help

love if the coach will not let him redshirt then he is probably in the wrong program.so a decision needs to be made.there is no reason wasting a year eligibility.be honest concerning his ability and desire. try to get a unbiased evalution of his ability and make the decision to stay or leave.there should be a 4 yr at some level for him i would think.i think the juco is the last way to go if it can be helped.speaking from experience.

lovethegame1:

You have a private message from me. Hope it helps.

LovetheGame,

My son is in a similar situation, but with an entirely different attitude. He is also a late bloomer, and somewhat undersized. Although it is a struggle for him at times, he acknowledges that his reason for going to this Juco was to develop. And he is developing as a player, his hitting is improving, his arm strength is significantly better, and he is working extra on his own with weight training.

We have had many discussions along these lines. (Not that he is unhappy, but rather somewhat frustrated.) But he is keeping his eye on the goal, and not exclusively on the present. My advice to him has been, work hard, take advantage of every opportunity to improve your skill,if you don't get playing time in the spring you will still be an improved player. Fortunately, at his school, the coach leaves the redshirt call to the player.

Let me clarify a couple of points. #1) My son, even if he redshirts, will only spend two years at a Juco, he will not redshirt one year and then play two at the Juco because of the NCAA transfer rules and it being too difficult to spend 3 years at a Juco and still be able to transfer with enough credits. So our approach is, if he redshirts this year, he will still have 3 years of eligibility when transfers to a 4 year school. (I know that makes it a 5 year plan, but he is looking at a combination degree in 5 years, BS and Mba. At least that is the way we justify it! )

#2) With respect to eligibility, the clock has already started ticking for your son. It started the day he enrolled as a full time student. He now has 5 years to play four ( at a Div I school, Div II is a little different and Div III only allows 4 years of eligibility. I'm not sure about NAIA) The NCAA rules are complicated and seem to be different for each division, so it depends upon where he ultimately thinks he will end up.

If he is not getting any athletic money, then it should not be a problem transferring to a different program. I would think that in N. Carolina there would be plenty of options that are closer to home. Reality is that at any program, he will probably face similar obstacles, and in all likelihood, there will be sophmores ahead of him. So it boils down to the school. If he is not happy with the school, or doesn't like/respect the coach/program, then he should probably find a better fit.

However, if it is just the playing time issue. He might be better off to adjust his attitude, work hard at becoming the best player he can and position himself to be one of those sophmores next year. And you never know what will happen with a good work ethic, and a great attitude, he may yet get a shot where he is at!

Hope that helps a little. As mentioned, this topic is "close to home" for us.

lovethegame - I posted in your other question, but I sent you a PM.

Also, I put a question in the recruiting forum on showcasing JUCO kids. Maybe there will be some information there that might be helpful to many.

montanadad, you are not entirely correct about DIII only allowing 4 years...you have 10 full time semesters in which you are allowed to compete in 8 of them...your clock does not start like DI, DII...you can go to school for 6 semesters and play...take 8 years off and still have 2 full time semesters to play! We also have medical redshirts...we just can't tell a kid to take a semester off and practice with the team...to retain his red-shirt, he cannot practice with the team...

Love,
There are always programs such as mine that look at transfers...(see post under Maryland, and Northeast, Mid Year Transfers) There are rules that must be followed when looking between NCAA schools but very few when transfering from a JUCO...I am sure there is a program that is right for you son...BDT had it right to get an independant evaluation and that can help you look at realistic goals. I heard that as many as 75% of baseball players transfer after their freshman year for various reasons...that wouldn't surprise me!

VJC,

Thanks for the correction. I wasn't aware that rule applied to DIII, I thought it was just DII.

Quite a maze of eligibility questions. It is certainly great to have persons such as yourself that are able to answer questions from experience.

Lovethegame1,

Caution! Caution!

Underthe NCAA rules there are instances where Fall participation counts as a year of eligibility. Check the NCJAA rules but do your homework. Don't assume that spring participation will necessarily save your son a year of eligibility.

better safe than sorry

Montanadad,
You are right...the maze is a bit ridiculous...but I've had to deal with it...that's the only reason I know it...MrMom is also absolutely correct...at our level if someone practices 1 day after our first scrimmage in the fall..their eligibility is used up for the entire year...(unless medical redshirt)...I do not know all the rules for NJCAA but I do think there will be a problem participating in the fall and not the spring!

VJC,

I need a little bit of clarification on what you are saying. I understand the concept of practicing/eligibility. My question, does that only apply at that PARTICULAR DIII, or in the case of the original question, if the player starts at a JUCO, practices but does not play, does that constitute a year of eligibility when it comes to transferring if the player were to transfer to a DIII?

That's a bit of a convoluted question, but I hope that you understand the "gist" of what I am asking.

Thanks for your insight.

Montana Dad,

Please, call the NCAA yourself and ask, only you know the particulars. They take parent questions after 12 pm weekdays. Don't rely on what you hear here. Not that this info is bad or wrong but the NCAA is a complicated fickled mistress and generalizing and assuming will be "Not good". You want this to be right - CALL yourself.

The NJCAA won't entertain questions from anyone other than athletic directors -- no private citizens.

Always remember college athletics Administration is above the law and human rights.

mrmom,

I'm really not in the position of needing to know myself at the moment. My Juco son is a freshman, will in all likelihood redshirt this year. He hopes to eventually transfer to a four year school, but at this time is not planning on going to a DIII. We'll see what happens down the road. If he were in that immediate situation, I certainly would take your advice.

As it is, I am just trying to become more knowledgable from some on HSBBW that have more experience in an area I am not familiar with.

montanadad,
Its a great question and I do understand what you are saying...here's how it works...when someone transfers in to our university, our compliance director sends a letter of eligibility to the JUCO school...since he would have been competing und NJCAA rules..those rules apply regardless of where he was to transfer! therefore he played in a game in the fall and was redshirted in the spring, he would still have 4 yrs of eligibility...because the JUCO's compliance department would return to us and say he did not us a season of eligibility because of the red shirt following NJCAA rules! I hope that clears it up...one of the main reasons why I know about this information is because it is estimated that close to 70% of DI baseball athletes transfer after their first season...so we get alot of practice. I also wouldn't rule out DIII, I know here in the northeast...many, if not most DIII programs are significantly better than the DI programs. I know for instance there are 6 DI's in MD and not one will play me...because of the risk of losing would destroy their recruiting in the area! So definately keep your eyes and mind open!

mrmom - In regards to the NJCAA, I called them this summer (maybe I just caught them on a good day), but they were very helpful with some information for my son. He had signed last winter with one JUCO and decided to go somewhere else this summer. They explained what would be needed in a couple of different scenarios.