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@Target

I am glad that you came back to clear up some things that you first posted.  Obviously, quite a few of us heard you saying the same thing.

There is an issue though, your son has an injury that makes this already difficult journey more difficult. Therefore, perhsps you really need the advice of someone who has worked in this situation.

He has to get better to move forward and a very good PT.

I am not a huge fan of the PG year.  But that's your dime and your sons time and should be used and considered wisely.

I am though, a huge fan of JUCO if it's a good program and feeds into good 4 year programs.  We have great JUCOs here in FL, I am sure there are good ones in your area as well.

Good luck.

@TPM posted:


I am though, a huge fan of JUCO if it's a good program and feeds into good 4 year programs.  We have great JUCOs here in FL, I am sure there are good ones in your area as well.

Good luck.

While I do agree there is certainly a place for JUCO I am not a huge and would consider it a last chance option if everything falls apart. The only thing great JUCO could do is get you into a good 4 yr program...academically it is doubtful to anything to help your son and most likely is an academic negative. The ultimate goal is school / Eng degree, long term relationships and the learning to be a apart of something bigger then you. A JUCO only holds that back IMO.

it is about balance, you will get comments solely from baseball perspective and also solely from an academic ones. I would advise you find the middle

@old_school posted:

While I do agree there is certainly a place for JUCO I am not a huge and would consider it a last chance option if everything falls apart. The only thing great JUCO could do is get you into a good 4 yr program...academically it is doubtful to anything to help your son and most likely is an academic negative. The ultimate goal is school / Eng degree, long term relationships and the learning to be a apart of something bigger then you. A JUCO only holds that back IMO.

it is about balance, you will get comments solely from baseball perspective and also solely from an academic ones. I would advise you find the middle

Depends on the player/student goals.  It's a great option for many, IMO.

Not everyone wants to major in Engineering.

We will just leave it at that.

@TPM posted:

I am not a dude. Get that straight.

You stated all communication dropped.  Or did I miss something?

What exactly does your son want to do?   He is graduating in a few months, correct? Has he applied to colleges?

You got some good feedback. I am not sure you liked it.

I am sorry for misgendering you.

Communication dropped as in communication from coaches interested in him dropped off.  Not that Son stopped communicating.

He wants to play baseball. He has applied to several colleges and Jucos. He was accepted to all of them. Son brought up gap year or redshirting to get a handle on academics and get bigger.

Summer ball coaches both said "play at my school". Son did campus visits and workouts with both right before surgery.  No one took this as a guarantee of a spot as we all don't know how long he will take to get back. One wants him to convert to OF, the other wants to keep him at IF.  Both are good options. Both said to put on a few pounds, because that is what coaches want.  Both programs have their pluses and minuses.  Both coaches have offered to contact other schools when he can ball out again.

I actively encourage constructive feedback, recommendations, and personal experiences. Anything else as to what I like or dislike is mindreading.

Last edited by Target
@old_school posted:

While I do agree there is certainly a place for JUCO I am not a huge and would consider it a last chance option if everything falls apart. The only thing great JUCO could do is get you into a good 4 yr program...academically it is doubtful to anything to help your son and most likely is an academic negative. The ultimate goal is school / Eng degree, long term relationships and the learning to be a apart of something bigger then you. A JUCO only holds that back IMO.

it is about balance, you will get comments solely from baseball perspective and also solely from an academic ones. I would advise you find the middle

Close family member of mine - couple years at a Juco - transfer to GT- currently does very well as a civil engineer - even better is the fact he graduated with little to no student debt.

Back to the OP:

Seems like this late in the game, @TPM is spot on with Juco being your best option. At least that would be my choice if I was in your situation. I'm not implying that earning playing time or even making the team is going to be easy, but it seems like he is pretty use to that. This will serve him well as many are not. Any Juco coach that I have know over the years (a couple) would be very happy to get a hardworking underdog with a 90mph metric. I would be asking intently for my current coach to reach out and place a good word on my behalf. Then quickly follow-up with programs that fit my overall direction.

To be honest, I don't really know how the whole injury thing plays into the equation. If it is one those lingering types that never let him compete at his best, then honestly playing college level ball at any level is going to be very difficult. I'm not trying to come across mean or ignorant, and this should be taken with a grain of salt as I do not know all the details surrounding the injury. My recommendation is to get it looked at by a specialist and put together a detailed plan to get back to 100%. Also I would be upfront about the injury with any college coach that I contact as well. Honesty goes a long way. At least then when the subject is brought up, you can counter with a set plan.

