Keeping Focus on Grades and Getting Better

Aleebaba,

Great idea for a post.

In hindsight, I think it was a very good thing that he was incredibly busy his junior and senior years. He did not have time to dwell on all the phone calls and nebulous/generic emails that he received. After handling so many of these, you quickly begin to understand who is genuinely interested and who is on a fishing expedition.

College baseball recruiting was my son's first experience with handling somethng that was beyond school work and baseball. We had frequent family meetings (usually at the dinner table) to discuss priorities, schools, status, and travel plans for OVs or un-OVs. My son knew school work ALWAYS came first....there was no question about that. His junior and senior years were very tough at his pre-engineering high school. He was taking a few AP and co-op classes at the local community college for both his junior and senior years. His attitude all along was that if he couldn't handle the extra time & effort needed for college recruiting, then how is he going to handle college & baseball? He had some administrative and organization help from my wife, but all of his communications to coaches were from him. I thought his junior year was brutal. He had all the school work & clubs, recruiting activity and he spent alot of his free-time self studying SATS.

He was not an early committer (by any stretch of the imagination) but that was by design....he committed Sept of senior year. There were times when he was mentally spent as we had to re-think our overall strategy a couple times when things didn't work out. After a while, you get a genuine sense whether a coach is interested or not. We had first been contacted (through travel coach) after his sophomore year, so we had been at this for 18 months. So, we got a pretty good sense of who was interested, who was stringing us along, and who was just being nice. To my son's credit, he never wavered from his goal.

Our approach was more like a "marathon", and that may work for some folks. My son was defintely not one to commit early just to be done with it. He had other priorities than baseball, which is why it took so darn long.

I hope that helps with a fresh perspective on keeping focus on grades and getting better.

Do so few responses confirm that very few felt like they were successful? Do parents wish they had not let their sons get so consumed with every detail?

I would suppose it's an individual thing in that some player may find it stressed or consuming. In my son's case, he was mostly focused on his school work and baseball workouts and games and didn't give the recruiting process much attention other than filling out forms requested and I did help some with that using only my son's responses. I attribute very little of my son's achievement to any part of my "managing" the recruiting process, as I just wasn't all that involved. I did set up a web page for him for coaches and scouts to view, which showed his games schedule, results, a little background, couple pics, links to accolades and contact information. Other than keeping this web page updated, there wasn't much else regarding recruiting process that I was involving in.

The only active involvement I had in any recruiting was when we were deciding where he was going to go to play HS ball and I wanted a good HS program with a good coach. And it was that coach who was most instrumental in my son's recruiting process. That was one of the best things I feel I did for my son's baseball future.

When coaches and scouts contacted my son, it was up to him to follow up and choose the one's he was most interested in. Occasionally we talked about what to say or not to say and after a while he got the idea and handled it well. Oh, and I did make sure I was able to get him to key events that he was invited to f(e.g. participating on a scout team, going to Area Codes, visiting some nearby colleges see and talk with some coaches). There wasn't that many phone calls to deal with and most of it was handled via e-mail.

And in my son's case, he had a LOT of interest and listened more to his HS coach than to me, which was fine by me, as he was getting good advice from that coach.

Last summer, before my son's senior year, he set a goal to play college baseball and continues to work hard, both athletically and academically to acheive the goal.
As a parent the best piece of advice I have recieved from members of this board is to let go and let him enjoy the experience, albeit with positive parental guidance and preaching patience. He has received several offers, DI & DII, but none from schools that he would attend if baseball were not the goal. This is the second best piece of advice I have gotten from members of this board.
Successful?
Since he has not committed anywhere yet I am not sure you can call his journey a success. However, as a parent I take great pride in what he has achieved and have faith that he will be successful in his quest.
The area that I deem a complete success is the amount of time that his baseball travels has allowed me to spend with my son (eldest of 3 boys) regardless of whether he plays at any level or not.

My guy is now a freshman D3 player. While he attended certain showcases and college camps, he remained very level headed, writing or speaking with college coaches that were interested in him and vice versa.

