Opinions needed by this Thanksgiving weekend

Has he already committed to a college? If so then enjoy the senior year and play basketball.

If not and you are still looking for a program and this is his senior year I would just focus on baseball.

You don't want to find yourself injured from a turned ankle when the season begins.

quote:

Originally posted by floridafan:
Has he already committed to a college?

No, he is a free agent and the phone in not ringing off the hook.

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

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.

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.

I should have added he is a pitcher. I guess from having posted other threads(mainly in the recruiting section)I mistakenly assumed everyone would already be familiar with him.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

Listen to your son. Let him lead the way and have the largest vote in the decision.

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.

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.

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.

If college baseball is a dream he's still working at I suggest he spend the winter prepping for the best possible senior year so he might be noticed. Otherwise, play basketball and enjoy it.

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?)

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.

quote:

Originally posted by RJM:

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.

Hehehe, I gave up Varsity wrestling my senior year in HS to go run up and down cold and muddy s.o.c.c.e.r fields. Loved every minute of it and was always glad I made that decision

I coached a young many who won 50 games as a pitcher in his high school career. He went on and played D-I baseball. He played on the basketball team as well despite being a 5'9" guard who was a 3 point specialist and who didn't often get to start. I asked him why he was playing basketball. He told me, "Coach B, in baseball, I'm a stud. In basketball, I'm a dud. Knowing how it feels to be a dud makes me want to work that much harder when my sport comes around. I like feeling like a stud." This young man was a lot of fun to be around and had a twin who was equally as much fun to be around. He was fortunate to pitch us to a state title. He was our #1 on the 40-0 team I helped coach. Let your son decide and let his heart be his guide!

I'm going to be in the minority here but since you asked for opinions I'll offer this:

We (humans) have the tendency to consider ourselves more in control of a situation than we ever are. We will spend our time evaluating the past and planning for the future at the cost of living in the moment. All too often our examination of the past is lacking honest recollection of detail and our plans for the future are way too presumptuous. We can't plan for all the variables. After all we only have this moment and we should live in it.

If your son gets enjoyment out of it and wants to, he should play basketball. Although, once he is committed he should not be allowed to back out.

Our son played football, baseketball and baseball his first three years in HS. He faced the same decision as your son his senior year. He already had a verbal to D1 baseball school and some interest from pro teams.

He was torn if he should concentrate on baseball his senior year. I told him to talk to his future college coach and some of the scouts who had contacted them. To a person, they all said they liked multiple sport athtletes - they said play or he would regret it. They said he would have plenty of time for baseball in the future.

He played all three sports his senior year. His football lost in the championship game in front of a packed house, his basketball team went to the semis and played in front of 3,000 people in what many have called one of best r HS games in our states hsitory. He's real glad he played and will have these memories for a lifetime. By the way this baseball team won its third straight championship in June. Lucky kid.

Vector,

I agree with the majority on this one, your son should ultimately make the decision. Did he play football in the fall, or was he exclusively playing fall baseball? I'm assuming that the basketball team was working out during that time period, and the coach would have known your 6'5" son was not coming out?

My son played basketball and baseball on highly competitive travel teams growing up. Entering HS, the head coaches in basketball and baseball agreed to share him during the fall and summer, and he split time between the B-Ball court and Baseball field until the respective seasons would begin. In the summer, he'd play the first five or so innings on his baseball team, and then rush to the gym across campus to play his summer league game in basketball. It was pretty crazy, and he finally decided a week before basketball season that he wanted to concentrate on baseball only. That was two years ago during his sophomore year. My kid doesn't have your son's height at 6'5", he's only 5'11" (6' with cleats/B-Ball shoes ), but he was a very good shooter that could handle the rock and could/can dunk. The decision to quit/retire from basketball was all his based on his desire to play college baseball. Believe me, I miss it much more than he does! In the long run, it ended up being a very good decision, as he signed his NLI at a very good D1 program. IMO, if your son is mainly a Pitcher on his HS team, playing basketball will not hurt his chances of receiving legitimate opportunities in baseball beyond HS. In fact, basketball can only help with the cross training involved. If he has a chance to play in college with his stick as a position player my advice might be different. As someone stated earlier in this thread, there are a number of colleges that covet multi-sport athletes. Best of luck to him Vector, I'm sure he'll make a good decision.

.

quote:

Originally posted by nhmonty:
Our son played football, baseketball and baseball his first three years in HS. He faced the same decision as your son his senior year. He already had a verbal to D1 baseball school and some interest from pro teams.

He was torn if he should concentrate on baseball his senior year. I told him to talk to his future college coach and some of the scouts who had contacted them. To a person, they all said they liked multiple sport athtletes - they said play or he would regret it. They said he would have plenty of time for baseball in the future.

He played all three sports his senior year. His football lost in the championship game in front of a packed house, his basketball team went to the semis and played in front of 3,000 people in what many have called one of best r HS games in our states hsitory. He's real glad he played and will have these memories for a lifetime. By the way this baseball team won its third straight championship in June. Lucky kid.

Much like mine...knew that their future was baseball...One was comitted, the other not...but they were pretty certain there was a place for them in college baseball somewhere, had already been visible on the reruting trail, and trusted their talent and work ethic and were willing to take the risk. Understood the bigger risk from football so they decided not to play that one despite lots of pressure. But for mine there was really no choice to be made on their part for basketball...4 years of basketball was really fun for them, in part because it came with absolutely no future expectations and so offered them an entirely different athletic experience...one I know that they value(d) a great deal.