Close family member of mine - couple years at a Juco - transfer to GT- currently does very well as a civil engineer - even better is the fact he graduated with little to no student debt.

Back to the OP:

Seems like this late in the game, @TPM is spot on with Juco being your best option. At least that would be my choice if I was in your situation. I'm not implying that earning playing time or even making the team is going to be easy, but it seems like he is pretty use to that. This will serve him well as many are not. Any Juco coach that I have know over the years (a couple) would be very happy to get a hardworking underdog with a 90mph metric. I would be asking intently for my current coach to reach out and place a good word on my behalf. Then quickly follow-up with programs that fit my overall direction.

To be honest, I don't really know how the whole injury thing plays into the equation. If it is one those lingering types that never let him compete at his best, then honestly playing college level ball at any level is going to be very difficult. I'm not trying to come across mean or ignorant, and this should be taken with a grain of salt as I do not know all the details surrounding the injury. My recommendation is to get it looked at by a specialist and put together a detailed plan to get back to 100%. Also I would be upfront about the injury with any college coach that I contact as well. Honesty goes a long way. At least then when the subject is brought up, you can counter with a set plan.

He has been very upfront regarding the wrist. 

Doc who did his surgery is the go-to hand surgeon for baseball players and dentists in the area.  Doc played baseball in college.  My son is currently in PT and they expect him to clear out of that before the end of the month.  He can start hitting and heavy workouts after that.  Doc says the bone has healed beautifully and expects 100% recovery.

If we could go in the wayback machine, obviously the choice would have been surgery at the very beginning.  But with growth plates being wide open, the choice was to hold off to see if it would heal on its own.

@Target posted:

Some of y'all seem too caught up on two things in my post and you shouldn't be. Let me try to clear that up: "along for the ride" and whatever area of study a 17 year currently thinks he wants.

"Along for the ride" means it is his future, not ours, he may be driving the train but we making sure he doesn't derail. It isn't our dream, so he takes charge and he has, but we support and offer guidance.  We talk to coaches, but not often as Son is more than capable and is very comfortable doing that.  Most coaches he talks to tell him to reach out when he is ready to play again.  Some he is in regular contact with and he provides updates.

Whatever school he is at, he will be taking core classes for the first year or two. Any plans he has for field of study does not mean taking Differential Equations as a freshman.  He has time to decide if business, engineering or whatever is correct for him. We have always encouraged all our kids to use school, whether it be college or trade school, as a set up for a career not just to get some degree you will never use.  No offense to those you have the funky useless degrees as I have one as well. There are some good trade schools with juco baseball programs, FYI.

We have time and he has time.  It isn't a race so if he can still play ball without breaking the bank, I am in.  But playing baseball is under a limited time frame while going back to school never is limited. If it takes him an extra year of two, so be it. He has applied to and been accepted at quite a few schools, baseball and non-baseball schools.

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





You are a very financially generous parent.   My wife and I weren't nearly as generous or nice putting our 3 kids through college.  We required our kids have a roadmap to an outcome..."what do you want to be when you grow up, how are you going to get there, and what level of financial support do you need from Mom & Dad".  This was discussed in detail with each kid because the backyard money tree had reached maturity.   If my kid had no planned outcome, there simply was no college financial support from my wife and I.    At 17 and 18 years old they were more than capable of coming up with that answer, and they did.

I don't understand the emphasis on baseball as a means to get his education unless he is going to become a professional baseball player.   Why match baseball to the education when you can match the education to baseball if he has other professional plans (doctor, lawyer, tinker, tailor, soldier, spy)?  It just seems to me that there is extraordinary effort (PG Year, JUCO) to pursue baseball with his history of injuries when he has already been accepted to some colleges.  Does he feel he has unfinished business on the baseball field, and he is willing to pay for that experience?

None of my kids wanted to be professional baseball player, yet one of them loved the game enough to play D1 baseball knowing that he would walk away from it in 4 years to be a professional engineer.  Unless your son wants to be a professional baseball player (even with all his injuries), it seems like you are putting the cart before the horse, and paying for both.

I hope it works out for your son.  Good luck!

JMO.