What I was most pleased with was that at the end of the process he did exactly what is so strongly encouraged here: he made a list of schools that matched his academic and social needs, visited them, and then looked at their baseball programs. Despite encouragement from two D2 schools to join their program, he settled on the school that he felt matched what he needed outside of baseball.

It's now become a win win with his being in a great city, with a challenging academic schedule, while making the fall roster and starting up work study.

I can see him growing already.

So looking back, there was a good amount of time spent dealing with interest, showcase and clinic reviews, school evaluations, staying focused on academics, and applying to colleges. No regrets. And as posted by CB Son, personnally I would do it all over again by virtue of the travel time with my son as he was becoming a man.

Since the thread name is keep focus on grades and getting better I'll start with that thought. When my son was a freshman my husband told him I don't care if you play sports or not but you will be in the top 10% of your graduating class. I also emphasized good grades even more so after reading that coaches ask about grades and how that can be the deciding factor of who gets a scholarship between two similiar players.

My son followed his dad's advice. He studied hard and worked out endlessly for hours. He ended up getting in the top 6% which really did help him. My son is paying for his own education so getting academic money was essential to keep him out of major debt.

My son is a real quiet guy who doesn't like to talk much so you can imagine it was difficult for him when colleges coaches called. He did get better with communicating but it was never his favorite thing in the recruiting process.

My son didn't committ until June this summer. He had interest from 4 D1 schools and multiple D3 schools. The D3 schools showed the most interest lots of phone calls and the school that he ended up at showed the most love. The head coach and his assistant made it to 4 games between them and the head coach really talked to us at legnth at a showcase.

We are pleased that our son is at the school he committed to. The school is known for their science program and the baseball program has a good reputation. I feel they are on the brink of getting to the elite level. They won 28 games this past year with atleast 7 games that were 1 run loses. I hope my son gets to contribute to another winning season.

quote:

Originally posted by Runningaway:
... you will be in the top 10% of your graduating class.

Wait while I put on my helmet ........... OK, here goes: Cs and Ds get degrees

There, I said it.

I helped my son on the organizing his target contact list and helped him manage the communications. He was always the one who emailed and talked to the coaches but I assisted him in keeping himself organized. I always proof read his emails. We would discuss the target schools and I helped organized things in the background. He did all of the calling and arranging visits, except for a couple of across the country official visits that I arranged with the recruiting coordinator since both my son and his mom were travelling and it was not possible for him to keep up with the scheduling. Otherwise he did everything. We considered this part of his growing up. BTW this went on for an extended period of time because he got Mono in the middle of his recruiting so he did not commit until May 1st of his Sr season.

Redsox: C&D's get degrees, but not a job!!!!(and certainly won't get you any academic money and there is a LOT more of it available to the average player)

quote:

Originally posted by Aleebaba:
Do so few responses confirm that very few felt like they were successful? Do parents wish they had not let their sons get so consumed with every detail?

When your son has a serious knee injury (torn MCL and PCL) in the first week of post junior year showcase ball, then has a serious shoulder injury (shoulder seperation surgery) falling during his rehab the chaos disappears like magic. Fortunately he chose a program where he could walk on. After a year of redshirting due to lack of roster space it remains to be seen how he does. While sitting out last year another recruiting class arrived.

My daughter received a lot of interest for softball. But she had a geographic range and major already selected which narrowed the focus. A showcase drew interest from a program she was unaware was one of the top schools for her major.

In our house there as always an emphasis on education and fitness. The fitness played into sports. My daughter joked if I had a bumper sticker on the car it would say, "My kids make the honor roll, or else."

I won't shell RedSox cause there is merit there.

However lets look at this a different way:

Athletic

Good D1 Offer 50% AVG 35% Not all get offers
Good D2 Offer 35% Avg ????
(From what I am told...)

Now Great Grades:

Academic Offers 35% - 100% Avg 50%

Right now academic offers for my son range from 40% to 60%. A point or two more on ACT goes to 60% to 90% depending on the school. If arm gave out tomrorrow, academic money would still be there.

As far as RedSox....I was a B student who paid my own way (didn't play athletics) and agree - students with C's (and some D's)do get degrees. No argument there. But if the posters son is going for top 10%, keep him there. It will open up doors!

