FIT

FIT is critical even if the student is not an athlete

A student wants to be where he/she is comfortable in their surroundings

What is a good FIT for one may not be so for another

When did my son find it? When he said "Dad this is it ! Cut the deal"

Some like city schools while others like a more urban atmosphere--some want to be nearer to home while others want to be a good distance away

You will absolutely know "Fit" when it comes along.

My oldest son knew it when we finished the visit of a particular campus. This was after we had visited several others. He was excited and said this is where he knew he belonged. Keep in mind when we searched for a school we searched for the major he was interested in first and foremost and then baseball was second. College education is what will get him thru life. He was comfortable at this school and as a parent it makes all the difference in the world knowing that when they are several hours away from home they are comfortable.

So far it has been the best experience of his life. He is also having successs on the ballfield, so I think one lends to the other.

It is absolutely important that your son/daughter is seeking a place they can be comfortable. It is great getting the phone calls and you hear, "I love it here, it is so great!"

You will know when it comes along. Settle for nothing less. Education first, sports second.

I hesitated to make a comment here because my son's "search" for the perfect fit for him is over but the scholarship money [academic and athletic] has not been resolved and the official nod from the coaches that they want him and he has a legitimate shot to play for them has not occurred.

However, it was just like Catch 15 said. Until he visited this particular school, my son was torn between a school that had the degree and academic credentials with a good DI program and a DII school in the Sunshine State Conference that had, for my son, the "location, location, location" aspect to it. He wasn't that interested in this third college when I showed him the rosters, the stats and the website pictures of the campus. But, when we got there and toured the athletic facilities with the recruiting coach and he met and talked to the Head coach, that was it. I did not know it then but I suspected when he not his mother or me initiated the conversation with the admissions counselor. He would not shut up. This normally shy kid who almost always looks at me or his mother when a question was asked in similar circumstances really charmed the young admissions counselor. She gave us a pre-paid application and said unofficially there would be no problem with him getting admitted and told us how to go after the avalable academic scholarships.

So yes, the fit is there in his mind. I just hope the coaches like him and see him as a part of their program as well as he likes them and their program. I'll get back to you.

TW344

tw344

What will be the evidence to you that they see him as part of their program? What questions will you, as parents, ask?

quote:

Fit

How did it impact your recruiting experience?

What lead you to believe your son found it?

Is it important to be sure your son is seeking it?

Does it only apply to the baseball field?

catchersdad - great topic/question(s)

I believe that each answer to the question is entirely unique. The only reason I know this is because of all the varied responses I have read here over the years. Some say academics first and then baseball. Some say you want to weigh the two (often times competing) interests to arrive at the optimal solution for/with your son. Of course, in the end, the decision is his. Still yet others will say baseball drove the decision and determined the fit.

I say this. No doubt someone who graduates from a more prestigious academic university will have more opportunities earlier in their careers and perhaps thoughout their careers.

Probably what drove us more was my son's inherent love of baseball. In other words, if baseball wasn't a fit, academics were not considered. Do I consider academics important? You bet. I also happen to believe in the real world you can succeed by outworking your competition.

I also believe though that misjudgments about whether or not an ideal academic decision has been made can be rectified in the future - if necessary. I keep going back to this one idea however. It may be extremely difficult (if not impossible) to go back and correct a bad baseball decision.

The cool part of living in a free society is that we all get to live with the decisions we make. Thus, I think at the end of the day, it is an emotional decision as much as it is a logical decision. One needs to find the fit that best suits their personal style and spirit. For each kid and family, those considerations will obviously be different.

Catchersdad,
Nice avatar! And good topic!

We talk about FIT all of the time, but I can honstly say, never knew exactly what it meant until son found it. I often wondered, what everyone was talking about, but you truely have to experience it to understand it.

