One point I've been reading and hearing that I feel like should be cleared up

quote:

Originally posted by northwest:
I've read this on HSBBW on comments before (one thread that's still hot I believe has a comment on this) as well as hearing parents say this alot growing up, and I would like to clear this up:

*And before I say this, the vast majority of people on here say what I'm saying, and I completely agree with them, however there are a few who say the opposite. That's who I'm speaking of here.*

What I hear is that it shouldn't matter what the size of the school/city/atmosphere/etc. is like because there is absolutely no time for anything besides school and baseball. The thought seems to be with some people that school and baseball takes up ALL of your time and that there is no room for anything else.

This may be true at IVY league schools or other extremely high academic schools, however, being a college baseball player myself, and knowing many others, there is always going to be some free time. There will always be some time to get to hang out with frends, meet girls, go to football games, etc.

My point being here is you really need to look at campus atmosphere, size of school, commuter school vs college town, everything. You need to know whether you will be comfortable in the situation you will be putting yourself in.

The reason I post this is because I thought it wouldn't matter. I knew I was coming to a place that is a 180 degree change from where I'm from. I thought it could be "school and baseball, that's it". Well I soon found out that's not the case at all. I'm actually so unhappy with the choice I made to come here that I've already announced that I will be transferring at Christmas, the only thing I could think of doing to keep my sanity. So parents, don't feed into your kids that all the extra stuff doesn't matter when choosing a college, because it does. Don't just pick a program for the baseball, because that can come back and bite you quicker than you think.

Lots of VERY good discussion related to this. But, I'd like to comment on the value of this original post. We had 2013 read it because it was very timely.

He has visited a few DIIIs that are very good academic fits with respectable baseball programs. The coaches have offered roster spots.

A JUCO about two hours away with an excellent baseball program has made him an offer. It's very tempting - entirely because of baseball. 2013 has acknowledged that he would never consider this institution outside of baseball and he absolutely has to consider all the factors.

My son chose JUCO over several opportunities at all levels. His decision was purely about Baseball. His JUCO was about 2 hours away and he loved every minute of it. But he lives eats and breathes baseball. He did extremely well academically as the coach was a real stickler regarding Team GPA. Coach Touma always won the Award for Highest Team GPA, or was a contender in our State of Florida, with the NJCAA.

It was a great experience, and we never missed a game.

Very good discussion and I hope I would never have to face with making a decision with my kids in the grey area. By grey area I mean there is no clear cut answer or solution, no right or wrong answer. A clear cut answer would be something like a HS player got drafted in the mlb after the 2nd round and the money is not there - then he will definitely want to choose a college that is best in baseball and hope he would get to a higher pick while in college. This is limited to a very small group of HS kids. The majority is somewhat in between. For this majority I am more biased towards getting a good education. Depending on the kids' interests/career, I would pick a school that offer a good program that matches his interests, and the academic difficulty that matches the kid's ability. Nothing is worse if the kid is at the bottom 10% in academics while spending all his time on the bench in the dugout. He has to excel in something that makes him feel good, and hopefully that would compensate for the other stuffs that he is struggling with. The other angle which was not discussed is the financial ability of the family to support the kid if the kid drops out of college, pursue mlb and fails after a few years. Could the family support financially and get him back to college to get a degree? For example, if I were Bill Gates, I could afford to drop out of Harvard and pursue my dreams, knowing that my parents will back me up if I fails. If you are from a financially challenged family and was given a scholarship to Harvard, would you do the same? Hence, each has his own set of variables to consider but it's good to remind kids that the probability of making a good earning out of playing baseball is very very low. I found it's educational to hear from all sides of the story here. Letting the kids have a major part of making the decision is very important as well so they won't look back and ask what if's, could have's, would have's. For example, my kid want to play football. I said go ahead by pick a position that you least likely to get injured (ok, it's an oxymoron here). Few weeks into the summer HS program, he hurt his shoulder in football and feel pain while throwing. Then I asked him, we got to decide here, pitching and football probably does not mix well here. Eventually he dropped out of football a few weeks into the school year. His coach told him he could come back next year (no a chance). Fortunately the shoulder pain went away after 8 weeks of rest else I have to take him to do an MRI. Hopefully he has gotten rid of the desire to play football out of his system and just stick with basketball and baseball. So let the kids by kids and we need to tell them, look this is the resource I have for you, you need to decide how best to use those resources.

quote:

Originally posted by Swampboy:
My son is aware of this scout's opinion and absolutely does not care. He has taken the plunge for baseball, and he will keep working as hard as he can until all baseball doors have been completely closed, locked, and barred. He says he can handle not being good enough but he can't handle the idea of backing down before he knows 100%. He says he will not let himself reach middle age and wonder if there was any way he could have made it happen. He has to know for sure.

Whether he makes it or not, he'll probably be a great guy to be in business with someday.

quote:

"A lot of the time on the west coast, they don't want to leave in high school," Hughes said. "When you get them in the junior college, they've been humbled a little bit by the recruiting process, and they're like, 'I don't care where I'm going, I just want to go to play at the highest level and reach my potential and go to a good school'."

