DREAMS

Good point TR...can not imagine any player...average, above average, or even stud that did not dream to get where he is.

TR - excellent thought IMO - there are many interesting stories out there - that do not involve the top 2% of the players that are "elite"

There are many many great stories - and many of them involve great success as well.

I believe, and tell all my players and parents this: If baseball gets you to college when you might not have gone otherwise; or it gets you into a better college than you'd have attended based strictly on your academics, you've gotten everything you could ever expect from this great game. Anything that happens beyond that is simply a bonus. A very special bonus.

Good points. Its OK to dream. Ask Chase Lambin who will likely see time in Queens with the Mets this year.......after being their 34th draft pick in 2002.

Great stuff Tr, but catcherdad said it all. College is a lifetime goal for most academic students today, but for a baseball player to go to a fine baseball school and get an education can open up a lifetime of opportunities.

TRHit, a very good post. Baseball allows you to take whatever you can.

.

I agree with everything said here....mostly

Like your post '06catcherdad but would take it one step..BACKWARD...

Simply BEING a college athlete is a bonus and should be the goal. The priority for classes, the thrill, the status, the contacts, the work ethic, the fitness, the travel, the competition, the dream of higher levels - no matter how unrealistic it may seem...

I often go against the grain here and will do so here again...

I see no problem with a player going to any school, better or worser, if it allows him to be a college athlete. Educations are available, or not available, at any college depending upon the player involved....

Yes, While there are a lot of player using that opportunity at a high end school to get a great education, there are also many (maybe more as evidenced by graduation rates )...players at high end colleges whose goals are not educational but attend to play pro ball (the 3 year plan)...

...and there are a lot of players at "worser" schools bustng their tails in the classroom and getting a great education and playing ball. This is a big Win as well. IMO...Often education is as much about "what" as "where."

TR I would like to take your post back a step.....

What about the 90% who realize their freshman years that they have no realistic chance at the next level at all, and STILL bust their tails to play. And still make huge contributions to their college teams. IMO there is not enough celebration of these.

Have advocated for these players and their stories repeatedly here and have gotten some great responses AND been often criticized for those efforts....i.e. spring signs, recruited walk on's, walk on's, JC's....

And I predict I will criticized for this post and my insensitivity and blindness in that regard....

Guess that's just my Karma...

Rather than highjack your thread TR - I am proposing a new thread - hopefully you enjoy it - WHERE HAVE ALL THE YOUNG MEN GONE

See that thread please

One thing about being with kids playing at the DIII level is the opportunity to be part of their senior year. You get a chance to be with very talented people/players, nearly all of whom know they are at the end. They are truly playing for the love of the game and love of competition. The effort, intensity and spirit is to be treasured.
On the other hand, those that get a chance to move on are not all "studs." Our son is going to Spring training knowing that 4 players from his draft class and with whom he has played last year got invited to the Major League Camp.Ours is by no means a "stud." Verbalizes about what happens if he gets released but also talks readily about standing next to players who are being projected to be in the "show" as early as this year and feels he has some similar skills.
Little doubt he is playing because he loves it. I think he still very much cherishes and is motivated by the dreams, spirit, energy and tears he shared with every teammate who's college baseball career came to an end on a baseball field somewhere in Texas, Indiana and California.

.
Infielddad...

Really nice post. Thanks for sharing...

What is reality? Isn’t reality a result rather than a look into the future or a dream? Often wander, how many didn’t reach the top because they were TOO realistic! Actually know of some who reached the top because they believed it was realistic despite the fact others didn’t.

My take on this is and has always been, Shoot for the Moon! That said, a player needs to be able to make adjustments along the way… based on the results! There are lots of DIII players who realistically believe they have DI or Pro ability, but reality is they are DIII players for now.

I agree with what everyone says here, but also believe in Dreaming Big! The biggest dreamers become the biggest success stories.

Reality at one time was the World is flat! Some big dreamers proved the results were different. I understand reality, just don’t like to see it accepted until it becomes necessary! Where would we be today if everyone accepted reality as it is defined?

Once a player realizes where he fits in based on the facts… accept it and adjust, but keep dreaming big, be it baseball or something else!

That is my advice, FWIW. Don’t expect everyone to agree with it.

Beautiful post PG!!!!! I couldn't agree with you more!!

PGStaff:

quote:

Where would we be today if everyone accepted reality as it is defined?

I would be right here at my keyboard typing with one finger and karma ing up with these innane and lame posts!

You can have reality defined for you - or you can go out there - work hard - and define your own reality.

IMO.

PG,

Real example. I played HS baseball with Randy Velarde. He was a jr. when I was a sr. He started at SS and was solid, but didn't knock your socks off. He went to Lubbock Christian University and worked his tail off and truly believed in himself.

An 18 year career with four MLB organizations later, he proved that belief and persistence can pay off.

Every year, I take either a song or a quote and have that as my Motto for that teaching year. I constantly refer to it and ask the students to take it to heart.

This year's Motto is from the song by Ryan Schupp = Dream Big

And when you cry be sure to dry your eyes
Cause Better days are sure to come
When you smile be sure to smile wide
and don’t let them know they have won.
And when you walk, walk with pride
don’t show the hurt inside cause the pain will soon be gone.

