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One of four sessions of the Harvard play to Win camp being held this weekend in Cambridge, MA. Coach Walsh is in charge and runs a tight ship here. At many camps you do not see or hear the head coach. At this camp Walsh is front and center and seems to talk and greet every parent and player. He is very gracious. Many top schools besides Harvard in attendance including MIT, Navy, Long Island University, Holy Cross, Kenyoun, Babson, Vassar, Tufts and many more.

Yesterday each team played one game on O'Donnel Field. 77 players and 17 states represented. 5 players from Illinois at this session.

First inning pitched by Jason was 1-2-3 all outs.

9-out
6-3 out
K

Second inning was another 1-2-3.

9-out
W
8-out

The catcher then threw out the runner on a steal attempt to second by the runner on first. The adjustment to his mechanics improved velo. He kept the ball down low in the zone and the catcher had no difficulty getting the runner.

No advanced count for batter. Straight baseball and it is 6 batters or 3 outs.

Two games played today; one by each of the four teams and a tour of the campus in between games happens tomorrow. Players are screened in advance for GPA and test scores before this camp. If player does not have criteria the deposit is refunded. Harvard is very upfront about what they are looking for. Many of the same players here as were at Brown.

At end of camp yesterday Coach Walsh spoke with parents and players and thanked them for being at his camp. Some very classy and moving remarks were made by Walsh. He shared several stories about what his players were doing after playing baseball at Harvard. One former player is working on the US Defense missle system, another former player went to India to work with AIDS victims for nearly one year and he said that when he came back the first thing he wanted to do was to come out to the Harvard ball field and pick up ground balls that were hit to him. He also told the story of Javier Lopez a promising player out of Miami who was hit in the eye in the batting cages and never returned to the same prominence of hitting, but that today he is living in Miami and is pursuing a successful business career. He said what happened to Lopez was not fair, but that players need to be prepared for whatever they are faced with and that Javy Lopez did just that. Coach Walsh made note that the entire baseball team came together as a family that season to support Lopez on his long road to recovery and that he was able to return to play at Harvard again.

Coach Walsh also told the group that he is most proud that two of his former players are now in the coaching ranks and are coaching baseball at the high school level in the Boston area. He also said that he knows the recession is hurting attendance at some camps. He was gratified to see that so many players had registered. Coach Walsh received a long round of applause at the end of his remarks.

In the Soldiers Field Stadium (built in 1925) located immediately next to the baseball field a LaCrosse Tournament was underway and was being broadcast by ESPN. The place was packed with LaCrosse fans and there were lots of kids carrying LaCrosse equipment. Kids carrying their LaCrosse gear is certainly a scene that we do not see often in the Midwest!

The campus is inspiring.....It is quite the place!
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Back in Chicago today. In Game II Jason played 1st base and in Game III he was the starting pitcher. Between games II and III a former Harvard baseball player who is now a local area high school baseball coach gave us a tour of campus. As a high school baseball coach he was someone who the boys could relate to. We walked from the baseball fields to Harvard Square and into Harvard Yard. He told us that he played for Coach Walsh in 1999 and showed us the dorms that he lived in as a student. 98% of the students at Harvard live in the dorms all four years.

In Game III - he pitched one inning and it was 1-2-3 again.

6-3 out
K
Single - runner was thrown out by the catcher on a steal attempt.

Coaches told him he pitched well and he received an invite to make an official visit to a Divison I school on the East Coast. Jason's goal is to play Divison I baseball. Several coaches told him that he pitched well and that his fastball was at 85 mph. Next near term goal is to increase velocity to 87-88 mph range.

Once again the athletic area was packed with LaCrosse fans. Also there were many skill camps underway which were draws for the LaCrosse playing kids. As far as my reporting on players who were there I do not feel that is my place.
Last edited by Dolphin Mom
Lots of choices for parents to make on college camps and showcases. If my reporting with my impressions helps only one family with information to help them make a better decision about how they handle this aspect of getting recruited into college baseball then that is beneficial.

Over 60,000 kids are competing for a chance to play at the next level. There are approximately 7,000 roster spots available at NCAA I, II and III schools and when you add in the NAIA and NJCAA only one out of nine will actually get the chance to play college baseball. Most parents I have met are overwhelmed with the choices on camps and showcases. I think it is the way to go for a kid who is academically focused and wants to play college baseball.