Mine was one of those with choices where to go, he always said he would go play where they gave him the biggest scholarship. He had 5 visits lined up. Our first was Clemson, and we knew by just looking at him on the plane ride home (he slept) that he had found the right place. But it was hard to understand why a kid from a fast paced metropolitan mixed bag of cultures would want to go to a small little southern town that is known for one thing, it's university. As a compromise,he agreed to visit one more school. The school he visited was closer to home, no cost to us and one he could relate to more than Clemson. Yet after that visit, and again on the way home (he slept) we knew that the trip was in vain. He had already made up his mind where he was going. Not only is it where he goes to school and plays baseball, but it is his home, and most probably will be when he is not attending anymore. He loves it all, except for some chilly days, the weather, the seasons, the admiration of the fans, his team mates, his coaches, the magical atmosphere of being tucked away from the rest of the real world, the youthful experiences and being around all his age (not the retired snowbirds). School seems to get in the way somethimes.
I hope your sons all have experiences such as ours (catchersdad and mine) have had in recruiting. The wisdom of the recruiting coach to help these kids realize that this was the right place for them was also a big factor in our son's decisions. And it has nothing to do with playing time, or the teams success, they both have gone through what every player has, struggles to prove oneself, but they would love it there regardless, their extended season was just a bonus.

I know those going through the process think about it all of the time, will he find the right fit, how wil he know, how will we know he will know. He will KNOW and he will tell you right away when he finds it. It may be the first one, or the last of many, but you will know what we are talking about when that time arrives!


Catchersdad, I forgot about carrying equipment bags!

Catchersdad, a very good topic and one that should always be talked about. Each player and his parents have different requirement in a college thus they all have a different “fit”. For instance the long distance from your home to the college your son attends would not be considered a good fit for our family and I do think parents have a place in the "fit". I read posts where players are looking for different things in a college. Maybe a Christian college or one that offers a great engineering department while others are looking for a JUCO in a particular state. I also know players that put baseball before academics and others that put academics ahead of baseball. There are those that need a substantial scholarship and there are those that don’t need any assistance. The player’s and coach’s personalities are factors too. A good fit may also be a temporary thing that appears solid as a rock when the NLI is signed but disappears when playing time fails to materialize. By he same token I used to think it was bad for a player to be a small fish in a big pond but I have known players that were perfectly content with that arrangement. When my son was looking at colleges a few things were very important to him. The conference was important to him. As a P/C he wanted catching to be his primary position. He also wanted a promise from the coach that he would start as a freshman. The towns the colleges were located in were important to him. He ruled two schools out simply because of the towns they were located in.
Fungo

I just found this topic this morning and it is really the most important area of MY concern for my son.
He is a very good athlete who has also worked very hard to become a baseball player. He loves the game, but unlike me he doesn't define himself by the game. He takes as much pride in his academic accomplishments as what he does on the baseball field, and is being recruited by mid-major D1 schools (and D3's as well) because of his academic accomplishments as well as their projections of some unknown future baseball abilities.
Until very recently, I would have defined him as being a very shy kid. We were at one school on an unofficial visit and he sat in the office of the head coach for an hour, and was not comfortable enough to be himself. Even when fielding a direct question, he strained to give an answer.
At a subsequent unofficial visit, I saw another side of my son. The coach had an entirely different approach (warmer and less authoritative) and seemed as interested in how my son was feeling as he was in impressing him with the qualities of the program. And my formerly tongue tied kid proceded to open up. He asked questions (I hadn't seen that before) and when asked to schedule a weekend to come back for an official visit, said "I look forward to it!" enthusiastically. I think some parents out there would know where I am coming from...it was a beautiful moment for us).
He has gotten a few of the "string-along" calls and e-mails (one major program is especially prolific), but I think he is figuring out which ones are for real and which ones are using him as a back up back up plan. I saw his face when he was talking with someone who really wants him to come and PLAY BASEBALL, and there is no comparison. When asked by other coaches "who else is calling you?" he isn't even mentioning the lip service schools. He knows they aren't really interested in him as a front line player.
We are looking forward to getting all of this resolved, but my only goal as a parent is to have him at a school that he feels good about.

Paps,
Welcome to the HSBBW. I think that your post is the reason Catchersdad started the topic. You'll know it when it happens.

We worry and discuss about our sons making the right choice, finding the right fit, yet without even discussion they seem to know it when it hits them (we could use some lessons from them I guess).

Sometimesit all doesn't work out, the right fit doesn't seem right after a while, but that's ok, they take what they have learned and usually turn it around.