I too think it has to be their decision.

44
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A quick reply as I just got in, and thanks for all the posts so far.

My son did make the decision, but it was with my influence which led him to not play. I know a part of him does want to play, and since the coach is wants him to play, I'm wondering if I gave him the best advice. My son did not play football this or any season as we were always concerned about injuries. Instead he ran cross country and played basketball in years past. Since both football and cross country just ended, the multi sport kids can still make the basketball team.
Also the basketball coach knows my son from him playing in PE, and also from last year.

We have till Monday to let the coach know, so I want to use this holiday weekend to discuss it with my son and come up with a definitive decision that is best for him, and that will make him happy. I'm not sure those two things can be accomplished, but we will try.

I will address more specific questions when I get some more time, but I need some shut eye at the moment.

.
I would add that there are risks...opportunity cost...injury...visibility...and the pressure and stress gets a great deal more intense in the spring for both you and your son when the other players are out on the field, or in some cases signing and yours is still in the gym...

Specifically to your situation...I would definately check wih the baseball and basketball coach and see what they feel...is there any sharing or working with players...some are great about it and others are not only dead set against it but make it a point to serioulsy punish any players who play other sports...also check the school/league/state rules...some allow concurrent play/practice others do not..I would also tell my son that he would have to be preparing for baseball reagrdless of hoop...weights if hoop did not, throwing/bullpens...so that he goes into baseball fully ready to go...which means a VERY full schedule, and he would need to understand that that was a serious part of any consideration. Would also talk to any schools that have expressed an interest and see how they felt. Likley you will be advised to go to holiday camps, but it has been our experience that they are an expensive long shot...though it was a big stressor not to go. Depending upon your son's level of interest from schools to date for baseball, I would have plan B in the works, a fail safe option for college just in case something else bigger did not pop. I could be wrong but a 6'5" righty at 88 with good control and lots of upside, athletic enough to excel at hoop sounds a great opportunity for some school...particularly late. I have to figure that regardless of hoop or not, he will show them something in the spring...and the interest level will increase.

It was our experience/perception with my two that there were at least 4 recruitment periods...the summer/fall leading up to the early sign. Then a reshufflng of the deck and increased interest for a few for the early spring sign (Fall cleanup - often these were kids who were already being heavily recruited but fell through the cracks somehow and just missed an offer or for some reason did not sign.) Then a almsot new beginning in the sring with a long lag through the spring season so that teams could get a good handle on HS Seniors and JC kids, what kind of season the seniors and the JC kids were having...culminating in a late spring/early summer signing frenzy...(long after hoop ends and players get up to speed)...then a summer free for all when players changed their minds/ddin't get grades/get drafted/decide to go to JC TO get drafted, and those last sports were filled in a wild frenzy....right up until the first day of classes. Of the four, IMHO, the least important is the early spring time.

Again only yours can know...but the more info/opinons you have to look through the better.

44
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My son, a 2013, has been asked for the past two years to come out for basketball. Yes he would like to play but he is 16. He does not fully understand the demands playing and practicing would put on his schedule as he has not experienced it. He simply would not have the time to long toss, lift free weights, work on his swing etc. He would get home from away games at midnight, run till you puke practices etc... Couple this with probably some 5 to 10 lb weight loss (excess pounds are not an issue) during the season. He will not play college hoops either.

I asked him both years when he came to me with this if he wanted to still strive for playing at the highest level in baseball after HS. He said yes. I told him that makes the decision for you.

God bless those who say you can play football, basketball etc and still want to max your opportunity to play in college baseball... maybe if you are Jim Thorpe.

Read your own quote from Teddy Roosevelt. The answer lies within.

Since we did virtually nothing his junior year to expose him at the various showcases/tourneys, we figured we would do everything we could this year. Despite respectable outings at different events so far, little interest has been shown to date. So we are hoping for some of the scenarios others have talked about in early/mid spring. To accomplish that he must perform at his best, and stay injury free. I'd really kick myself if he tore an ACL playing basketball and was not able to go to events in the winter or play in the spring. Hence the main reason I counseled him to skip basketball, and concentrate on baseball and conditioning. He made the decision, but it certainly was influenced by my view. So I am just trying to make sure I guided him correctly. Normally I do not have doubts nor second guess myself, but this is something that has given me pause.

We have a big decision to make this weekend, so hopefully the advice I'm talking in here will help me to help him make a definitive decision.

Vector,
From my experience I would keep the injury thing in the back of your mind but I really would not put that up front if you think a change in direction to having your son play basketball may happen. If he thinks he will or could get hurt while he is playing you can bet it will happen. Best of luck in your son's decision. By the way i really like the quote you include with your post! I have it tacked to my wall at work and make sure my son reads it every once in a while at home.

quote:

Originally posted by CenPAPete:
Vector,
By the way i really like the quote you include with your post! I have it tacked to my wall at work and make sure my son reads it every once in a while at home.

Thanks,

Teddy has always been one of my favorite presidents in history, and I greatly admire his life and beliefs.

****

I just wanted to thank everyone who posted their thoughts and suggestions.
After some discussion and prayer, we decided as a family he should skip basketball this year and concentrate on where his bread is buttered at. Hopefully it will pay off in the long run.

I started a thread in the recruitment section asking for any suggestions/advice on things to do between now and baseball season in the spring. Please feel free to post anything over there you think might be helpful.

http://hsbaseballweb.com/eve/f...6003481/m/5197045495

Again, thanks to all who took the time to post.