No calls-boo hoo

Congrats to your son, I will probably be in the same boat as you next year but my son only wants to play baseball and to him doesn't matter were he goes, give your son a big hug and tell him great job.

Catcher Mom,

Tell your son to stay positive and keep looking for the right fit. The MAJORITY of players who will go on to play college baseball will not sign in the early period! There is a LOT of time left for him to find a great opportunity at any level. (Mine is in his 3rd year at a D3, no baseball money of course, and is very happy with his school choice, loves his team, enjoying every minute of the college baseball experience.)

Catchermom,...box of kleenex coming your way.

Hard to see our sons disappointed, but ya just never know what lies ahead. Congrats to the offer from the AZ JUCO! Lots of good players use their JUCO playing time as a stepping stone in their baseball path. Wait and see what happens,..dont be too sad just yet! We are pulling for him and for you.

quote:

have to be happy with the bumper cars for now.

This made me laugh. I can tell you're trying to keep a stiff upper chin & thats the right idea.
( granted sometimes its easier said than done. )

Yeap,..we all like certain rides better than others,..but remember its better to be on a ride than to have no ride at all! ha! Kinda like the Matahorn and the T-cups at D-land. One loooks much bigger and more prestigious than the other,..but after riding both, most say both rides are awesome!

Tell your son to stay positive & to play hard.
Ya just never know what may lie ahead,..and this AZ JUCO offer might end up being a great ride after all!!

Please keep us posted and vent away when needed!! There's still alot of time left!

Hugzzzzzzzzzzzzz

CatcherMom - Like has been said, MOST kids don't sign during the early period. There's still a lot of recruiting to go on. If your son isn't receiving many calls, probably need to have him step things up in contacting the schools themselves. However, no need to feel panic!!!!

The perception is that everyone has now signed and has a baseball scholarship to a top 50 program in the country.

Most of those schools sign about 15 players.

Don't be disappointed that your son is not in the top 750-1500 ballplayers in the country.

Be proud that academically challenged catcher has a great offer to juco with an opportunity to keep playing in an educational environment where he has a better chance to succeed.

The risk of making the team at the big D1 school is high.

I think the academics are tougher at Big Time U because the support system can't handle the higher volume of students.

I'd much rather see my son go to JUCO and have success athletically and academically, than fail at Big Time U.

Go for it catcher mom, and don't look back.

catchermom, As a mom of a son with ADD, school has been very difficult for him. If it is a subject he loves well, he aces the class. If he does poorly in say,math, next semester he aces math and bombs science!!!It is just the way it goes with LD kids!!LOL As far as DivI schools, he has not really pursued any knowing the difficulty that would lie ahead so he has had no disappointments so far!! He is looking at divIII schools(small) and some juco's..By the way there is alot of interest in him there because they know they can also help him academically. So try not to be sad because with ADD my son excels at the things he loves and baseball is one of them !!!!I am sure that may be the same situation with your son!! Hang tough!!!!

CatcherMom,

Don't you worry! There are a lot worse things that could happen than not going to a DI. Sometimes I think the JUCO programs have sooo much to offer in the line of baseball, and the eligibility to be drafted is a much shorter timeline. It is a stepping stone, and don't be discouraged one bit! Many JUCO's have a LOT to offer!

If he is academically challenged then JUCO could be a blessing in disguise. Think of him going to a campus with 300 students in a class (my daughter has several classes that size). It is not for the faint of heart - it is not a personalized teaching environment. It is a class for the "thinning of the herd". Lots of the weaker students will stumble and fall. If he goes to D1 and can't maintain eligibility to play, what good is that? I have a son who will probably do better in a smaller environment - not because he can't learn, but because he can get a "B" with minimal effort and therefore that is all he gives. When they hit college the amount of study time required for that "B" will increase exponentially. There are endless distractions at the "supersized" schools. My hubby and I both went to one - and our daughter is there now. For the record, let me say, they were/are far more disciplined than I was. I came from a small town with one traffic light, so the distractions and freedom were irresistable. I made it through and was never on scholastic probation - But I was a straight A student all through high school - never studied much and didn't really learn how until late in college. JUCO can be an opportunity for him to start in a smaller setting - to learn what he needs to do to succeed at a larger school. It will give him another year to mature. He will probably get more playing time at a JUCO than he would as a Freshman at a D1. Then he can transfer to D1 after he has success. Look at any D1 roster - you will see quite a few JUCO transfers. And remember this - Roger Clemens and that cute Andy Petit(sp?) both went to San Jacinto Junior College. I think they did OK.

Oh - one other thing came to mind. I was talking to my neighbor back during the summer. He grew up in Washington and started playing football as a Freshman or Sophomore. Anyway - he became highly sought after. Upon his HS graduation his parents informed him that they were sending him to a military prep school for one year in Virginia. (because they didn't think he was ready for college) He didn't want to go but they prevailed. At this school they played area colleges and honed their academic skills. All those opposing coaches saw what these guys could do. He went on to play QB for Virginia Tech - setting school records along the way. Enjoyed several years in the NFL and now has the distinct "honor" of being my neighbor. Just another option to think about.

First, I totally understand. I remember that--as much as we wished everyone well as they made their early commitments--it's still really hard at this point in the process, because you know how your son is hurting and sometimes it hurts the parents even more to know they are hurting, than the actual player himself. The hype and excitement goes away, though, and I think things get a bit easier later in the year.

