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32 replies

Opinions needed by this Thanksgiving weekend

VectorVector1,000+ posts
My son is a 2011 graduating senior who has played multiple sports for his high school over the years. He goes to a baseball powerhouse school, but the other sports are just competitive locally, with no real prospects for producing high level college players in those sports.

Being almost 6' 5" 190lbs the basketball coach was looking forward to my son starting this year, and was very upset when he did not come out for basketball after cross country ended. My son is a decent basketball player, but does not have the skill to play in college, at least not at a D1 or good program.

It was a decision that my son made to concentrate on baseball in the off season, but I must admit in helping to influence his decision. I based it on several people (include a couple here on the forum via PM) saying if he is serious about playing college baseball, he needs to prepare as much as possible this off season. While this makes sense on several levels, it will also be taking away his last opportunity to play competitive basketball with his friends and schoolmates which he enjoys doing. So I am now having second thoughts about my council, and wondering if I should suggest he play for his team if he really wants to?

The coach has called and sent word that he still wants him to join the team, but he must decide by the Thanksgiving break.

I want him to be happy and have fun his senior year, but I also want him to play college baseball if he has the talent to do it.
I didn't use to think they were mutually exclusive, but now I have my doubts.

I'm interested in getting as many opinions as possible from everyone here.

BTW - I'd like to wish everyone in advance a Happy Thanksgiving.

Edit - He is a RHP who is still growing, still in his boys body, and does need to strengthen his decelerators among other things to increase his velo. His has only touched 88 to this point and is typically in the mid 80's with good control

--- It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. Theodore Roosevelt - April 23, 1910

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GunEmDown10GunEmDown101,000+ posts
He has to follow his heart, either way. In the end, he is the one who has to live the rest of his life with these decisions. Having said that, you do need to be a "guiding" force in his life, as he does not have the life experiences to completely see the big picture. GUN gave up football, to concentrate on baseball, fulltime. Once he made his decision, he was at peace and has not regretted it once.

And, projectability and desire to play a certain sport at the next level can be a very good place to start when making these tuff decisions.

GED10DaD
Last edited by GunEmDown10
O Outfielder100+ posts
I have played baseball and basketball since I was 6. I love both, but realize that baseball is my best opportunity to play in college. I have gotten some D2,D3, and JUCO interest for baseball, but have not been offered anything yet. I decided to go ahead and play basketball my senior year since I was going to have the opportunity to start and be a captain. I know this will be my last chance to play a sport that I love, but won't be able to play in college. While I realize that it may take away from time that I could spend improving my baseball skills, basketball does keep me in shape and it's my last chance to play competitively in a sport that I love.
gitnbygitnby100+ posts
If it was my Son, and he was serious about playing college baseball, then I would put him on a strength and weight-gain program between now and Spring baseball practice.

At 6'5", I assume he is a pitcher or 1B?

Either way, 190 is not enough.

Whatever his position is, I would also have him work with a local instructor on his skills over the Winter.

Make contact, if you haven't already, with all of the in-state college programs including JUCO's.

There is still time for him to get noticed for a Spring signing.
Last edited by gitnby
CPLZCPLZ1,000+ posts
Tough spot.

I am from the camp of, do as much as you can as long as you can and it will sort itself out.

The advice I gave my sons when considering quitting what were to them, ancillary sports, was, "further down the road when you look back, you might regret the decision to not play a sport. However, you will never regret the decision to play a sport." While that's not totally true, as the chance of injury always exists, it is what I believe.

Sure enough, Junior #1's biggest regret athletically is that he gave up football.

P.S. He was not signed at this point in his HS career and is a D1 starter...so don't worry, just keep plugging....happy thanksgiving
Last edited by CPLZ
P Prime91,000+ posts
There is no right or wrong answer, only HIS answer that matters!

That was what I advised my son when he came to this fork in the road. When pressed for my thoughts I told him "I" would spend 110% of my time preparing for what I already knew that I wanted to do in College; PLAY baseball.

In the end that's the decision he made. He's playing in College, loving every breath of it and has no regrets.
Last edited by Prime9
B BBB0810+ posts
We have watched our son enjoy different sports that in the end only caused him to have injuries requiring surgeries. Baseball was his more natural and talented sport where he could possibly play at the next level compared to the others that were just extra activities. Decent at most, but not great. He made a decision to give up the rest, set a goal and focus on baseball. He trained hard, found a good tournament team, and put himself out there. He lost his 9th and 10th grade seasons only playing 4 high school games due to injuries not related to baseball. By eliminating these other sports and preparing hard he made himself available for PG games at Fort Myers and Jupiter. As a result, he has now commited to a top ranked SEC college and will continue his baseball dream. If he would have been a 2 sport player, he would have never been at the right place at the right time and probably (as per past track record) nursing football injuries at the start of baseball. Some players are blessed to never get hurt and mange both, but not all. Not to mention that some players are just naturally talented and do not need the extra time and focus to get better at one or the other. Mine needed to be injury free, work harder, and have no other distractions to achieve his goals. It is all just a gamble, but for my son choosing one paid off. Good luck with your tough decision.
08Dad08Dad1,000+ posts
Ultimately it should be his decision - but if I were his dad, given that he is not signed and if asked, I'd suggest skipping basketball and getting ready for a great spring.

Basketball season overlaps with baseball season - and the conditioning he should be doing as a pitcher to prepare for this season won't be a part of his basketball routine (other than having great legs!!!)

