LHP

I think he as a chance.  being one of the last men standing has its advantages. 

Whoever does get him is getting a great value. It’s like finding a diamond in the rough.

In all seriousness, I think we'd all like to hear good news about your son, as many have kids who were, are, or may find themselves in a similar situation...

I will be sure to share any good news. We are in a very frustrating place right now as you can imagine.

Whoever said Navy is full they just literally signed two kids! One LHP and a Catcher both from Charlotte!

@Rockers posted:

Did any of you even go to college?

People are trying to give advice. Now you want toss back insults. I have two degrees from a top twenty university. My son has two degrees from a Big Ten. My daughter has an undergrad degree from a Big East and a law degree from an Ivy.

When my son got injured at the beginning of post junior summer he was out until baseball season senior year. He tore his PCL and MCL. He fell during rehab requiring shoulder separation surgery. We considered D3’s. The plan became to hold off going off to college, take two JuCo courses in the fall (to prevent the eligibility clock from starting) showcasing in the fall and starting college in January or the following year.

He received a D1 offer in August a week before classes started with the help of his travel coach. It was an athletic offer for the following year with an opportunity to walk on the first year. A late bloomer pitcher, now in MLB beat him out for the walk on spot the first year.

By the way, the guy who owns the biggest house in our country club development didn’t go to college. Out of high school he became a car mechanic. He eventually started a repair shop specializing in luxury foreign cars.

Let's bring back the COVID-19 debate it was less controversial.

@Rockers posted:

As stated previously it is D1 or nothing. I am not wasting time at a JUCO or D2 or D3.  Yes, I know some of those schools are awesome, but none of them are around where I live

I see you're from Charlotte. Catawba Valley is ranked juco within an hour of Charlotte. They had 3 All Americans this year and it looks like they've placed multiple guys at schools you're son was in contact with over the past few seasons. So while they're blowing off your son's calls, they're on the phone with the guys at the juco you don't want your kid wasting his time at.

@Rockers posted:

Wingate is shit school. $40k is ridiculous to go there. He will play and just finish out his career.

If money is a factor, and it should be, wouldn't the juco route for two years make sense to scale back on costs? Then transfer to one of those D1s you're dying for him to go to.

I don't think this is controversial.  Rockers is saying one thing, literally everyone else is saying the opposite.

Some are saying to go a JUCO and transfer (nope, don't want him to transfer - although plenty of kids transfer without sports if they aren't happy).

Some are saying go to a D2 (nope, those are bad schools - even though some of the D1s on that list have similar admission rates).

Some are saying go to a D3 (nope, either he couldn't get in, or else he doesn't know of any, or why waste his time with baseball there - although, he's bound to be wasting his time with something else, wherever he goes, if he's not playing baseball).

All he wants to know is if there's hope for D1s - and all everyone can tell him is, probably not, but who really knows?

If he's looking for evidence to show his son, that his dream is over, he hasn't found it here.

YOU ARE SPOT ON:

All he wants to know is if there's hope for D1s - and all everyone can tell him is, probably not, but who really knows?

@Rockers posted:

YOU ARE SPOT ON:

All he wants to know is if there's hope for D1s - and all everyone can tell him is, probably not, but who really knows?

I coached through 16u travel. I watched a lot of ball while my son played 17u. I saw kids receive D1 offers where I just didn’t get it. Once these kids got to the D1 they proved it was a bad decision for the coach and the player.

If your son receives a late D1 offer it will likely be an end of the roster, just in case others fail offer. Some of these players don’t even get legitimate shots at playing when they arrive on campus. Is you son looking to get an offer and accept even if it’s likely to mean failure?

@ Rockers, Something that hasn’t been mentioned in this thread (at least I don’t think it has) is the role that parents play in the process of a player’s recruiting. Parents either help a kids chances (by their behavior) or they hurt a kid’s chances. It’s one or the other without much middle ground, If I were recruiting your son, I would have you squarely in the category of hurting your kid’s chances. It’s one thing to vent your frustration on a message board, although few have done it with the persistence you have shown. It’s another thing entirely to show that kind of attitude in a conversation with a college coach. A brutal imbalance of good players vs available roster spots already exists so the last thing you want to do as a parent is give a coach a reason to cross his name off a list. Something to think about.

