JUCO life

I had/have two sons in JUCO ball.. A lot depends on the program. Some JUCO's are great and some are not. The roster does change a lot from year to year.  One thing I think some people miss out on is that if you are at say a top 25 JUCO you have to contribute immediately, there is no time to really improve.  

My sons JUCO went to the Juco W/S in 2013.  Last year they have 4 D2's and 3 D1's move on and one was drafted in the 15th. 

The good things about JUCO is you can basically practice as much as you want and they do, 6-7 days a week. The tuition is much cheaper and you can get a couple of years out of the way. You can get 20-25 games in during the fall and 55-60 in the spring.  From what I have seen, if you go to a juco and do well, it's like getting 3 years in two. You get more innings and at bats .  A lot of mid to low D1's take juco's because they are mre ready to play and they are older. 

The bad things are there is no training table, they do not have many coaches. They usually do not have housing either. But it was our opinion that going and playing right away at a good juco was worth more than sitting at a D1.  It has worked out well for 2013 that was able to get a deal at a mid D1 after Juco.

To answer your question not much "college life"  mostly class and baseball and some more baseball.

My son went the JUCO route here in Florida. He was offered a 100% Scholarship which included Housing, Books and Meal Vouchers, for meals after the college dining facility was closed, typically dinner.

The pre season training was vigorous which included a lot of weight training and running as well as water polo and treading water holding weight over head.

Academics were very important at one of the two JUCO's he attended, where the Coach was very serious about maintaining a 3.0 Team GPA or better, His program routinely won awards for Team GPA.

In strong JUCO's as most other programs it is all about winning, and only players that help achieve this goal play. Many sit. Very little change in batting order or line ups once the season starts.

My son had very little time for extra curricular activities whether on the JUCO field or the eventual D2 program that picked him up in his Junior Year.

If your son can play and contribute right away, he may do well in JUCO and at his eventual 4 year. In my son's case he virtually never missed an inning of play in 4 years. Always started, always played until the last pitch.

It was a fun time, enjoy it as long as you can!

Thank you both, that is some good information.  Floridafan, I sent you a PM

My 2017 will most likely go the Juco route.  getting on the field that first year is very important to him.  

Do most of the baseball players share apartments?  I realize there are no dorms, but what are the options?

My son lives in a dorm with all the other athletes.  He shares a room with another pitcher, and he loves it there.  They do have some events, and it helps that the BB team is one of the top 2 or 3 in the country, the VB is #1 in the country, and the WBB is also in the Top 5.  He is having the time of his life, and getting better too. 

All three of our kids, one a baseball player, went to JC for their first few years of college before moving on to 4 yr schools.  Feel free to PM me with any specific questions. 

Our player's experience was similar to bacdorslider's.  No dorms.  Some players commuted.  Some shared an apartment much like so many players do at a 4 yr school.  He went a distance away from us and shared an apartment.  His apartment was located among housing for a major 4-yr school so he was able to enjoy some of that experience while attending JC.  Baseball was as time-consuming or more than 4-yr schools. 

You really have to be aware of transferability of classes.  And in most cases, the baseball is better than expected coming out of HS.  I'd say, generally, it's not quite the full 4 yr school experience but a heck of a lot closer to it than HS.  Each situation and school can be quite different.  Same with 4 yr schools. 

I've seen a lot of different examples of different types of junior college and community colleges that play juco ball. Here's my long, long response.

Some have dorms, traditionally aged younger students and a typical campus life/environment. Others have no dorms and will have a mix of adults and young people as well as a large percentage of working adults attending classes at night. 

Some offer tuition and room and board or some percentage. Some offer tuition or some percentage of tuition. Some offer no athletic assistance.

Some are very good and have top level talent - kids who are D1 talents but don't have the grades, or are playing one year of juco to improve their draft status. I've also seen some jucos that were really bad and basically the teams were assembled by whoever showed up on campus and wanted to play. Most are somewhere in between those two examples.

Yes, they can practice all the time. One kid I know transferred away from one juco despite making good grades, starting at SS and hitting leadoff all season long. The school is in a desirable area near the coast, but they routinely practiced 7 days a week in the fall and were going 7 days a week with games and practice in the spring. So, he was near the beach, but never saw it, and he hated it.

Most four year resedential colleges require freshman to live on campus at least the first year. These schools have food service and meal plans. If your son attends a juco with no dorms, then you are putting an 18 year old freshman in an off campus apartment to start college life. He will be responsible for food, groceries, getting to classes that will require driving to school, and living as an adult. When the music is too loud, or the party gets out of hand, he won't have the dorm's resident advisor, resident director or campus security showing up. The local Police gets called out to apartments. So, being responsible is a must. 

