I am new to this website and forum, so I hope I've posted in the most appropriate place (if not, please accept my apologies).
My goal as the single mother of an 18 year old only child is to make sure that he at least gets an opportunity to be seen by anyone who would be willing to just tell us if he has what it takes to play baseball somewhere, preferably on the collegiate, or even minor league level.
My son had been playing baseball every season since he was 5 years old; he skipped T-ball because he thought it was boring and started with a 6-8 year old team and a pitching machine. When he was 12, his stats were: .548 BA, 27 RBIs, 6 Triples & 7 HRs and a Grand Slam that season. He played 9th and 10th baseball at Lovejoy High School in Clayton County, GA. According to his high school coach, my son could have played Varsity his freshman and sophomore years, but he was needed on the 9th grade and JV teams.
The coach nominated my son at the end of 10th grade for Who's Who Among American High School Students, Sports Edition. My son is listed in the 2004-2005 edition on page 230, center column:
“Johnson, Allen; Lovejoy HS; Jonesboro, GA; 2; 5’9”, 190 lbs; Sport: Baseball (1) CF, Only Freshman to Hit Grand Slam, 392 BA, Grand Slam, 14 DB, 9 TR, 28 RBIs; (2) CF, Outstanding Athlete Award, 379 BA, 8 DB, 6 TR, 57 RBIs; ai: Sophomore Class; Perfect Attendance Award; ROTC, Longevity Award; Baseball, Culinary Arts; Johnson & Wales.”
Unfortunately, my son’s Junior year was not a good one for either of us . . . he aligned himself with a group of young men and their interests, and consequently, lost focus on his school work to the point he flunked 2 classes first semester, and therefore was ineligible to play. Not being able to play subsequently led to a host of other issues, which resulted in him failing every class the second semester.
Because of the negative influences and the problems he was having at Lovejoy, I moved us out of Clayton County to Carroll County where he attended Villa Rica HS from August until December 2005. While his behavior improved and he worked 20 hours a week while going to school, his grades were not sufficient at the Christmas break to make him eligible to play baseball. Instead of retaining him as a Junior taking 11th grade classes, Villa Rica HS placed him in 12th grade classes because he had 14 credits going into his Senior year (16 are needed to be considered a Senior).
Since I was not about to experience what happened the previous year when he was ineligible to play baseball, and because our goal is for him to finish high school, I sent him to Youth Challenge Academy (YCA) at Ft. Stewart to get his GED and help him get disciplined enough to really focus on his future. He is due to graduate June 17th. He is playing softball for YCA, but I have no way of knowing how he is doing in terms of stats.
So my questions/concerns are:
Despite the fact that he was unable to play Varsity ball his Junior and Senior years, does my son have any chance at all of being able to play at the college level with a GED?
What do we need to do at this point? He is supposed to be taking the SAT/ACT in the next few weeks and YCA sent home the FAFSA form to apply for financial aid, but I have some questions regarding that too. While one of YCA’s mission is to help their students work on a plan of action after graduation as concerns what they intend to do, all I’ve gotten from my son is that he wants to go to college so he can play baseball. Truth be told, he lost interest in school somewhere along middle school and did just enough to be able to play baseball. His best academic high school year was actually 10th grade.
I was told by my son’s coach sometime before baseball season started last year that my son was being looked at by several scouts, but I have no idea who they were or what can be done NOW in light of his current academic record.
I have been at home for the past 3½ years and have not had a steady source of income during that time, although I am willing to do whatever I need to just to ensure that my son at least “gets a shot.” If we’re told that he’s not good enough, then so be it. But no one who has seen my son play has said that.
The brother of the owner of Pro-Day Baseball has said “he would help my son get in front of some collegiate and professional scouts as soon as he graduates by his attendance at a showcase,” and I’m wondering whether anyone here has had an experience with Pro-Day.
I just need to know what can/should we be doing to get my son noticed? Any suggestions or positive comments would certainly be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
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