Injury and Potential HS Transfer Sophomore Year

What does your kid want to do? My 2022 C has chronic elbow pain for 2 years which is slowly moving to surgical intervention as the R,I & AIs tx are working but impacting his ability to play/practice when he tweaks it and it does impact his confidence. He wants to ride out his recruitment before entertaining any surgeries as it will be a several month recovery. In your case, if your kid can mash I doubt any coach would bench him.  If he does enjoy the school, I would not consider moving and let him bet on himself and make the V team next year. He has good size and skills and it will only get better as he grows.

#1 very sorry to hear about the injury and wish him a speedy and complete recovery

#2 good news is that he's a 2023 and not a 2022 or 2021 - he has some time

#3 we had someone in our program switch to our public HS as a sophomore from the private school because it was a chance at more playing time. Coach welcomed him with open arms because he is a good player. Coaches want to win and good players help

#4 sounds like travel team will really help him get seen. Take advantage of that opportunity

@2022NYC posted:

What does your kid want to do? My 2022 C has chronic elbow pain for 2 years which is slowly moving to surgical intervention as the R,I & AIs tx are working but impacting his ability to play/practice when he tweaks it and it does impact his confidence. He wants to ride out his recruitment before entertaining any surgeries as it will be a several month recovery. In your case, if your kid can mash I doubt any coach would bench him.  If he does enjoy the school, I would not consider moving and let him bet on himself and make the V team next year. He has good size and skills and it will only get better as he grows.

So make the decision based on trust in his ability and what he wants to do. I think that's solid advice.  Thanks

Don't forget to apply the same "broken leg" test to the HS's academics that is advised for the colleges when recruiting.  If he would be happy, academically challenged and have as good a chance at getting into a good college without baseball at either school, then it's fine to let baseball be the determining factor.  

As for the baseball, coaches want to win and go with the player that will best help them.

Hope your son's recovery goes quickly!

You still have part of the summer, and recruiting for 2023s will just be getting underway. Remember, there is a huge backlog of players that coaches want/need to be seen this summer. Seems reasonable to assume 2022s will take preference, with 2023s a bit later. That's a time frame that could work well for you.

Also, why not have him work hard once he's healed up to earn a spot on varsity next year? If he's good enough to play on a national-level team, it seems like the worst case will be he lands on JV as a junior.

What HS would he prefer to attend?

@DD 2024 posted:

You still have part of the summer, and recruiting for 2023s will just be getting underway. Remember, there is a huge backlog of players that coaches want/need to be seen this summer. Seems reasonable to assume 2022s will take preference, with 2023s a bit later. That's a time frame that could work well for you.

Also, why not have him work hard once he's healed up to earn a spot on varsity next year? If he's good enough to play on a national-level team, it seems like the worst case will be he lands on JV as a junior.

What HS would he prefer to attend?

Thanks for the response.  Juniors can only make Varsity. I believe he would prefer to stay where he is but leave if he has no chance of playing Varsity which we obviously won't know until he is back on the field but my guess is it's 50/50. He does have friends at the public school (Probably more than the private).    At least with the public school, it's a free bet (with better odds).  My oldest son attended the PUBLIC  school and is at a public Ivy. There is no drop off in education.

I would like to get reassurance from the coach and AD that since he has been unable to play for 2 years  he'll be at least be given an equal shot as underclassmen but I don't think they will do that.  We are also waiting to see if his significant academic scholarships are being renewed in full and that will factor in.  We would have to sign a contract within the next month or so as well.  The prospect of paying for him to go to a school where he will not play makes me physically ill. But there are no guarantees either way as with most of life.  Much of it boils down to his ability to play at the former level in a year, and whether the coach needs a player at his position who will only be able to give him 2 years. There is no doubt that he was good enough pre-injury to make the team.  No doubt.

@2023Catcher posted:

Thanks for the response.  Juniors can only make Varsity. I believe he would prefer to stay where he is but leave if he has no chance of playing Varsity which we obviously won't know until he is back on the field but my guess is it's 50/50. He does have friends at the public school (Probably more than the private).    At least with the public school, it's a free bet (with better odds).  My oldest son attended the private school and is at a public Ivy. There is no drop off in education.