And when you dream, dream big
As big as the ocean blue
Cause when you dream it might come true
And when you dream, dream big.

And when you laugh be sure to laugh out loud
cause it will carry all your cares away
And when you see, see the beauty all around and in yourself
and it will let you feel ok.
And when you pray, pray for strength to help you carry on
when the troubles come your way

And when you dream, dream big
As big as the ocean blue
Cause when you dream it might come true
And when you dream, dream big.

To achieve any worthwhile goal, first you must commit to give 100 percent of yourself to the cause. In reality, people who have big dreams simply cannot put all they are into it. It's a great human flaw - the fear of failure.

People will push themselves to 90 or 95 percent toward their dream - but subconsciously save that remaining number in case they fall short. Then, from the self preservation and defense department of the brain, a little voice can say "If I only gave it that little extra, I could've made it."

It's the individual with the courage and will to give 100 percent toward a dream that has the best chance to succeed. And the beauty of this type of individual is that they never have to look back and say "What if I'd given that extra five or 10?" They can go on to the next dream armed with the knowledge of who they are and what they can do when committed to their objective. Lessons learned from failing at a first dream could lead directly toward achieving a second dream.

We are not limited to a single dream in life, right?

You never know how good you really can be at anything until you dream a big dream, give all you have, ride your courage to its end, exhaust your will, and then see where you wind up.

Tremendously inspiring stories shared by everyone in this thread. That is what I say/feel as well - go for it and see what happens. I'll bet we have some of the best writers in the nation right here on the hsbbweb.

T-BirdDad,

It's the Randy Velarde's of the world that trip my trigger! And he is just one of many!

The other walks of life are filled with successful people, just like that. It's not just a baseball thing.

Great song, Coach!

Good post baseballdad.

As far as top percentage of those "stud" players, they have to work just as hard, if not sometimes harder to prove that they are as they are perceived. They are judged more on their failures as their successes. Many times you will see the average player succeed where the "stud" doesn't, because he could not live up to expectations or he couldn't pull it together. Those type of players need to work especially hard in overcoming their failures, because if they do slip up even once, they could prove they are not as good as everyone expects.

Not a baseball example, but Alan Page, Minnesota Vikings Hall-of-Famer at defensive tackle is fulfilling two dreams any one of us would have taken one of.

Now, a sitting member of the Minnesota State Supreme Court.

Good thread...great post, PG.

T-Bird Dad:

That is an impressive example.

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
Yes we all have dreams but why is it we always talk about that top 1 or 2 % of players as the "studs"--they are the minority of baseball players ( talking % not ehtnic )---not a knock but simply a fact.

My thought is that the "studs" are the ones who matriculate from HS to college and the super studs who go to the pros. I don't think "average" players end up in the college ranks, especially D1 programs.

My son's dream is to play at a "big, southern/west coast, D1 program". I'll be tickled pink if that happens.

I don't know the details of the talent pool of collegiate baseball players but I'm sure there's a fine line that delineates the talent found in the different layers....Elite D1, Solid D1, Moderate D1, Small D1, etc, with some obvious overlap from D1 to D2 schools/players; a D2 "stud" could easily play for a D1 school but maybe not a Texas.

Beezer,

There is also a lot of "so called" luck involved. Joba Chamberlin (sp?) started out at a DII and after being seen in a summer league transferred to Nebraska where he's a projected 1st round pick.

Might get beat up over this, but the old saying, "if you're good, they will find you" is IMHO totally false. You need to be PRO-ACTIVE!!

Dreams can come true, but for the most part, involves work.

quote:

Originally posted by FrankF:
Dreams can come true, but for the most part, involves work.

No question. I'm dealing with all of this for a different sport for my oldest. My point was that the top 1% - 2% ARE the college players and then there's the cream of that crop going to the pro ranks. I know (or think) that TRH didn't mean to imply that a majority of the college players are "average". Guess I was just trying to remind everybody how elite of a level they're playing at. Easy for somebody like me looking ahead but maybe taken for granted in a room of parents who are already there.

My son had some troubles with his HS coach for reasons we never could put our finger on but as result, he wrote one of his first decent songs....

Destiny

They talk to you like they really know
Tell you you're not good enough
And that's just the way it goes
You know deep down that they're making a mistake
And you just don't know exactly how much you can take

(Chorus)
It's my life, it's my choice
I'm the only one who can control my destiny
My pride and my voice
And I'll only do what I think's best for me

There's always something wrong with
everything you do
It doesn't matter what it is, the problem is with you
And every step you take, they try to hold you back
Instead of seeing what you got, they focus on your lack

It's my life, it's my choice
I'm the only one who can control my destiny
My pride and my voice
And I'll only do what I think's best for me

So walk around those people standin' in your way
Keep on headin' toward your goals every
single day
Don't let what others say affect the things
you do
The words that shape your life should only come from you

It's my life, it's my choice
I'm the only one who can control my destiny
My pride and my voice
And I'll only do what I think's best for me
My life it's my choice
I'm the only one who can control my destiny
My pride and my voice
and I'll only do what I think's best for me
(fade out)

He never quit and kept focused on his goals.
He's still playing baseball and that particular coach went back to coaching just football so I guess they both got what they wanted.

Dreams are great, but at some point you have to get out of bed and make it a reality.