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First time post:
To all of you, congratulations on building a vibrant on-line community. I've learned a lot from you already.

My son is an 8th grader playing varsity baseball at an international school abroad. This is a small setting and it's impossible to judge his ability relative to the many talented athletes described on these
boards. Nevertheless, a biased non-expert dad thinks he is pretty good. He also excels at basketball and,in a large multi-school track meet, he made the finals in the 100, 200, 110 hurdles and long jump. He won gold
in the high jump.

Although it is very early for him to be interested in recruiting, the suggested recruiting/development timeline on this site
is not possible for him. He will be able to play baseball in the spring only. He will spend 6-8 weeks each summer in the St Augustine, Fl area. Our thought is to
attend a college camp this summer and to try to
gauge his relative ability. Is this too early? Is this the best option? What is your advice for subsequent years? This will require a great deal of planning if he wants to pursue this path.
Thank you in advance for your advice
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What a neat place for a kid to grow up. But.........from 8th grade on are very important years in developing a player. You can go to a camp this summer and the people there can say he has loads of ability for his age. Next year at the same camp I would bet that many of those same kids will have passed him up. Not your fault, not his fault, but the fault of the baseball mentality in the other country.

I think those on this board who are from Northern USA would agree. You need national exposure, national competition, dedicated work during the cold season, and a good amount of luck. That is for the kid the lives in the US.

To put in perspective, if one of my kids wanted excel in the Netherlands National pastime, what would you say it would take to get to that level in order to compete overthere. Yes it can be done, and I for one would wish you the best of luck. But, you have a battle ahead of you that I personally would not take on.

Just my opinion.
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rz1,

Thanks for your perspective. I guess we find ourselves in a situation that creates special opportunities for our children, but also has the unintended effect of closing others too early.

It's very helpful to have realistic view so we can support dreams but ensure that other dreams and possibilities are available as well.

All the best
Overseasdad,

I hope I was not taken in a real negative light. I was flipping through the channels the other night and got to a show called "Nashville Star" a spinoff of the "American Idol". One of the finalists was a guy from Northern Ireland. If you can imagine an Irishman singing Nashville Country, I can imagine a Dutchman on the bases.

The best thing that could happen is to beat the odds and prove me wrong. After I finished my crow, I'd be the first in your corner. Go for it!
rz, rz, rz...

A whole lot of American country music originated with the folk songs of Ireland and Scotland, as did the dances (square dancing is very like Irish set dancing; clog dancing is very like jig). US Country music is very popular in Ireland, probably because of the similiarities in old-style country, that then evolved into modern country.

In 1970, I was at a dance with my cousins in the wilds of Mayo. A band called The Aztecs played American Country and Western....weird...for the first twenty minutes I suspected I was having an acid flashback.... Wink

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