At the end of the day Mr rocker asked if there is any hope for kid as D1 or they aren't interested...the message is a pretty clear no at least not now for D1. He has been clear since post 1 he is not, has not and will not be interested in anything else...so regardless of what other great options are there and or his close minded responses to alternatives ultimately it be comes back to what a great philosopher (Fred Flintstone?) once stated...it is what it is!!

just read this while thread given I had a LHP touching 86/87 but sitting LOW 80's.  He had D1 interest (mostly Ivies) and then some mid level D1 lower academic schools he would not look at because he was all about using baseball to get into a school that had selective admission.  He cut off the interest from the lesser D1s and the Ivies all found guys who they wanted more to give their likely letters to (but a few said if he could get in on his own he would have a spot on the team).  There are lots of lefties in the low and mid 80s.  My son was taller than rockers, had the academic chops to get in anywhere, and was on one of the top national travel programs, and D1s were not banging down our door (and this was pre covid with smaller rosters!). 

He ended up at a HA D3 with a successful baseball program and was injured and never had the career he could have had, but he received an amazing education and has some brothers for life.  Guys that would take a bullet for him, and will themselves go on to do some amazing things.  Despite having 2 years of eligibility if he wanted, he will be starting grad school next week at one of the Ivies (so he cannot play baseball as no grad school transfers), and actually gave up the chance to play at a Big East great D1 school as well as two HA D3s where he was also accepted for grad school.  He is happy.  He has an unbelievable sports internship too. 

Rockers has ONE valid point, at some time, everyone who plays hangs 'em up.  The education, the connections he makes, the job and grad school opportunities, the teammates, the life lessons -- all of that matters way more than silly divisions of D1, D2, D3 or JUCO.  It is your son's journey NOT YOURS, and I hope he shines, wherever he ends up going. 

@Twoboys I was wondering which choice he had made. Congrats to you both. That's excellent.

Let me speak from one who has a LHP throwing upper 80's at a D1.  It is one thing to get in and another to stay because it is really hard when you are not the Big Dog at a D1.  Son had to work really hard to get innings last year and this.  He broke his ankle 2 falls ago and that put him way behind finding a spot.  Covid was a good thing for him because he got his year back and didn't burn redshirt.  He worked really hard during Covid to get leg back in shape and it took almost 9 months to get it solid.  He found his niche and got a lot of bullpen innings this year not because of velo but because of his great location and offspeed stuff.

You mention back a page that it is the PC's job to help him get velo and I agree in principle but not reality.  There are 25-30 pitchers at son's school this fall. The PC will give some advice but he is worried about who can help him this spring.  He does not have time to invest in getting 5 mph from a kid when he has 25 others to help.  I promise he is more worried about developing his starters to the next level and his proven guys another pitch or a couple of mph.  The younger guys will have to work really hard to find it on their own and hope they get a few innings to prove what they can do.  They brought in 3 RHP's to go along with the 2 they have that have thrown 100+ and have 7 LHP's that throw 92-95.  Son at 88-90 better know his role and work hard on developing that one new pitch and hope his location stays to find innings.

I really don't understand why some of you are bound and determined to talk this guy into D2, D3, or juco.  He is not interested but I will agree with Adbono.  I think the reason his son has not got any offers is because of his son's dad.  If you are this bold on here, you can't be far from it in person.  No D1 coach in this era wants a kid they have to develop and deal with you when there are 100+ LHP's in the transfer portal that already throw 90.

@PitchingFan posted:

I really don't understand why some of you are bound and determined to talk this guy into D2, D3, or juco.  He is not interested but I will agree with Adbono.  I think the reason his son has not got any offers is because of his son's dad.  If you are this bold on here, you can't be far from it in person.

My guess would be that it has less to do with talking him into different options and more to do with letting him know, not only how wrong he is, but also what a disservice he's doing to his kid.

@PABaseball posted:

My guess would be that it has less to do with talking him into different options and more to do with letting him know, not only how wrong he is, but also what a disservice he's doing to his kid.

After reading this entire thread again I think you have summarized it very well. I caught something this time that I missed before - private school parent. With all due respect to those private school parents that are well balanced, this has been my experience ; over the years I have found the parents of HS baseball players from private schools to be the most egotistical, the most unrealistic about their son’s playing abilities, the most out of touch about the recruiting process, and the most entitled about believing they deserve what they want (at any expense of their own or any consequence delivered to another party). The “my way or no way at all” mindset is not unusual among the private HS set as many* believe they are smarter than everyone else and don’t listen to the peons that spout their silly little opinions.
* (note : I said many, not all)

@adbono posted:

After reading this entire thread again I think you have summarized it very well. I caught something this time that I missed before - private school parent. With all due respect to those private school parents that are well balanced, this has been my experience ; over the years I have found the parents of HS baseball players from private schools to be the most egotistical, the most unrealistic about their son’s playing abilities, the most out of touch about the recruiting process, and the most entitled about believing they deserve what they want (at any expense of their own or any consequence delivered to another party). The “my way or no way at all” mindset is not unusual among the private HS set as many* believe they are smarter than everyone else and don’t listen to the peons that spout their silly little opinions.
* (note : I said many, not all)

Do appearances have value? Imagine the humiliation for the parents of spending 25K for private school and your kid attends a JuCo for a year?