And I can think of several examples of kids who didn't take going to class or studying seriously because they were at a "community college". Thought they would get by like they did in high school and didn't realize that transfer courses are held to the same standards, and in most cases, it really isn't any easier than a four year school

Santa Rosa JC

currently ranked in top 10 in the State of California. Outstanding team, coaches and one of the best Academic College in USA.

A great "feeder" program to many top baseball schools. When my son played at the SRJC in 1989, they finished #3 in the State, The alumni of this team includes the Minor League Director for the Chicago Cubs, the 1st base coach for the Cubs, the Pro scout for a Japanese team, Assistant to GM of the Texas Rangers and Director of Promotions for a Japan Sporting Goods Co. and Athletic Director of a local HS. Four of these players played in College World Series in Omaha.

"do not under estimate the value of a Community College"

Bob

Now that we are switching our thinking and considering the JUCO route, if he commits to a JC and then later in the spring/summer roster openings come up at a 4 year school that my son would prefer and has an opportunity to fill, is the general rule that juco coaches are understanding of these late opening opportunities or is that seen as a negative on my son?  If its a negative, who fills the late openings?

Son has a friend at Juco now. He went that route due to limited offers. Living in apt w three other players. Responsible for making most meals, which is good for him because he cooks very healthy meals and doesn't eat junk at cafeterias. Coach is very involved in how they conduct themselves. Just suspended a few who were caught drinking. Pretty good program, they practices/played a great deal in Fall. Classes/school ok, in a very small town, but he's just taking basics before moving on. 

Only negatives compared to sons experience is they don't have great facilities, do not have specific trainer for baseball, and  health facilities on campus r not that great, sure it varies from school to school.   If your son is mature he should do well at JuCo. They r only there 2 yrs so they need to make the best of it. 

I do not see this as a negative.  Most JUCO coaches are trying to get their players into four year schools.  Keep in mind while you are concerned about leaving the juco after committing, the JUCO will have no problems bringing in a 4-2-4 guy from a D1 and playing him over your son. Do what is best for him always.

So for those who's sons have gone this route;  What is the recruiting timeline?  My son is a 2017.  He did have one juco offer him full tuition at the end of the summer before his junior year.  The coach realized it was too early, but wanted to let my son know he was interested.  I am thinking we look at this seriously in the spring of his junior year.  (like, a few months from now...)

While I have heard many good things about JUCO's from this board I am confused why you think you are at a decision making crossroads now.

I know I am over guilty of talking about early offers but by the timeline that applies to 85%+ of HS players you haven't reached the point of where the real offers are suppose to come in. 

There are a bunch of things to consider before committing to a JUCO such as having the 2017 put down on paper what really are his important goals such as what he wants his degree to be in, would he truly be okay going to a JUCO for two years with the idea of transferring out to anther college...which colleges are on that list? have you checked the credits will transfer?  Is there a waiting period before he can play?  What if baseball isn't on the agenda after 2 years of JUCO?

In the mean time is he going to showcases this winter? How about the uncommitted showcases, have any plans for those? How many college prospect camps has he signed up for?  While JUCO is a fine option for MANY players (probably my kid), if your kid has the grades and the skill I wouldn't give up on a 4-year just yet.

We have put a lot of thought into this.  For our son, the JUCO route is the best fit for him both academically and baseball wise.  It has nothing to do with giving up on the 4 year, it is realizing that even with a scholarship, the 4 year school may not be the best fit.  For some kids, going to a 4 year school right out of high school is not the best idea academically.  

Dad; have you considered talking with the J.C. Coach and requesting for your son to work out with the team. He then can gauge how quick his reflex actions will need to improve.

Watch the games next Spring and observe the coaching style of the coaches.

Talk with the parents of the current team members.

Bob

Area Code Baseball and Goodwill Series International

Unless you are dealing with a top tier JUCO, then you probably do not have to make a decision for awhile and can see if circumstances change during the school year and maybe even into next summer.  There are some threads on this site that discuss the "priority" or recruiting with Power 5 being the earliest and average JUCO's being towards the end (start picking up lots of kids once they realize their dream school isn't going to offer).  There are also lots of threads that say decide on the school as thought baseball were not part of the mix.  If JUCO is the ideal fit outside of baseball, and the current school year and/or next summer won't change that, then proceed with haste.  If you have any doubts, I think you have some time before the JUCO window closes.