Skip to main content

Hello all and happy Friday! My 2019 catcher has a bit of a situation and I'm hoping someone might have experienced something similar and have thoughts in retrospect. I'm not really looking for medical advice but I need to describe what's going on for background.

He's had shoulder shoulder pain when throwing that started a little over three weeks ago and says he remembers when it happened. Something about shagging balls in the outfield and throwing in. My assumption is that this was without proper warm-up but that's neither here nor there at this point. I took him to a specialist who did x-rays, and an evaluation, and said that he thought he'd pinched some tissue that caused it to be irritated. He prescribed him a 5-day steroid pack and sent us on our way saying that he wasn't going to limit his activity for now. As it happens, he had one game left in the high school season and giving his arm a rest after that was something we were going to do anyway.

Fast forward to yesterday and it's been two weeks without throwing and we decided it was time to start a short program (taken from a Vandy catchers rehab document) to get him ready for summer ball which starts at the end of this month. He warmed up, stretched, and said that there was pain immediately upon throwing (lobs). I think there may be something more going on in there so I'm setting him up another appointment that will hopefully result in an MRI.

So here's my area of concern, and I'm putting the cart before the horse a bit I know since we haven't even had an MRI. As has been stated many times here and elsewhere, the summer of rising HS senior is maybe the most crucial recruiting time for the majority of kids who want to play at the next level, and my son is no exception. He's got a carefully planned out summer with a mix of tournament play, showcases, skills development, and physical training that could potentially be significantly impacted by even the most modest diagnosis, beyond just soreness from use. I was wondering if anyone else has been in this, or a similar, situation at this time in your player's recruiting journey and would be willing to share information about it, good or bad? I'd also appreciate any advice on adjustments that might need to be made to the recruiting process if it does turn out that he has to miss a significant portion of the summer. To give some perspective on the rough timelines we're working under, my son is targeting–and has had some interest from–higher academic D2 and D3 schools, though no offers have come his way. His metrics are as follows:

5'11" 170lbs
GPA - 3.5 / 4.0
ACT 28 (30 with superscore - and taking again in three weeks)
R/R
Exit Velo - 84 (hasn't been measured/confirmed in a while)
60 - 7.02 (hasn't been measured/confirmed in a while)
Position Velo - 77 (hasn't been measured/confirmed in a while)
Consistent Pop Time - 1.9-2.1

As always, thanks for any and all feedback!

Last edited by tequila
Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

Wow, you're right...awful timing.  Not much you can do other than get it checked out and see what they say.  It's obviously not working for him as it is so "playing thru it" to get thru the showcase/tourneys/etc this summer is not a likely scenario....and the potential for doing more damage if you don't know what the problem is is also there.  There's no easy answer....I guess if it's me, I'd get it looked at as soon as possible and if needbe, adjust the summer accordingly.  If he's been talking to coaches once you know the diagnosis just be upfront with them and keep them updated.  Good luck!

I wouldn't worry about missing anything!  I would worry about getting him healthy.  If he gets healthy, he'll have plenty of time to show off.  Fall of Sr. Year is a great time.  If he gets right by Fall, he can go to the Arizona Fall Classic which is a great event for kids to be recruited from.

Ryan got hurt 1st of June, after Jr. year.  (Meniscus)  Since they operated and repaired the Meniscus, he missed the entire summer.  He played football in the Fall, so he didn't showcase, and this put him in a bad place.  Ultimately though, he went JC, and now he is a starter at the D-1 level.  

The key is to be safe and get healthy.  It will work out.

 

Yes, my sons both went through similar issues their rising Senior summers. 

IMHO, get the MRI done. And get to an ortho doc who truly understands throwing athletes. I’d go to the Andrews Institute in Pensacola. 

Once that is done, you’ll understand appropriate next steps. 

As far as recruiting a 2019 player at his stage in the recruiting timeline and projected level of college play/interest, I would skip the tournament play.  If he is able to perform this summer, college recruiting for him will solely be about getting seen by the coaches and admissions reps from the colleges on his vetted list of schools.  Tournament play, in my experience, won’t help that. Showcases that his colleges attend and campus visits/interviews are more important. 

Good luck!

Shoveit4Ks posted:

Always get an MRI, dont listen to the docs and the initial assessment, especially when this isnt about a HS player who is done playing. I cant tell you how many times i hear mis-diagnoses before MRIs.

I hope he is not hurt and gets back to 100% in no time...keep us in the loop on the MRI results and update on his rehab.

+1

Shoveit4Ks posted:

Always get an MRI, dont listen to the docs and the initial assessment, especially when this isnt about a HS player who is done playing. I cant tell you how many times i hear mis-diagnoses before MRIs.

Thanks Shoveit! So how does this work exactly - arrange for an MRI on our own and get a doc to read it or insist with your existing specialist that an MRI is performed?

In our experience if you show up back in the office saying we did the treatment you prescribed but it still hurts,  you'll get the MRI.  But if you gotta pay you gotta pay.

I'm curious - did your son continue to play after warming up hurt, or did he stop?

Also, does he do band work?  People who know more than me recommend band work for throwing athletes, not just pitchers, especially if they have had a hint of shoulder trouble.  They also recommend staying away from certain lifts.  It may be helpful to see a PT who can help your son with workout routines  that don't stress his shoulder.