I relocated to the Boston area after my son (youngest) headed for college. I grew up in New England until sixteen years old. There’s a lot of academic and financial snobbery in the Boston area. When I told people my daughter went to South Florida and my son to Indiana several people assumed they weren’t good students since these are state universities. There are a lot of people in the Boston area would spend 60K a year for a crap private college before experiencing the humiliation of admitting their kid is at UMass (ranked #66 in USNews). These same people often buy or hand down expensive cars for their kids as a “look what I can afford” medal for their own chests.

A woman I dated several years ago on the Main Line in Philadelphia told me I’m as much of a snob against snobs as the people I rip on for being snobs.

There is an obsession about other peoples money...people spend what they can, choose or whatever it is their money. Some people won't spend an extra buck for college but drive fancy car or the other way around.

The value of money is not the same to all people so how it is spent and what constitutes reasonable isn't relevant IMO. I don't even mean to be judgmental just that every person has a different value for their money.

@Rockers posted:

I get the whole velocity thing for righties but a lefty throwing 87,88, 89 with room to grow and some fine tuning will get them to 90+.

I don’t get why all these schools are so picky about velocity. Isn’t their job to make you a better player, etc?

what is that kid that went to a D3 school doing now? I bet nothing.

I think I laughed out loud a little...sorry.  I think it is very rare for development to happen in college.  Unless you are ready to be on the field when you arrive, you aren't getting much attention. (Don't feel bad for thinking that, because we did too).  Velocity matters because it can.  There are a ton of lefties that are good pitchers and have velocity.  For reference...every freshman lefty our D1 had last year touched at least 94.

Your full of it unless you are talking about Vandy.

Spot on about money. Like those people that live in mobile homes and drive fancy mustangs, etc.

There is a difference between having velocity and being able to pitch. I know kids that can throw real hard to but have no control. They will get eaten up at the next level. It’s all about hitting your spots.

Regarding the whole parent advice yeah I hear you, but I also know some real asshole parents and their kids seem to be doing just fine getting recruited.

@Rockers posted:

Your full of it unless you are talking about Vandy.

Baseballhs is talking about TCU and she is 100% correct. Just because you don’t like the message doesn’t mean that she is wrong.

Again done arguing with all of you know it all’s. With all your knowledge you should become scouts or open up a recruiting site for parents and players.

And where did it get them, TCU? Look at Rocker got hammered in college.

I just looked up there players from TCU that are LHP and none topped 90 in perfect game or PBR. Don’t lie.

@Rockers posted:

Again done arguing with all of you know it all’s. With all your knowledge you should become scouts or open up a recruiting site for parents and players.

How ironic that you would sarcastically suggest that because guess what? That’s exactly what I do. I scout, recruit, advise parents, teach pitching, and help place kids in college programs. So yeah, I do know a lot more than you do. That’s all in my free time on a volunteer basis btw. I am a business consultant in a different industry which finances my life very well. Wouldn’t want you to think I was dependent on giving lessons to make a living, knowing how that private school status is so important to you.

Rockers has a point here, Rockers LHP is not in college yet, so the correct comparison is where the TCU kids were when still in high school. No doubt they may have matured and now as 20 + year olds they throw 94.

But the comparison is as to high school age.

Thank you for pointing that out Brensdad.

You bet, apples to apples would be high schooler to high schooler.

"Rock"

1. Did your son receive a Area Code tryout?

2. How does your son prepare before a game?

3. How does he evaluate his performance after a game?

Why not apply to UN Charlotte?  Do you attend the Knights games? Have you watched the LHP Kenny Rosenberg from the Dunham Bulls?

Bob

@Rockers posted:

Thank you for pointing that out Brensdad.