We have taken this route for the past two years and have no regrets. Players have to work exceptionally hard to stand out.
Last edited by Dolphin Mom
no problem with reporting on the camps, showcases, etc, all that's pretty interesting, it just gets a bit sketchy with the unsolicited player development updates. again, as long as its only one dad doing it it's no big deal. an entire site full of postings from every dad about junior's development plans this week would not be fun nor informative. of course in any classroom you'll always find one kid who has to do things his own way and its manageable for everyone else as long as it remains one drummer banging to his own beat.
Last edited by igball
quote:
Originally posted by Dolphin Mom:
If you do not like what I write do not read it.

I think the better way of thinking about it is don't write it.

This is a community designed to help members reach the next level. There is give and take in that proposition. As far as I can tell, it is all one-sided with some people (all take). It rankles the community here for a reason.

sull - we don't need bullied or lectured on what is appropriate.
Spectator....Who are you to judge the worthiness of his posts ?? What may not be worthy to you , may be worthy to the next guy . The nature of your complaint with his posting is of a personal nature which doesnt belong here. Attacking someone because you dont like the nature or content of his posts should not be tolerated. Havent you figured out by now that ormond is going to post whether you or anyone else likes it or not ?? ...DUH
Clevedad

please define " appropiate "

Just because whats written may not be " liked " doesnt mean it should be deemed " innappropiate " .

I didnt realize that board manners or ettiquette are being violated when one is talking about their high school baseball player son/student on this site. After all..isnt that the gist of this site ??

Ormonds posts do not hurt anyone ...good grief

Ive seen much much worse go on in the hitting forum that you are involved in.

Do you want someone telling you what you should write in your posts ?

your response is pretty heavy-handed
Last edited by sulltiger24
quote:
Originally posted by sulltiger24:
Clevedad

please define " appropiate "

Ormonds posts do not hurt anyone .

Ive seen much much worse go on in the hitting forum that you are involved in.

Fair enough.

Contrary to popular opinion, these boards are basically regulated by the community at large rather than a few evil-dictator moderators. Just about any thread he starts ends up starting trouble - meaning several members typically complain including me. When you see the same pattern over time, it bugs people.

The hitting forum seems to allow a few more bare-knuckled exchanges. Don't know why that is but the community seems to accept it in that forum. This situation (posting only about me, myself, and I) is distinguished since there is a complete absence of give and take imho. We say enough already.
So you are saying basically that if enough people get together you will allow them to successfully gang up on and force this person out of the forum ? Are you sure you want to condone that type of behavior ? Just as there are many posters who dont like his posts ...there are more than a few who dont mind it and find it somewhat informative . Who cares if his posts are of an individual nature . Maybe you should let Julie weigh in on this .
What is the point of this posting?

To inform others of the world of academic "athletic" showcases. The only experience I have is my own. The kid has worked hard all summer and is continuing to work at getting better.

He has been focused on academics and baseball. We have supported many of the local and out of the area showcases. It is the approach that we felt was best for our situation. Not much more to this chapter of the story.

I will write my book at the end of the ride.
Last edited by Dolphin Mom
quote:
Originally posted by Dolphin Mom:
What is the point of this posting?



By your continued application, the definition would be to promote our sons as individuals above all others.

You are standing all by yourself on that one. A reasonable person would come to re-examine their actions and appropriateness. Your street continues to run only one way.
Remember that commercial you saw the other day? It was silly, mind-numbing and maybe even a little bit offensive. It had some childish jingle that was very annoying. And the station played it over and over again, right in the middle of the biggest football game of the year. And guess what? You were humming that stupid jingle for days....

It's all about marketing, and Mark knows it. Put your kid's name up there enough, and a web search finds it. The only part of it he doesn't get is that you want the web search to produce newspaper articles and accolades from sources other than the player's parent, especially when that parent is a dad pretending to be a mom.

And yes, it is inappropriate.
I've been asked to comment, but to be honest, I don't have a black-and-white, right or wrong answer to this one.

Generally...usually...I hate to see one of the parents on this board get "knocked" for talking about their kid. Most of us came here in the first place to try to help our sons advance and make the most of their love of baseball. And many of us have made the mistake a time or two of focusing a bit too much on our own kid...I know I have! But I also honestly enjoy reading about the accomplishments of "our" sons in most cases.

On the other hand, I do understand that when one parent seems to focus on their own kid time after time...whether in the stands at a baseball game, or on an Internet message board...other parents start to notice, and some get annoyed. At the game they might walk away with a shrug; on a message board they might choose to stop reading another parent's posts, or post feedback to the parent about the frequency of that particular type of post.

That probably wasn't much help, but I think this situation is pretty much "self-regulating" by virtue of the opinions already expressed...