Another consideration is that he may want to make some unofficial college visits this winter - and if he is in season, skipping weekends to visit a college is probably not what the basketball coach has in mind.

So, if it were my son, I'd be suggesting hitting the gym and going to visit a few of the colleges that he has already applied to. Even an unofficial visit show interest - he can meet the coach and potentially kick off some additional dialog.

08
trojan-skippertrojan-skipper1,000+ posts
To me: the kid all ready voted; with his feet. He did not go out for basketball. Move on. The basketball coach is crazy to offer him to come late; it will only mean problems for him down the road (not cuz it's your kid; any kid) someone's going to be on the bench who was at all the early workouts; or your boy is going to be on the bench thinking, shoot i could be at this showcase or out playing longtoss instead of running gassers for Jimmy's missed free throw last night.

just my 2 cents; and you're being overcharged. Happy T-day to all
bcb3bcb3100+ posts
My son was asked by the football coach to come out for the team for his senior year, something he always wanted to do, but always put aside to concentrate on baseball. We talked about the summer before his senior year, and that fall being prime recruiting time for college baseball. My son decided he would never have a chance to play football again, so he went out for the team. Unfortunately, he broke his foot in June and was in a boot for six weeks, getting it off two days before his lone showcase of the year. He ended up starting on the football team that won a district championship and came second in the region. He had a great time and will have great memories. He is now playing DIII baseball. Could he have gone to a DI if he played travel over the summer and fall? Who knows, but he had a great experience playing football, and seems to be really enjoying college so far.
Last edited by bcb3
fenwaysouthfenwaysouth10,000+ posts
If it was my son, I would sit down and have a heart to heart. Let him tell you what his plan is. If he asks your opinion. Give it. If you're not sure, go over pros and cons, best situation, and worst situation.

As others have pointed out, I think he has already cast his vote by his decision to not try out. Peer pressure and coach pressure has clouded his decision.

Nobody knows your situation better than you. Nobody knows your sons prospects better than you, and nobody knows your sons passion level more than you. Be honest with him when asked.
TPMTPMHSBaseballweb Member since 2003
Who is actually having second thoughts, dad or son?

I think you need to talk, and you need to tell him it's not what you want but what he wants. I mean an honest talk.

There were solutions a while back offered about pursuing JUCO options(baseball) for your son. This can be a great alternative and your son can finish up his HS career the way he wants to (maybe forget the showcases that might not lead to anything this year). If your son goes to a baseball HS powerhouse school (in Miami) if he did well any JUCO in FL would sign him. I did tell you this and will again, my son has friends who went to JUCO out of HS, then onto that big D1 baseball program and now on ML rosters, probably not graduated but close to, but they took a route some look down upon and made it work.

Seems like you are putting a lot of pressure on yourself about this, and that usually trickles down.

Let him do what he wants, sit down and talk about how he can work towards a goal and still try to enjoy his last high school year.
C CenPAPete10+ posts
Vector,

I had to deal with the issue of whether my son would play basketball or not this year also but for different reasons. My son a 6'-5" 2011 grad was an outstanding basketball player but didn't like the sport nearly as much as baseball. He did not want to play basketball this his senior year but up till that point we had always encouraged him to play because we felt it was a great conditioning tool for him. Last year in a pre-season tournament in November he came down awkwardly on an opposing player after blocking a shot and ended up tearing his ACL. He had surgery in December and had to work unbelievable hard to get back for the second half of his Junior year baseball season. I think this is why he did not want to play basketball this year because he just did't want to take the chance of that happening again. This year we decided not to try and persuade him to play under the condition that he would either find a job or do a regimented mass gain work-out program to prepare him for the spring baseball season and for his college team come the fall of next year. He chose the work-out program and has made amazing gains in size and strength since the beginning of October. He went from 194lbs up to his current weight of 213lbs. He has increased his strength by almost double in many areas. he has gone for example from box squatting 180 pounds 10 times up to 415lbs 8 times! Your son seems to be at an age like mine that would gain immensely by an off season program. this is something that he would never be able to do if he is playing basketball so if he really wants to play baseball in college and particularly since he has not gotten much attention from schools you really should seriously consider letting him work hard for baseball and maybe attend some winter showcases rather than having him participate in basketball.
N New2This100+ posts
Suggest you let him decide if he wants to play basketball since he must know how he feels inside.

In the US it seems a lot of value is given to being a multi sport athlete, and for sure there are exceptional athletes that have the luxury to excel at more than one sport. For many this is probably not true so they will just be playing because they like one or more particular sport.

In our part of the world athletes tend to just concentrate on the one sport they want to excel at. Baseball players play baseball, s****r players play s****r, basketball players play basketball, etc. 12 months of the year. (why does this site change s.o.c.c.e.r to s****r?)
Last edited by New2This
RJMRJMHSBaseballWeb member since 2007
quote:
Originally posted by New2This:
Suggest you let him decide if he wants to play basketball since he must know how he feels inside.

In the US it seems a lot of value is given to being a multi sport athlete, and for sure there are exceptional athletes that have the luxury to excel at more than one sport. For many this is probably not true so they will just be playing because they like one or more particular sport.

In our part of the world athletes tend to just concentrate on the one sport they want to excel at. Baseball players play baseball, s****r players play s****r, basketball players play basketball, etc. 12 months of the year. (why does this site change s.o.c.c.e.r to s****r?)
Don't get the folks started on s0ccer. It's a losing proposition. My son is a keeper.
Last edited by RJM
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