I would like to get reassurance from the coach and AD that since he has been unable to play for 2 years  he'll be at least be given an equal shot as underclassmen but I don't think they will do that.  We are also waiting to see if his significant academic scholarships are being renewed in full and that will factor in.  We would have to sign a contract within the next month or so as well.  The prospect of paying for him to go to a school where he will not play makes me physically ill. But there are no guarantees either way as with most of life.  Much of it boils down to his ability to play at the former level in a year, and whether the coach needs a player at his position who will only be able to give him 2 years. There is no doubt that he was good enough pre-injury to make the team.  No doubt.

Ah, OK.  Good luck!

Unless your kid is at IMG or some other absurd baseball powerhouse where everybody is D1, it really shouldn't be an issue.

If your kid is good enough to play at a D1 school, he'll be good enough to make his HS team. And if the coach can't find another position for him and cuts him well then you may have to reevaluate the whole D1 baseball thing.

I wouldn't transfer. It's going to be harder to crack the lineup at a D1 than it is at his public high school. Stay the course, get healthy, and let the travel program use their connections to advance him.

"5'10 185 4.0 gpa 85 arm, 6.8 60 bat EV over 90.  Very strong player but was still going to have to find the right fit for college.  Summer team is nationally ranked with several P5 D1 commits. We were focused on High Academic Mid Major and possibly Ivy."

"At least with the public school, it's a free bet (with better odds).  My oldest son attended the PUBLIC  school and is at a public Ivy. There is no drop off in education."

"The prospect of paying for him to go to a school where he will not play makes me physically ill."

I think I answered your question with your own statements.....at least if I was in your shoes.

@2023Catcher posted:

My son is a 2023 Catcher who unfortunately suffered an arm injury (I won't get into the details) that requires surgery. He will miss his Sophomore Season and part of the summer after missing Freshman HS due to COVID but played last summer. D1 interest was light but existed.  Mostly Mid Major high academic.  D1 measurables.  5'10 185 4.0 gpa 85 arm, 6.8 60 bat EV over 90.  Very strong player but was still going to have to find the right fit for college.  Summer team is nationally ranked with several P5 D1 commits. We were focused on High Academic Mid Major and possibly Ivy.

..................................

First off, I wish your son a speedy recovery.  Injuries suck but they are part of the gig.   Hopefully your son's injury isn't too serious just bad timing.

I've read through the responses.  I'm trying to understand why any change is needed at all since he is at an excellent program (your words).  Based on what you've shared, I think you are overthinking the situation.  I also believe your son doesn't have traditional  D1 measureables for a catcher.   Even for an everyday Ivy catcher, 5'10" 185lbs  is on the small side.   Possibly the first thought for any parent is to change schools, but that can be a slippery slope.   I agree with PABaseball that If your kid is good enough to play at a D1 school, he'll be good enough to make his HS team.

What your future healthy son does have is the potential to stand out among high academic catchers if he can parlay his GPA with a high SAT/ACT score because that is what high academic coaches are looking for.  My son's former travel team was a top national program as well.   You may have to make some exposure strategy adjustments so that when your son is healthy he is getting in front of the high academic coaches not just traditional D1 schools.  I've walked a mile in those shoes.

JMO.  Good luck!

If you hit you play somewhere. Position doesn’t matter in high school relative to college ball. The college coaches are watching the travel teams.

@fenwaysouth posted:

You may have to make some exposure strategy adjustments so that when your son is healthy he is getting in front of the high academic coaches not just traditional D1 schools.  I've walked a mile in those shoes.

We are going through this right now. There is talk the summer team will not be able to do a couple early June events because half the team will still be in school. I'm hoping they need to take them off the schedule so we can do a Showball or Headfirst. My son loves his summer team and the coaches, but I don't have any hope that they will play in front of the coaches he wants to see him. His summer coaches do have a lot of connections though with those schools.