High School Choices

We (mom,dad,son) just went thru this same decision making 2 years ago with the choices being between a top catholic high school where he would get a good education at a price of 12k per year but the baseball is always one of the best in NJ, or for him to attend if accepted a top public magnet school (3rd in state) with a very demanding curriculum but he would have to play for his sending district that has a VERY poor baseball program.

Well the decision was to attend after being accepted the magnet school and we have no regrets except during baseball season as painful as it is to watch sometimes. With my son being a jr. this year and college decision time creeping up on him the school choices he now faces include Yale, Haverford, Cornell, UPenn, Washington & Lee, ect. What we HAD to do baseball wise was for him to play on the very best summer and fall teams he was capable of and to be SEEN facing the best competition (East Cobb, Ft. Myers) he could. Now that he is less then 1 year away from D day he now states that there are no bad choices to be made as far as schools go he just needs to find the right fit.

Bottom line is that HE will now decide where to attend college and play baseball, and not where he may just get the better baseball offer.

Best of luck to you and your son as I know sometimes it is not an easy decision to make.

I agree that he should go with the best academic school and focus on being seen as a baseball player in the summers after his sophmore and junior year.

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This is a D-4 school and plays against some of the best teams in Arizona although it is doubtful that this high school will win any state or regional championships.

His second choice is a D-1 school that is of course much smaller and plays against high schools that are not on anyone's radar screen.

We had exactly the same decision to make two years ago. We chose the 1A school and have no regrets. It was a better school academically and has a very strong 1A baseball program. The players and parents are very supportive of each other and there is very little of the politics, jealousy and in-fighting that I read about in the big school programs.

However, if you want to play at the next level you will have to showcase and attend camps. The competition at 1A is varied with some very weak programs. Some schools can barely field a team. The better small schools are very competitive but not at the level of big schools. Most teams are a mix of all four classes and a good freshman will usually start and contribute right away. There are fewer coaches and the facilities are limited. There is more travel involved. Some of the fields are not very well maintained.

What school is he considering? Maybe we've played them...

His choice is between Flagstaff HS and Northland Prep.

Welcome aboard Bobball! Glad you found this site. Nothing to offer here, just wanted to greet you as a new member!

The thing to keep in mind is that the baseball season is very short just a few games. I have been told by many scouts and coaches it is what you do in the summer and fall that gets you noticed.

Make sure your kid is happy in school first and baseball will take care of itself.

Hi, bobball. When we moved to FL, we chose academics without even thinking about baseball, but then 2B was only in the 6th grade. He goes to a small K-12 school. Now that he is a sophomore, he is still very happy where he is. We are zoned for a 6A school with a very good coach and a top-notch baseball program. But it's huge, and the academics aren't as good. There is more to the HS experience than baseball. Besides most of the players on his summer team play for that school. So really it's the best of both worlds and the right fit for him.

This is why 2B's favorite class this year is chemistry:
Exploding Pumpkin

Hawk19 is absolutely right, though.

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The better small schools are very competitive but not at the level of big schools. Most teams are a mix of all four classes and a good freshman will usually start and contribute right away. There are fewer coaches and the facilities are limited.

Even though our school is small, we always have seniors go on to college ball, and there are also two graduates right now in MiLB. One of those was drafted right out of HS in 2006, and the other went to a community college, then to D1, then pro. So it is what you make it. Good luck.

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His choice is between Flagstaff HS and Northland Prep.

We've never played Northland Prep so I can't comment. But, one other thing to consider. Some of the small schools don't play a full schedule. If that is important to you, I would check their schedule (both pre-league and league) and talk to the coach about what his plans for the future.

One of the things I like about our program is that we play two early season tournaments against mostly 2A/3A competition. It's a good test for our team to get ready for league and gives our kids a full HS baseball season (about 30-32 games). Several of the teams in our league only play about 15 games a year.

Hawk19

What showcases or camps would you reccomend in Arizona?

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What showcases or camps would you reccomend in Arizona?

My son is only a soph this year and had elbow surgery last November so I haven't really looked into showcases and camps. But he's scheduled to pitch Tuesday (for the first time this season) so I think he's pretty much back to full strength. Time to consider what else needs to be done since he'd like to play in college...

ASU is a top program, so is Arizona, so I'm confident that either of those camp programs would be great. Perfect Game has a showcase event this November that he wants to attend. I'm open to any other recommendations.

Note: IMO, there is no reason to go to a showcase until you're really ready. I think he will 'project' better as an incoming, healthy, 6'2" Junior than he would have as a incoming Freshman anyway. So he really hasn't lost anything by being injured....

Which school does he play for? I follow HS ball in the papers.

Our fall ball team played Garden of Eden and Clash teams. Are you familiar with them?

Bobball,

Have you seen this site? They track the small schools, post scores and articles on the teams and have some commentary.

Arizona Small School Baseball

My son plays for Tanque Verde in Tucson. You and I are a long way apart so we wouldn't normally cross paths except at pre-season tournaments and State (First round is South (us) vs North (you)).

My son played club ball 11u-14u in AZ and I remember the CLASH but don't remember playing them. I've never heard of Garden of Eden. Do you mean Garden of Gears?