Best of luck to your son!

quote:

You will absolutely know "Fit" when it comes along.

How true..

For my son Wake Forest wasn't even considered until a call from one of the coaches, in (I think it was August) (they just hired a new coaching staff) We really didn't know alot about the school other than they had a great basketball team. We didn't even know it was in North Carolina at the beginning.

My son's early dream was to go to Stanford, and his grandmother had actually worked and retired there.

So we went and did a lot of research, and then after the campus visits, if became very apparent which schools my son "preferred" and which was the BEST FIT. The list whittled down, with his childhood favorite dropping down.

Then we waited for all the offers to come...
My son was privileged to receive a few offers, and had a few others stringing him along... and eventually had a couple schools offer a much higher percentage than what He eventually accepted from Wake. But it was about the ENTIRE fit.

Wake had a smaller town environment, the Academics, the opportunity to compete for and eventually play as a freshman, the rapport with the coaches... The quality of the league, and my son felt comfortable there. (biggest factor) It all made it the best fit for my son.

Dad only wished it was within a days driving time....

"Dad only wished it was within a days driving time...."

Well, you can't have EVERYTHING!

Sons fit was not our fit, distance wise, so I feel your pain!

My son is one of those that likes everywhere he goes and his favorite is the one he last visited! It's been making things difficult He got a good offer in July from a long term favorite but just hasn't been able to say "yes"-we've not been able to really figure out why and neither has he. He's being recruited by a couple of Big 12 schools that we've visited unofficially, with official visits set up in the next few weeks. Other smaller D1s and a couple of jucos have been in frequent contact as well. He likes them all with no clear favorite and if he had to at this point, would just draw a name out of a hat. He reached the point last week where he said he was ready to just accept that first offer and just be done. He knows he's in a great position to have choices (he's a lefty so he got lucky) but was getting frustrated becaused he just didn't know what he wanted and felt like it shouldn't be so difficult. "Fit" was a dirty word around our house!

He went on an official visit this weekend-wasn't one he was really giving alot of consideration to but good location, not too far from home, so we thought why not. We knew he'd like it because he likes everywhere
When we got back to the hotel that afternoon after touring, meeting everybody,etc. he said he could see himself going there. We said "Of course you can" (no suprises there!) After dinner with coach and player host then spending the evening with some of the players, he came in and said "No, I can REALLY see myself going here" and we could tell he meant it. He's ready to call off the other visits but we told him he has to wait and give himself some time to be sure ( given his previous track record!) But I have to admit, this seems different and I think it might be the right "fit." It's definitely not the most well known school or baseball program and he knows if he does choose this school he'll get the "you're going where? why are you going there?" especially with the other choices he has. He doesn't care and I'm so glad that's he's realizing now that he doesn't have to choose a "top" program for it to be right!

My son went to a very high profile HS in CA. During his senior year they got a great deal of national and local press.

He was not the stud of the team. There were several kids that were being heavily recruited.

My son went through the normal "apply for college and let the coach know" that you are interested program. He was also the best student on his HS team.

He did the normal showcases as well as the Stanford camp.

He had several contacts as a result of the Stanford camp. One school in particular followed him closely throughout the fall and into the spring.

The HS season came and my son had a great start hitting the ball extremely well. With a little national press, the phone began to ring late in the spring.

I took my son on 3 trips to visit schools (two were offical visits). With the exception of the one school that followed him, each was rather indifferent until the late spring. As the dust started to settle, two schools began courting him late in the spring. By this time, he had made the decision that the school with solid academics and baseball program was more imporant than being recruited by a major D1 program.

What it came down to was the one school that really wanted him, the coaches and the players on the team. He had better offers elsewhere, but in the end he felt that he belonged at the school that he finally choose.

Also, we as a family realized that 4-year guaranteed merit money beats a 1-year nominal athlectic scholarship.

Along the way, as a Dad I spoke to and listened to several of the regular posters (thanks infielddad) on this forum. What it got down to was my son making a decision based upon what he knew and what he believed while looking at his future not from the prospective of "baseball prestige" but knowing that baseball would only last so long and that his education would carry him through life.