ok. It wasn't. They all landed miles away from field. Actually quite dangerous. At night they landed on the streets, in parking lots, everywhere, many barely missing power lines. One guy landed in the ghetto and some guy came up to him and asked, "you come from the sky?", "yes bro I did", "OK, for a moment I thought I was tripping."

The Airforce guys tailgated with us too along with the baseball guys. A weekend I'll never forget.

Great story and insight igball! I think we all grow as parents as a result of the bumps in the road that first year that our Freshman players hit.

I think that I felt that he would just sail thru smoothly like he always had. That's life and it's all good looking back!

First I want to acknowledge igball's post. How inspiring. College should be much more than baseball, but it is especially true for the kids playing at any of the service academies.

quote:

The Pope is the best! I thought stuff like this only happened in California!

Forget about Tinker to Evers to Chance.

We got Robin to Pope to M&M man.

With the Pope in the middle – miracles happen!

Enjoyed your story igball. I agree, a parent really sees a difference by sophomore year after the initial struggles that more often than not occur that first college fall. Continued good luck to you and your son!

I hope everyone's fall season was a healthy success and ended well. Now onto many, many early morning workouts.... GED10DaD

http://www.trinitytigers.com/s...11_Fall_World_Series

Tigers Prepare for Fall World Series Battle
San Antonio, TX- The Tigers will wrap-up their competitive fall season with the annual Maroon-White Fall World Series, starting Thursday, November 9th. The showdown will pit the Tigers against one another in a two team, best-of-five series to determine who has off-season "bragging rights".

The Maroon Squad is led by 2-time All-West Region Outfielder Nick Pappas (Sr., Los Angeles, Ca/Loyola) and Utility Superstar Jonathan Hall (Jr., Kenilworth, IL/New Trier). The Maroon Teams pitching staff is highlighted by Junior LHP Ryan Lucero (Aurora, CO/Grandview) and RHP Franklin Bay (Jr., Houston, TX/Strake Jesuit). Freshman Zack Speer (Houston, TX/Episcopal) will also be starting for the Maroon Team, making his FWS debut for the Tigers.

The White Team is anchored up the middle by SCAC Freshman of the Year Christian Muscarello (So., Tucson, AZ/Catalina Foothills), as well as 2B Nick Iacovella (So., Tampa, FL/Jesuit). White will also feature OF newcomers Pat Hirschberg (So., Parker, CO/Chaparral HS/ University of Nebraska) and Nick Griffith (Fr., Ventura, CA/Ventura). On the mound, the White Squad will be highlighted by the reigning SCAC Pitcher of the Year, Ben Klimesh (Sr., Willamette, IL/New Trier) as well as RHP Michael Bentz (Jr., Houston, TX/Memorial).

First pitch of the weekend will be 4pm on Thursday, followed by 5pm Friday, a Doubleheader Saturday starting at 2pm, and concluding Sunday at 1pm. Fans are welcome to come to the games and admission is free.

ROSTERS:

MAROON:

Name Class State WHITE: Class State

C-Kelly Woodruff Jr. GA C- Chris Bianchi SO CA

C-Beau Attyah So. CA C-Pat Frasier Jr. TX

1B-Jon Hall Jr. IL 1B- Will Donnas Jr. TX

2B-Kevin Clements Jr. CA 2B- Nick Iacovella So. FL

SS-Andres Leyva Fr. CA SS-Christian Muscarello So. AZ.

3B-Kevin Franke Jr. CA 3B-Jules Cronk So. OK

OF-Nick Pappas Sr. IL OF- Pat Hirschberg So. CO

OF-Ryan Schweers So. TX OF-Nick Griffith Fr. CA

OF-Dom Robusto Sr. CA OF-Shane Daykin Fr. MI

UTIL-Tim Stanton Sr. WA UTIL-George Geiger Fr. DC

STARTING PITCHERS:

MAROON: WHITE:

RHP Franklin Bay Jr. TX RHP Michael Bentz Jr. TX

RHP Tanner Barron Jr. TX RHP Ben Klimesh Sr. IL

LHP Ryan Lucero Jr. CO LHP Matt Abrahams So. TX

RHP Zack Speer Fr. TX RHP Nick Griffith Fr. CA

RHP Carter Lauck So. TX LHP Chris Garagiola Fr. AZ

RHP Weston Haaf Sr. TX RHP William Wells So. TX

RHP Brandon Spriggs Sr. TX RHP Alex Herz Jr. CO





PITCHING SCHEDULE:



Game 1: Thursday, November 10, 2011. 4pm

Bay vs. Bentz



Game 2: Friday, November 11, 2011. 5pm Start

Klimesh vs. Barron



Game 3/4: Saturday, November 12, 2011. 2pm start (Doubleheader)

Lucero v Abrahams

Griffith v Speer



Game 5: Sunday, November 13, 2011. 1pm start.

Lauck vs. Garagiola

Our "little school" annual Red vs. Blue World Series concluded last night with PrimeJr's team taking the series 3-1.

I think PrimeJr. will remember it well, for sure his Dad will, as his last Fall AB was a "Game and Series winning Grand Slam!"

I couldn't have scripted his Fall any better than it played out and he really needed to "show well" as he is fighting for playing time and that coveted starting job. I'm not sure if any starting jobs were actually won or lost this fall, but certainly I hope he has earned an opportunity to compete next Spring when the Coaching staff will likely make their final line-up decisions before starting conference play.

But, I can't think about that now. As for today, baseball life in our house is good!