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Most of us that have had sons go to the college level or anticipate our sons going to the college level have heard the word ”fit” tossed about. Fit describes the effective matching of needs and desires of the player, the parents, and the college after comparing what the player the parents, and the college has to offer to satisfy those needs and desires. From the player/parent perspective I think the process of determining the above can be achieved by asking the right people the right questions and putting it all on paper but I still think we need to determine whose opinion is the determining factor here. For instance, my son had very little knowledge about the financial aspect of the college education. He decided he didn’t want to have student loans so that put that burden and subsequent decision on our shoulders. My opinion of the coach’s personality was insignificant since he and I never talked but loomed important for my son. Academics, playing time, tuition, red shirt, conference, tutors, climate, distance…….? I could make a long list of wants and desires but mine (ours) would be different than yours. Did you or do you think about who has the overriding opinion in the different matters? What about a third party like a high school coach, the college coach, high school counselor, or maybe a “recruiting service”? Should they being given any consideration in making what we all agree is a very important decision?
Your thoughts.
Fungo
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Great question. For us, there was certainly input from my son's HS coach and legion/showcase team coach as to where he should be looking (D-III, in his case). However, neither discouraged him and both coaches made calls and sent letters on his behalf to D-I coaches. In the end, it came down to a place where Jr could envision himself playing. We both felt like the place he chose was the absolute right fit, it just "felt right." Did he have other options, yes, and he actually cancelled a couple of visits becuase the school and the fit was "that right."
Now, what constituted the fit? One was a school that has the rep of NOT over-recruiting. Coach point-blank told us that if he recruits a player, he is on the team (but of course, playing time is up to how the player performs). Looking at D-III, that was HUGE in our eyes. Some other D-III schools that were recruiting him could not guarantee anything other than the chance to tryout. In our case, close to home certainly was part of the equation. Certainly, we did not expect close to home to end up 10 mins away--that was a bonus. Position was also a factor (NOT being recruited as a catcher, in son's case). Also, academics were important, as the school has the major he's interested in. Ultimately, though, it was purely a baseball decision.
Fungo, great topic!

The "fit" is critical to all players/families. Be it playing time, academics, proximity, coaching staff, financial, getting to the next level etc. What is good for one student athlete is not necessarily good for another.

For my son, he chose the JUCO route over D-1, D-2 and D-3. It's a good fit for him, he likes the coaching staff, and he feels he can adjust to the college academics their vs. some of the schools that were interested in him for baseball.

"Fit" is critical and when evaluating all your options, don't just look at the baseball aspect. This a mistake that many players make and then they end up wanting to transfer.

JT made some good points about the recruiting aspect and "over-recruiting."

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