Sorry ..A little off topic.



Bottom line: keep the END GOAL in mind. Is college to get him drafted, to help pay for school or just to continue playing as long as he can? What happens AFTER college? Minors, majors, career? Plot your course and it can have deviations, however you still should have an end point to know when youve reached it.

Is 35% really the average D1 offer or is that just a wag? I thought 50% was more the norm. What percentage would you say is the "gotta have this guy" kind of percent for a program?

Up the middle studs in high demand (C, P, SS, CF) get the most money. The 50-75% they get skews the average from the 25% most players receive. If you expect 25% you won't be disappointed. But this is only athletic money. There's also financial need and academic money. Across the board in all sports there is twenty-two times more academic scholarships available than athletic. So imagine how much higher the ratio is for baseball with it's 11.7 rides. The best shot at scholarship money is making National Honor Society.

Redsoxfan,

quote:

OK, here goes: Cs and Ds get degrees

If my son got C's and D's in high school, he would have over 100,000 tuition loans vs. 20,000 after 4 years. He is a commuter student so we provide a car, a meal card and gas. My son says college is tough...more homework than he expected.

Good luck to your son in college.

Early in the recruiting process, a very wise poster here said that good grades and test scores make sure that your son is not eliminated from consideration at any schools. I'm a big fan of this philosophy.

Like other posters, son did all phone calls and replying to personal emails. We helped setting up email lists for emailing updated transcripts and test scores as well as schedules before events. It was very busy at times, and yes, he was stressed trying to keep up with a very heavy academic load and keep track of when he was supposed to call which coach (many in different time zones), but he didn't really complain because he realized he was fortunate to be in the situation he was in. Mom, on the other hand, was ecstatic when the "marathon" was over.

quote:

Originally posted by Aleebaba:
I would love to hear from parents that feel like they succesfully managed the chaos of recruiting with their sons. It seems that it is best not to have son spend so much time thinking about every letter and email that comes in, especially all the generic/non-personal communications. I assume it just gets worse next year. No wonder kids commit early as they get mentally exhausted trying to read the tea leaves of every communication from a potentially interested school.

Aleebaba, this is a very interesting topic and thread. Thanks for starting it. What I can add, perhaps, through the rear view mirror is there is an element of "chaos" on the other end: the kid who wants bitterly to play college baseball and is not "mentally exhausted" because of every communication. Rather, he is frustrated a bit, sad a bit and somewhat silent a lot because he isn't getting those communications.
In HS, our son was not the strongest GPA student, per se, but he was competing with peers in a school where roughly 1/2 of the graduates ended up at Stanford, the Ivy's, UC's and the like. He ended up in your neck of the woods, at Trinity U in San Antonio. He certainly was not their top admit and he was not cum laude upon graduation. But, he did graduate in 4 years, his GPA was just fine, he showed enough talent to get drafted and do quite well in Milb, and he just completed his Masters in Coaching Education, where he did get a 4.0. He is now living his passion making the sacrifices for baseball and teaching as a college baseball coach, which includes 7am to 11pm days in Phoenix in 110 degree heat scouting players and tournaments a couple of times per year, for 3-5 days at a time.
Take the combination of a player with skills and talent, the commitment to get better, combine them with a lot of diligence, patience and decent grades and there is a solid match for college and baseball and our sons.
Very certainly, scholarships are great. Academic scholarships can be quite hard to maintain being a college baseball player. Our son's college roommate experienced some of that, but he also graduated and is now with the FBI involved in very sensitive work which has already taken him to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Often times I think we can "over-parent" and underestimate the tenacity, pride and competitive drive of our sons. I always knew our son was competitive. I am quite sure I didn't fully capture the pride aspects and how they can be such an amazing addition in the equation. Most often, things work out well, even for a lightly recruited kid from California who ended up in SAT at a top notch University we didn't know existed until July following his junior year in HS.

I had never heard "C's get degrees " until my son was a freshman in college. My rebuttal to that was " not if you want to keep your academic scholarship". He had the Presidents scholarship @ his college for 4 years as long as he maintained a 3.3 GPA. Coupled with his athletic scholarship he graduated last May with a Bachelors degree and no debt for him or us.