THis is why many kids transfer. The kid's Hughes was talking about we D1 to JC transfers. Contrary to what some may say, transfering is not about quiting, its looking for your best opportunity.

quote:

Contrary to what some may say, transfering is not about quiting, its looking for your best opportunity.

BINGO!

What we tried to get across to son, was that you may go to a really good bb program, but if life around you isn't making you happy, you might end up struggling in the game.

So much of this game is mental, if your head isn't in the right place, you probably are not either.

There is nothing wrong with transfering to be in a place that makes you happy or maybe a better player.

JMO.

Maybe I missed it, but the OP never told us specific info about himself, which can make a difference regarding the type of advice people can offer. For instance is he a freshman with the blues vs. a junior who is just fed up or unhappy after a few years of sticking it out.
Regardless, the OP has not even come back to be part of the discussion.

I can see both sides of this coin, but it is a shame we do not have more to go on. I'd also suggest we be civil and respectful of each others point of view as we are all here for the same reason.

`

Hey sorry I've been busy the last couple days. I'm from a city of over 1 million in the metropolitan area attending a JUCO with a small enrollment 13 hours from home in a town of 40,000, in a place I didn't even initially find appealng when I visited, but I committed solely on the reputation of the baseball program. No, I didnt come down and find myself in over my head, I performed well. But I couldn't get over the fact that I get 4 years of college, which is supposed to be some of the best years of your life, and I'm spending it in a place I absolutely hate. I am a freshman by the way. Pop Up Hitter Dad knows where I am (hint hint).

Thanks for coming back. I get it and got it the first time but some have put waaaaaay too much into this than necessary.

JMO

I cleaned up this thread. It went too far with the personal attacks and back and forth and taking sides. Swampboy - when I agreed with your take above it was regarding baseball decisions and not anything related to personal disagreements with BOF. BOF is entitlted to his position and imho it is reasonable.

BOF and his family have split the baby quite nicely imho. Not only has his son chosen a fine academic school in a very nice southern location, they are at a premier baseball school as well imho. That program routinely produces pro talent as well so I am not sure that Swampboy's and BOF's position on the matter is not closer than what it may appear on the surface.

Please use this post as a fig leaf between sides to resume what has been a fine thread. Thanks.

To this point I think people's opinions regarding the selection of school and major are generally influenced by their own personal experience. From my personal experience I have the opinion that the selection of school and major for the vast majority of our children has very little impact on their long term success or failure.

To elaborate. I was raised by a father who worked third shift at the local radio station in high school to support his family as my grandfather was not up to the task. C and D student through high school, no college, bank president in small town at 21 and had a very successful career.

My self. State school with a biology degree. After into it a while decided I no longer wanted to be a doctor nor a biologist so I went into sales for a bit and now work non sales in insurance. Just like most not at all where I thought I would be but can say at 42 I have no complaints. I don't think that my attendance at State school and my actual degree have anything to do with where I am today other than showing I could start and finish college which I know is worth something when I look to hire folks.

My brother played college baseball. He had some sucess and several academic awards. Was done after college. He tells my son that his baseball experience and awards have opened many a door in the business community. His particular school not at all. His chosen major maybe somewhat. He too is very successful in sales.

So to my point, based on my life experience and what I know my son's goals are I am certain that baseball will be a primary concern when he looks to select a college to attend in a few years.

There are schools were your attendance and your degree do carry weight and do matter, but there are lots more schools where having any degree, good communication skills, and knowing how to treat others will matter more. Based on my life experience I think a baseball field is a fabulous place to develop those other skills.

Others have very different life experiences. Those experiences will color their opinions and how they advise their offspring. As they say more than one way to skin a cat.

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
are u speaking of players or parents

yes

quote:

There are schools were your attendance and your degree do carry weight and do matter, but there are lots more schools where having any degree, good communication skills, and knowing how to treat others will matter more. Based on my life experience I think a baseball field is a fabulous place to develop those other skills.

Others have very different life experiences. Those experiences will color their opinions and how they advise their offspring. As they say more than one way to skin a cat.

That's very true in most instances, and in some cases it's where you get your last degree counts the most. It's all about opportunity cost, of doing something or of not doing something. If the kid's goal is to be either a brain surgeon or a pro-baseball player, then he has to decide way earlier where he is going. You probably could not finish your baseball venture at 33 years' old and say, ok, now I want to go to college to get my BA and the go onto post-grad school to become a brain surgeon. Some will come to a fork in the road much early and some will come to a fork in the road much later. I remember years ago, I read that there was this Olympic swimmer(I don't remember her name), multiple Olympic medal winners, about going to medical school right after she retired. I was really impressed, she has the time to study with all the swimming commitment at the highest level. As most of you know, swimming is probably the most time consuming and most endurance sport, swimmers spent hours and hours each day in the pool, 364 days a year(ok 1 day off); and that she has graduated and accepted to a medical school was impressive.