Julie
quote:
Originally posted by sulltiger24:
How can you get annoyed if you dont read it ?
How can you find it inappropiate if you dont read it ?


By that definition, everyones actions are ok as long as we don't pay attention.

One of the things that makes this site work is the way the members police it. Most police it because they care. The overwhelming attitude is that we hope it to help others coming in as much as it has helped us in the past. Things shouldn't be allowed to be said that are patently untrue without rebuttal. Precendents shouldn't be allowed to be set without interjection.

Even though I believe that there is no hope for Mark's self absorbtion and inseccent fawning over his son, by speaking out against it publicly, it lets others know that those are inappropriate actions.
Last edited by CPLZ
We all know he has attempted to promote/overpromote his son Jason with his postings. The prevailing attitude against this has been noted many many many times on here . Does this make him stop posting ? ..the answer is no . He doesnt care that his postings bothers some people . Why continue to beat your head against a wall ? It has no effect at this point . Hence..my suggestion to not read his posts if it makes you annoyed. At home if my kids are in the same room with me and annoying the heck out of me and ive already asked them to stop but they continue anyway ..im just going to leave the room and find peace elsewhere ...not butt heads and waste time exerting energy . After a while you just learn that you cant fight City Hall .

His posts hardly fit the criteria of ones that need policing.
Last edited by sulltiger24
Mark check out the sports section of today's Sun Times. There's an article about your son's Whitney Young classmate, Marcus Jordan. Here's a young man that comes with the ultimate basketball pedigree and every college coach in the country probably knows his name. But that young man knows when it is all said and done it's not about how much ink you get or who knows your name, it's about performance.
SD # 9

Already read the article, page 55 of the August 26, 2008 Chicago Sun Times Sports Section. Thanks for the update and making the correlation. You are absolutely right on! No matter the name you have to keep working. The article is titled....."Jordan Getting Jump on Competition ~ Improved shot has Whitney Young star thinking big!"

I know how some don't like basketball being reported on the site, but since you raised it I guess it is OK. Whitney Young is known for its basketball prowess and Marcus Jordan is a 2009 classmate. The Whitney Young Dolphins should be ranked as number 1 or 2 in the state and likely will be nationally ranked as well. Jason played for two years with the basketball team and we know the coaches and all of the team members well. Last year Jason was invited to travel with the team, which he did on occassion.

Anyway, as the article notes, Marcus worked all summer to improve his game, specifically his jump shot. Jason did the work also and the summer has been a great learning experience. He needed to improve his velocity. He is now at 85 mph and it has improved his changeup. Just like Marcus Jordan, Jason has been playing all over the country including, California, Florida, Italy, Rhode Island, pitching at Tropicana Field and then playing in New York and Boston. Here in Illinois this summer he had wins for Young against New Trier and Highland Park on their home fields.

He has had a good summer and has worked hard to improve his game.......SD # 9 how is your game coming along.....seeing any improvements?
Last edited by Dolphin Mom
You just don't get the point. But, you never see anyone else's point. The Young basketball was nationally ranked last season, but I don't remember seeing them posing with the big trophy in Peoria. Pre season polls and rankings really don't mean much.

And thanks for asking, my boy is working on his game....quietly

I had been doing pretty good job of not responding to you, but I'm going to start taking my meds again.
Last edited by Stage Dad 9
The article precisely makes my point.

Players have to be pro-active to take their skills to the coaches of the schools of interest to them and the player has to take control of his own future. It is highly unlikely that coaches are going to travel to see a player and players should have a web page too. Perfect Game and Illinois High School web have options allowing players to develop their own web pages.

Marcus Jordan recognized he needed to take his game to a higher level to attract the attention of coaches. He traveled to play accross the country to be seen. Playing quietly is not going to get anyone's attention. Jordan is striving to improve his skills and is continuing to learn and to be seen.

The bottom line is that very few roster spots are available. Players need to work hard to stand out.
Last edited by Dolphin Mom
quote:
Originally posted by Dolphin Mom:
The article precisely makes my point.



There is a saying in the fishing business...

They don't know what they don't know.

Mark, you are probably the most stunning example of this that I have ever encountered.

quote:
Originally posted by Dolphin Mom:

Playing quietly is not going to get anyone's attention.


True, but shouting a players name from the mountaintop will get attention for all the wrong reasons. Playing well is going to get their attention for the right reasons.

Besides, you obviously have zero experience with playing quietly, so quit speaking of things you do not know.

quote:
Originally posted by Dolphin Mom:

Players need to work hard to stand out.


False, players need to be good to stand out.
Last edited by CPLZ

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