He is an amazingly focused kid, always has been but if left to his own devices in high school might have been an A/B student. I gently (?) pushed and cajoled him through the years to be the best he could be academically some would have more options for college. I basically told him we would not pay $50K/yr so he could play bb in college. I knew with his intelligence he could earn an academic scholarship too. Reading advice here on the hsbbweb really educated me to the importance of grades in college recruiting. Baseball was another matter- he could never get enough of anything to do with BB. Loved it from a young age and hasn't stopped as a 5th year senior playing his last year.

So help your son set goals for their academics and their athletics. Some kids need a little push sometimes but bottom line is if they want to play in college they have to earn it- good grades and a great work ethic mixed with talent make for a successful college career.

quote:

Wait while I put on my helmet ........... OK, here goes: Cs and Ds get degrees

Yes in college they do.My son got his first ever C in college But graduated in four years

C's don't maintain scholarships and B's don't seperate the student from the pack when they go looking for a job. I've stressed to my kids they need to get a 3.5 to seperate themselves from the pack. The first one made it. The second one is a little behind after one year.

What? No thank you's for that softball I threw out there? Yeah, I knew what I was doing.

So let's keep the ball in play:

quote:

Redsox: C&D's get degrees, but not a job!!!!(and certainly won't get you any academic money and there is a LOT more of it available to the average player)

I never said C & D's get you monies (cute no?) I said C's & D's get degrees.

And the call on the job has more to do with what you plan on doing. There are tons of successful entrepreneurs and sales people out there who wouldn't want to show off their transcript except to show how they bucked common misconceptions about grades versus success.

College teaches you how to think. Unless you fail the course, you are not failing in your thinking ability development.

Now I am clearly not saying striving for good grades is the only common sense thing to do. But failing to make As and Bs does not mean you will fail in life.

If you strive for A's then you have a much better cushion for survival when it comes to funding and development. Absolutely!

As to that academic money, I agree completely that As and Bs get the monies, based on how you did in HS and maintaining a certain level to keep it. But that college degree? It's often in LATIN and has no link to the transcript. And let's face it, five years out of school its the School of Hard Knocks that counts in how you well you will do career wise.

Wait while I duck for the next barrage.

quote:

Originally posted by RedSoxFan21:
What? No thank you's for that softball I threw out there? Yeah, I knew what I was doing.

So let's keep the ball in play:

quote:

Redsox: C&D's get degrees, but not a job!!!!(and certainly won't get you any academic money and there is a LOT more of it available to the average player)

I never said C & D's get you monies (cute no?) I said C's & D's get degrees.

And the call on the job has more to do with what you plan on doing. There are tons of successful entrepreneurs and sales people out there who wouldn't want to show off their transcript except to show how they bucked common misconceptions about grades versus success.

College teaches you how to think. Unless you fail the course, you are not failing in your thinking ability development.

Now I am clearly not saying striving for good grades is the only common sense thing to do. But failing to make As and Bs does not mean you will fail in life.

If you strive for A's then you have a much better cushion for survival when it comes to funding and development. Absolutely!

As to that academic money, I agree completely that As and Bs get the monies, based on how you did in HS and maintaining a certain level to keep it. But that college degree? It's often in LATIN and has no link to the transcript. And let's face it, five years out of school its the School of Hard Knocks that counts in how you well you will do career wise.

Wait while I duck for the next barrage.

I got your flank, 21!

College grades are important for grad school admission, if any, and maybe for a first job.

After that, the importance decreases significantly.

After mid-twenties, I was never asked to submit a college transcript to apply for a job.

Later in life when I was on the other side of the table hiring college grads, I never asked for one. I was more interested in relevant job experience, how they performed those jobs, and social skills as demonstrated in the interview.

Good grades are better than bad grades.......but I get your point and I agree with you.

I think people need to look at each of their own kids and know what they are capable of.My own son could not of maintained a 3.5 at USC with baseball.Their were players that did,but a select few.

D1 baseball,the workouts,the community service that his coach had to win the most hours of community service of any atheltic team(whew hew),16 units, travel,just was a lot for him.