If you were right about everything, your kid would be committed and you wouldn't be here asking.  Every single freshman last year hit 94 in the Fall of their freshman year and I was at practices/scrimmages and saw it. Several of the righties were 96-98. So no, not lying.  I looked up the first lefty freshman on our team and his last PG event was in 2016...so of course he wasn't at 94...he was 87-88 because he was a sophomore.  And if you think Rocker got hammered in college, your kid must be a real stud, considering pro scouts took him #10 overall.  You are clearly clueless and probably hurting any chance your kid has at ANY school to play ball.  Good luck to your son, I hope he succeeds in spite of your help.  Maybe he will even suck as bad as Rocker.

Man, I can not believe how far this troll is being allowed to pull this string.  Do some of you seriously think this guy is for real?  Nobody can be this much of an asshat.  He keeps taking it right up to the limit of the absurd and then pulling it back just enough to keep some of you responding. Classic message board trolling.  Just stop responding and he will move on.

@Rockers posted:

There is a difference between having velocity and being able to pitch. I know kids that can throw real hard to but have no control. They will get eaten up at the next level. It’s all about hitting your spots.

D1 programs have at least twenty pitchers in fall ball. Only half of them have to pan out for the spring to be a successful season. So yes, colleges do recruit some flame throwers who may not have good control. The pitching coach will try to fix the problems freshman year. If not, it sayonara! Next! Bring in the next batch. Half of freshmen recruits are gone by junior year. A lot of them read the writing on the wall after freshman year.

Interesting discussion at times. I think it all boils down to finding the best college that fits your player. Everyone wants their player to be the best in whatever position they play but reality dictates where they end up. I don't assume that any D1 school is going to knock down our door for my 16 year old 5' 8" high 70's throwing righties. I have to be realistic. But can they play at a D2 or D3, or NAIA, maybe. We constantly work on skills other than pitching so we can find a spot. I have always told my boys that if you aren't an elite thrower you have to be a consistent hitter, and a great position player. For us it's like: well you aren't high 80's and you are a Junior in high school, what do we have? Well you run a 6.35 60. Ok, what can we do with that? Let's lift five days a week, run hills, hit 200 baseballs per day, work on fielding fundamentals and at minimum be a solid gap to gap guy that gets around the bags, scores runs and is a great infielder/outfielder. Whatever the coach needs, be that guy!

This forum has been very helpful in enlightening me and my boys to the realities of their abilities. It also provided us benchmarks so we can find a place to fit in. I could spend a lot of time debating about 16 year old kids throwing 90, or I can accept that they are out there and focus on the things we can excel at. My boys are fine with handing the ball to the 6' 6" guy and letting him smoke the hitters. They go back to second, short or center and do their job.

When I happened on to this forum I was looking for guidance and to get some insight into the possibilities for where my twins could continue to play a game that they love and receive a good education. It was always that simple.

You don't have to agree with everything people post in this forum, but you do have to accept certain realities. Find a spot for your player at a school that will provide a good education and enjoy every second they are able to play. 

@Triple J posted:

Interesting discussion at times. I think it all boils down to finding the best college that fits your player. Everyone wants their player to be the best in whatever position they play but reality dictates where they end up. I don't assume that any D1 school is going to knock down our door for my 16 year old 5' 8" high 70's throwing righties. I have to be realistic. But can they play at a D2 or D3, or NAIA, maybe. We constantly work on skills other than pitching so we can find a spot. I have always told my boys that if you aren't an elite thrower you have to be a consistent hitter, and a great position player. For us it's like: well you aren't high 80's and you are a Junior in high school, what do we have? Well you run a 6.35 60. Ok, what can we do with that? Let's lift five days a week, run hills, hit 200 baseballs per day, work on fielding fundamentals and at minimum be a solid gap to gap guy that gets around the bags, scores runs and is a great infielder/outfielder. Whatever the coach needs, be that guy!

This forum has been very helpful in enlightening me and my boys to the realities of their abilities. It also provided us benchmarks so we can find a place to fit in. I could spend a lot of time debating about 16 year old kids throwing 90, or I can accept that they are out there and focus on the things we can excel at. My boys are fine with handing the ball to the 6' 6" guy and letting him smoke the hitters. They go back to second, short or center and do their job.

When I happened on to this forum I was looking for guidance and to get some insight into the possibilities for where my twins could continue to play a game that they love and receive a good education. It was always that simple.

You don't have to agree with everything people post in this forum, but you do have to accept certain realities. Find a spot for your player at a school that will provide a good education and enjoy every second they are able to play.

Good post. It has (somewhat) restored my faith that some people actually listen to the good advice that is offered in this forum.

I signed on just to “like” Triple’s post. And like Adbono my first thought was, “Some people come on here, learn and get it.”