But your son sounds like a gifted player and someone who will be able to enjoy the game for many years--which is a lot more than so many thousands of kids who are not able to do so.

I really, really agree about not getting too upset about D1. Even for academically gifted kids, the demands of D1 academics with the extremely time-consuming demands of baseball can be almost unbelievable. A lot of kids really struggle to stay grade-eligible, and a lot aren't able to manage it. They can also feel marginalized as students, when they are in an academic environment that isn't the right fit.

It may seem on the surface to be great, but that is the surface and in reality it can be brutally hard. FIT is so incredibly important, and yet it is too easy to be seduced by the image--which isn't really the reality.

Hang in there--things usually work out in a happy way. He has a great mom to keep his spirits up too.

as the father of two acedemicly challenged students i know how you feel.it didn't bother my boys as much,i don't think they knew any better. lol.honestly if a juco was just what my son needed .alot of help in school,decent baseball. much better in az. i'm sure.i am assuming he is a non qualifier,maybe i shouldn't assume. but if he is a two year degree puts him over the top with two years left at a 4 year school.don't look down at the juco can be a great stepping stone with both school and baseball. don't worry things have a way of working out for the best.good luck

We went the Juco route and it was probably the best fit for us.

We found the recruiting process to be a game of sorts. Juco's were ringing our phones off the hook in our state. DI school showed a ton of interest, my son didnt feel they were a fit and basically told the coach straight to his face it he didnt fell like this was where he should be. It took some guts to do that, I think it hurt me/spouse worse than the coach, lol and our son. Your son will know where he fits in.

Even after he started this fall...he said to me in October..ya know mom I made the right choice and I really know it now,. I was shocked I thought he knew it the entire time. lol

Juco is and excellent stepping stone..and some of the baseball programs along with the educational sysetm is nothing to knock.

and by the way my son is a catcher

Sounds like a good decision for a great family!

quote:

..ya know mom I made the right choice and I really know it now,.

You cant ask for more than that! People on the HSBBW always emphasize how important fit
is to the entire baseball & college picture.

You sound content with your son's decision, and I can't blame ya. Even better, your son sounds happy too!!!
I hope your son has a greeeeat first college season this year! Please give us updates as time goes by. I want to hear the whole scoop-ola!!

CatcherMom.....we moved here from Arizona a year ago...need to tell you the JuCo's in Arizona have excellent baseball programs....wooden bat as I'm sure you know....and many of their kids go on to 4 year schools playing ball......great programs, great weather, and a better chance to do well academically.....

We know how you are feeling.....having been there.....just try and stay positive and have son start contacting schools.....good luck

As another parent of an LD student, I'd just tell you to hang in there. All we ever heard about our son was he was D-I material but the phone never rang from them. I have since been told that some coaches from other hs's had gotten calls about him but I gather they knew he struggled in school so never pursued any further. I thought I was losing my mind in the spring of his sr. yr. because he had no clue where he wanted to go (his dream also was a D-I). He really didn't even want to take any visits from the schools showing interest and didn't seem to want to pursue JUCO.

Finally he made 3 overnights, all within driving range for us, and settled in on a D-III that he felt at home when he was there. He's now a Jr., his grades are better than hs and he loves it! Started as a freshman. The overnights seem to help them make up their mind-Team Chemistry, etc. There's only about 1,600 students at his school so the professors do go out of their way to give the kids the extra attention they need when they ask for it and he actually does on occasion, much to my surprise! I certainly don't see anything wrong with JUCO either. I'm so glad we didn't set him up for failure at a bigger school. Your son will know when it's the right school so don't give up hope. It does seem to work out in the end even if we think we're losing our minds during the process. Good Luck!

Altho quite a few years ago now, our son received only a few calls from D-1 schools and a couple from some D-2. He too had been told he was a D-1 level player but had sustained a minor injury during his junior season that supposedly scared some schools off. Finally he was contacted and made 2 official and one unofficial visit (school was 30 miles away), and he really liked two of the schools. For us, we were thrilled when he chose the local college rather than the one that was 6 hours away.

But the school he chose had just moved up from D-2 the year before and did not have any kind of reputation in the Big West conference or the west period. When he had a really great senior season ... even while he was having that season ... we heard more times than not that he should not have signed early yada yada yada now he could have his pick yada yada yada. Bottom line ... he was a week-end starter on the mound as a freshman at his college (had he stayed his senior year, he would have probably set a record at the school for career innings pitched) and the school went to D-1 regionals the next season. He had found the right fit ... it wasn't at the top of the "A" list for D-1 schools (and may never be) but he learned a lot, got 3 years of great education (he will return if and when he hangs up his cleats), made long lasting friends, and was still drafted in the first 10 rounds.

Not every player needs to go to a D-1 school to have success in their baseball careers.
Not every player fits D-1 schools which can often have very very large student census.

There are many paths that can lead our boys to making their dreams come true ... JUCO, D-1, 2, & 3, and NAIA ... and some of the really good players through the years never stepped foot on a D-1 campus. Unfortunately too many people buy into the 'D-1 or nothing' belief system ... as do their sons ... and it leads to a lot of frustration and disappointment.

Keep your chin up Catcher Mom. There is a world of opportunity out there for your son, a world where he will feel that the fit is right and he will have success on and off the field. We will be pulling for him, as you can well imagine ! ! ! Please keep us posted.