Maybe an easier academic school would of been better in hindsite.

My son isnt going to be a BIG time have to have a 4.0 top 5% of the world to get the best job and big money.

There was a young girl from our area,we attended the same church for years.Anyway she went off to college and was doing well,but began to have serious anxiety issues.I dont know the exact issue,and I am not mentioning a name,it is all over the internet.She began to get very stressed at a UC and it got the best of her and she took her life.

Be careful and know your own childs level of what he can and cant do.The expectations can be overwhelming for some.

I really get weary I have to say when I read the expectations and parents saying the kid better do this or that.As a health professional I really feel my skin *****.

Lets say the player is all this and that in HS,goes away to a top academic school on academic money and is playing a sport,he has to maintain a 3.5 for his academic money.What if he finds he cant do that.What if it is harder than anyone anticipated.maybe he gets an injury and surgery aand rehabb are thrown into the mix,he gets MONO and is really behind the eight ball.or gets sick and falls behind.

So may things can happen that arent just the kid being lazy,sometimes life kicks you a s s.And when life has kicked my sons as s,I really could of cared less if he got a C.

And if he lost an academic scholarship because he was unable to do the intensity of classes or school, we would find another school,or we would do whatever.

hard and fast,no way out clauses I read on here just scare me for some of your kids.

quote:

But that college degree? It's often in LATIN and has no link to the transcript. And let's face it, five years out of school its the School of Hard Knocks that counts in how you well you will do career wise.

The start a person gets off to out of college is likely to be related to grades. That start will get them up the ladder faster. This doesn't mean someone can't plug away and kick down the doors. It just may take longer.

fanogame,

You bring up a great point IMHO. I think everybody thinks of the grades they need (& baseball level D1, D2, D3, JUCO, etc..) to get into college. I'm not so sure that everyone thinks about (or is prepared) for dealing with grades, majors and baseball while in school. Frankly it is very difficult to plan for something most of us have little experience with.

Fenway

Yes your right I am a firm believer in hard work and commitment but as well we need to extend grace and an outstretched arms and love when they may fail and they most likely will experience some sort of failure along the way life is never a guarantee that much I've learned in raising my two beautiful healthy smart compassionate human beings that I thank God for several times a day .what they do for a job matters **** to me I know they will make good livings my husband never went to freaking college and has been a blue collar worker his entire life and he has provided a beautiful life for us and put both kids through college.

And so it takes longer life isn't a race it's a marathon . To each his own in the values one wants to install in their children . Money is great but it doesn't always make you happier or healthier . I guess my mindset is just very different having gone thru losses and illnesses I just put my priorities in a different place trust me I stressed about son in college and passing classes which he did but if he hadn't due to just being out of his abilities and not lack of hard work we would of dealt with it. It wouldn't of crushed us nothing is more important than the mental health of your kids and they can get overwhelmed . I'm just trying to point it out to the young parents whose kids are just starting out . It rarely goes as planned. But it goes and at end of day they are fine if you love them and show grace always when needed that's my rant for the day

Fanofgame,

I just want to to be clear about what I said. My husband said be in the top 10 % once. Neither of us had to rule over him with an iron fist. He did well and never had to be told anything except the normal work on your homework. My husband and I didn't work as hard as we could have in high school or college. My husband's and my parents never cared how we did in school until a bad grade came home. I remember my own mother saying just get C's. I think that is pretty pathetic...she should have hoped and expected way more than that.

If my son can't keep his grades to 3.25 then he knows he will be going to a junior college. I have no problem with that except I will feel heartache knowing he would prefer to stay where he is going now. I have a daughter at a juco and she is doing well and will be done in December with no debt.

I think it is normal for parents to want to see their children strive for success. Yes there can be events that can set one back,thats just part of the journey.

I wasnt referring to anything specific to your husbands comment just repsonding to the gist of the thread.

Hey my son went to a major university and graduated in four years and was honorable mention all conference in the PAC 12 and a three year starter coming from one year at a JC.

I agree we should stive for our children to be successful,the original poster asked for ideas of how to motivate for grades and success and I feel part of the navigation is understanding some cant keep that high of standard.