Last edited by fenwaysouth
@fenwaysouth posted:

You are a very financially generous parent.   My wife and I weren't nearly as generous or nice putting our 3 kids through college.  We required our kids have a roadmap to an outcome..."what do you want to be when you grow up, how are you going to get there, and what level of financial support do you need from Mom & Dad".  This was discussed in detail with each kid because the backyard money tree had reached maturity.   If my kid had no planned outcome, there simply was no college financial support from my wife and I.    At 17 and 18 years old they were more than capable of coming up with that answer, and they did.

I don't understand the emphasis on baseball as a means to get his education unless he is going to become a professional baseball player.   Why match baseball to the education when you can match the education to baseball if he has other professional plans (doctor, lawyer, tinker, tailor, soldier, spy)?  It just seems to me that there is extraordinary effort (PG Year, JUCO) to pursue baseball with his history of injuries when he has already been accepted to some colleges.  Does he feel he has unfinished business on the baseball field, and he is willing to pay for that experience?

None of my kids wanted to be professional baseball player, yet one of them loved the game enough to play D1 baseball knowing that he would walk away from it in 4 years to be a professional engineer.  Unless your son wants to be a professional baseball player (even with all his injuries), it seems like you are putting the cart before the horse, and paying for both.

I hope it works out for your son.  Good luck!

JMO.

If it helps getting the financial aspect of anything we possibly decide digest better, know that we paid nothing for my oldest.  Maybe a few RT plane tickets.  My younger one doesn't want to throw grenades or blow up bridges so that route was out.  Sports for my oldest was a way to continue the challenge and fun.

Different kid, different take, different goals. This younger one has had a restaurant job since he was 15, has a side gig, and manages it around his baseball and school schedule. He has skin in the game and he has to earn/pay his share. He knows the limits.

The concept of using baseball to pay for school is always interesting as academic scholarships are so much better than hoping you can get a 1/3 scholarship for baseball. He is playing for love of the game, not as a means to his education. Baseball can be complimentary to his education, not in contrast to or as a requirement to his education.

I took 5 years to get my first degree and it pertains absolutely zero to what I do today.  From my experience, making the big 4 year financial decision now for the rest of his life is not a necessary route.

Sometimes, helping out a bit in the short run pays big dividends in the long run.

Last edited by Target
@TPM posted:

Is it true that most D1 programs, except for the HA and a few exceptions, prefer that players do not take engineering as a major?

Clemson discouraged son from engineering. I didn't get then, but do now.

I heard the Miami coach say it in a D1 Baseball podcast last week. It wasn't engineering, but a STEM. I don't think he meant to say it the way he did. It was in reference to one of his current players.

I think it's pretty well known in the top 30ish (or aspiring) programs.

@TPM posted:

Is it true that most D1 programs, except for the HA and a few exceptions, prefer that players do not take engineering as a major?

Clemson discouraged son from engineering. I didn't get then, but do now.

Fact.   That was the feedback we got from family friends, HSBBWeb and directly from the coaches (horses mouth if you will).  The two D1 P5 programs that my son had serious talks with did not hide the fact they wouldn't recommend that path.   

Son had a teammate majoring in aerospace engineering on his SEC team.  I did notice a first year freshman this year is a biomedical sciences major and says he plans to be a surgeon.  I'd say those guys are exceptions but suggestive that it can be done.  I do think it was a little more common when he played in the Ivy League before moving on to the SEC.

Last edited by 9and7dad
@TPM posted:

Is it true that most D1 programs, except for the HA and a few exceptions, prefer that players do not take engineering as a major?

Clemson discouraged son from engineering. I didn't get then, but do now.

I think it depends on the coach.  I have talked to former players who's coach told them to change majors and get their Engineering degree after they use up their playing eligibility.  That coach is now long gone, though, and I know the new one tries to work with the students (and has had students graduate with good STEM degrees, not sure about Engineering specifically).

I also think that there is a more recent push for student athletes to do better academically.  They have more tutoring now than they did in the past, for sure, and I constantly get bugged about the progress of our student athletes (some part of me wishes they had a similar system for non-student athletes).  The big issue that I have seen with baseball players is in the Spring time having conflicts with laboratories.  However, most faculty are willing to work with them.

No matter what school a kid goes to, it is important to make sure there are examples of kids who were successful that shares academic goals with your kid.

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