out for a year?

Imperative as in? "If he doesn't play the first year out of high school he won't be able to play the following year?" No, UNLESS his ineligibility has some residual that might indicate a future problem to the coach ---- surgery, legal problems, academics, etc. If nothing indicates a future problem then it could actually help his baseball career in that he will have one year to mature. I would approach everything as if he IS going to be able to play his first year, drawing the interest of the coaches, THEN as coaches contact him he can inform them of his particular situation and go from there.
Fungo

quote:

My son is a good player and has potential at higher levels than community college

Not sure what you mean by this. But, many of the highest level players prefer two year schools rather than four year schools so they can be draft eligible after each year. That being said, there are some dang good players at community colleges, many of whom could get big scholly money at the four year school of their choice.

I'd be humble enough to not scoff at two-year schools until I have really researched who the "players" are.

quote:

Originally posted by Ole Ball Coach:
I hope that, whatever the problem is, he can have the best opportunity for him. A year off will definitely give him the opportunity to get stronger and mature.

With that said, a lot of players have the "potential" to move beyond JuCo baseball. JuCo baseball is a good fit for a lot of ballplayers because they actually get to "prove" they can play beyond it (which is why they get big scholly money ).

quote:

Originally posted by wayback:

quote:

My son is a good player and has potential at higher levels than community college

Not sure what you mean by this. But, many of the highest level players prefer two year schools rather than four year schools so they can be draft eligible after each year. That being said, there are some dang good players at community colleges, many of whom could get big scholly money at the four year school of their choice.

I'd be humble enough to not scoff at two-year schools until I have really researched who the "players" are.

A friend of mine, who plays at a local JC, was telling me about a player who transfered I think from Kentucky to a JC, because he was splitting time evenly at SS. He went to one of the best JC's just to play full time.

I'm not scoffing at the JC in the least. I think it is a great place for my son. I didn't really want to get into details as to why he may be out for a year, I just wanted to know if it was a bad idea or not. But I guess it would be helpful to know a littl info.

so... basically, he is signed to play at a JC. The coach just left and they haven't hired anyone. They are hesitant to release him, but my son now feels that if they don't release him, it might be in his best interest to leave anyway and start up next year. Better to wait and play for an established program? or bite the bullet and play for the unknown?

June,
In your first post, you mentioned "ineligible", which typically means that the player doesn't have an adequate GPA, and the NJCAA, NCAA, NAIA won't allow him to play. That's a very different situation from being not sure if he wants to play for a new coach.

So I infer that you may be fairly new to the thicket of considerations surrounding college baseball.

Once a player attends any collegiate institution full-time, he starts consuming one of the criteria for eligibility. If he ends up at a D1 school, he may not play after 5 years have elapsed since enrolling full-time at any college. D2, D3, and NAIA have similar rule in which a player is limited to 10 full-time semesters (or 15 quarters) before his eligibility expires. The second criterion allows the player 4 seasons of competition. Attending a JC but not playing does conserve a season of competition, but if he gets hurt or can't play in a subsequent year, he will probably only be able to play for 3 seasons.

If he doesn't play this year, how will he retain his baseball skills? Most JC programs have far more applicants than roster spots, and as a general rule, a player is well advised to already have the coach's eye before school starts. How will he get that recognition at a second school if he doesn't play his first year? If he isn't on the "favored" list at the beginning of his second year, and he isn't in the best baseball shape, I'd have a real concern that he wouldn't make the team.

So, in my opinion, he should simply do his best at the school he signed with.

Thank you for your advice