There are many families who come on here that have sons that cant do that well in school.I am trying to reach out to those parents and say there are other ways.Some have learning disabilities or just arent academically talented.

I am just saying there are more ways to skin a cat thats all.

My son did all the SAT prep classes and community service and "stuff" to mke the grade.

I am just saying some will face tough times and it can be really hard.

Fanofgame,

It's good that you are reaching out to those whose kids do struggle. My own son has a decoding diability. He wasn't diagnosed until the second half of third grade. His third grade teacher knew he was smart yet he was nearly failing many subjects. She said we will get this figured out. She requested him to have the wisc test( i think that was the name). If not for that third grade teacher I know he probably would have struggled all the way through high school and we would have felt guilty for not helping him study enough. Those tests cost the district dearly so they don't push that kids take them. His teacher pushed for it. We had no idea such a test even existed. He doesn't have help anymore but he did through eighth grade.I wouldn't doubt that many students go through school with disabilities and don't even know it.

Anyway, God bless teachers like her and people like you for making a difference.

Fanofgame, great post!

quote:

Originally posted by RJM:
C's don't maintain scholarships and B's don't seperate the student from the pack when they go looking for a job. I've stressed to my kids they need to get a 3.5 to seperate themselves from the pack. The first one made it. The second one is a little behind after one year.

Correct me if I'm wrong ( ) but if all you earned were C's & D's then you would be below a 2.0 GPA and couldn't graduate (at least with an engineering degree).

Speaking of college sports and majors I've wondered what degrees D1 college football players are working towards.

College football Player majors

bbb,

To be fair, I'd like to see a comparable write up on the 8 College World Series teams (below). If I have time this weekend, I'll break it down (don't have time now....that work thing). Frankly, I don't expect that much % difference difference between CWS baseball and BCS football majors. Keep in mind this will be a very unscientific analysis.

Arkansas
Arizona
Florida
Florida State
Kent State
South Carolina
Stony Brook
UCLA

quote:

Anyway, God bless teachers like her and people like you for making a difference.

I second that!!


That teacher 'saved your son' from a lifetime of feeling stupid. Great story.

Good grades in high school come from hard work, managing your time well, and having an intellectual gift. You can get good grades with 2 of the 3. Those same good grades set you up for more options when being recruited. Hard work and time management are EXTREMELY important for a college athlete to be successful...especially in that first year. God forbid you get drafted without the skills of working hard and time management! Once they are off to a good start in college, a degree is likely. After the degree, grades mean very little, but it is the work in high school that pays off in the ability to complete the degree at the college of your choice. Aim high, and you will acheive great things.

quote:

Originally posted by bostonbulldogbaseball:

quote:

Originally posted by RJM:
C's don't maintain scholarships and B's don't seperate the student from the pack when they go looking for a job. I've stressed to my kids they need to get a 3.5 to seperate themselves from the pack. The first one made it. The second one is a little behind after one year.

Correct me if I'm wrong ( ) but if all you earned were C's & D's then you would be below a 2.0 GPA and couldn't graduate (at least with an engineering degree).

Bad grades have never been an issue. I don't know.

Most degree programs and the NCAA make you have to perform above a 2.0 to graduate and /or play baseball at NCAA school.So a 2.0 is cutting it really close.

quote:

Originally posted by fenwaysouth:
bbb,

To be fair, I'd like to see a comparable write up on the 8 College World Series teams (below). If I have time this weekend, I'll break it down (don't have time now....that work thing). Frankly, I don't expect that much % difference difference between CWS baseball and BCS football majors. Keep in mind this will be a very unscientific analysis.

Arkansas
Arizona
Florida
Florida State
Kent State
South Carolina
Stony Brook
UCLA

Fenway,

My son has been exchanging emails with a coach of a school that is frequently on that list(hint : rival of Arizona). He asked the coach about their Kinesiology program since he has an interest in the sports medicine field.The coach gave him some information about the major and then added this "athletes can take this major".

It seems that this school will determine which majors are available for athletes.That's just a guess on my part. My son did not ask the coach what he meant by that since his potential major is covered.