JCG posted:

In our experience if you show up back in the office saying we did the treatment you prescribed but it still hurts,  you'll get the MRI.  But if you gotta pay you gotta pay.

I'm curious - did your son continue to play after warming up hurt, or did he stop?

Also, does he do band work?  People who know more than me recommend band work for throwing athletes, not just pitchers, especially if they have had a hint of shoulder trouble.  They also recommend staying away from certain lifts.  It may be helpful to see a PT who can help your son with workout routines  that don't stress his shoulder.

Thanks for the response JCG.

I don't think the MRI will be a problem. We've got several avenues for that as Mrs. Tequila works in the medical field and has a lot of contacts. I just didn't really know the sequence of events i.e. can you just "carry" an MRI to a specialist and tell them this is what we've got.

He stopped throwing after warm-up with the exception of playing catcher in a benefit slow-pitch softball game later in the afternoon where he was basically just lobbing or under-handing the ball back to the pitcher.

He's not been doing band work but that is on the agenda and he's got a personal trainer that will be putting together a warm-up program for him to incorporate this. He also has a regular lifting regimen but nothing overhead to date. I've got a lot of faith in his trainer as he has a very good reputation locally, has been in the business a long time, and is a former division 2 catcher.

Unless I missed it his expected level to be recruited hasn't been mentioned. Since it’s leading into senior year I'm guessing anywhere from mid major to top D3. There are multiple avenues to make baseball work out. All it takes is a kid who wants it badly enough. Due to timing what could be lost is using baseball to get into a college he may otherwise not been accepted. My son had two injuries post junior year. He was out from Saturday afternoon of the first travel tournament through two weeks before senior season. It worked out for him academically and athletically. Good luck.

 

Last edited by RJM

Don't feel alone.  It happens to far more than you think.  It is never a good time for an injury, always costs something but eventually happens to all who stay in it for any length of time (usually more than one) and play hard enough.  

Whatever the diagnosis, use resources to see the right type of medical help in a timely manner, follow any PT to a tee and do not rush him back until healthy enough.  

My son was in a similar situation (2016). Pain in shoulder after summer of sophomore year. Getting a lot of interest from college coaches (calling HS coach and inquiring) after couple of showcases. Ends up missing entire junior year of HS baseball. Even though he was not 100% he did a couple of showcases in summer before senior year. He hit well enough to get some attention and was contacted late summer by D3 college coach that would have been a great fit but did not get through admissions. He had another coach from an academic D3 call him after the HS season but son had already committed to one of his dream schools for the academics. D3's will recruit late into the his senior year of HS so there is still time. He needs to get healthy! My sons arm was never the same but good enough to be recruited.   

RJM posted:

Unless i missed it his expected level to be recruited hasn't been mentioned. Since it’s leading into senior year I'm guessing anywhere from mid major to top D3. There are multiple avenues to make baseball work out. All it takes is a kid who wants it badly enough. Due to timing what could be lost is using baseball to get into a college he may otherwise not been accepted. My son had two injuries post junior year. He was out from Saturday afternoon of the first travel tournament through two weeks before senior season. It worked out for him academically and athletically. Good luck.

 

I sort of tacked on towards the end of my OP that my son is targeting–and has had some interest from–higher academic D2 and D3 schools, though no offers have come his way. Thanks for the input and luck!

Everything will be okay. Worst case scenario he misses out on some recruiting over the summer and has to work twice as hard to be seen when he is healthy.

i know the school I ended up committing to in high school hadn’t seen me until winter of my senior year. Large mid major school. Ended up not working out and signed with a junior college over the summer.  Spots are always open somewhere. I would definitely recommend the juco route if playing d1 is the ultimate goal.

 

im in a similar situation right now. Draft interest , tommy john after my junior year at d1. Come back for senior season, more scouts come and watch, end up with a concussion and knee injury limiting me to only hitting and jogging the bases. Hit a 390 foot single off the wall Thursday...

tequila, my son tore his PCL at the end of his high school baseball season during his junior year. At the time it seemed like the end of the world. In retrospect, everything worked out great. His situation changed from being a "borderline" D1 recruit, to a sought after D3 recruit.

Assuming that your son will be rehabbing for a while, be sure to ask the ortho about hitting. If he's cleared to DH, he can still show his athleticism this summer at tournaments.

Does your son play a fall sport? If not, the fall is huge for D3 recruiting.

Health insurance companies have a variety of protocols for this type of injury. Find out about yours asap. They may require a certain number of PT sessions before authorizing an MRI.

Start with the best sports/baseball ortho in your area. They write the script for the MRI. Request a MRI disk regardless of where it's performed. You may want to take it somewhere else for another reading later. In my experience, radiologists and orthos usually read them differently.

I would not agree to a shoulder surgery without getting at least one other expert opinion. In your case, you could  probably drive to Andrews Institute in Gulf Breeze FL.

IMO, you would be making a mistake to allow him to rush himself back into competition just to be seen by a school or just to compete this summer. The timing is unfortunate, but with HA D3s the summer is not as critical as many other categories. Young bodies have an amazing ability to heal, but they do need the proper amount of time off.

Best of luck to your son.

Thanks again to everyone for their responses and advice! We've got an MRI scheduled for this Wednesday but are having to reschedule due to an AP exam conflict. It may be as early as tomorrow morning and we'll get a reading by a reputable sports ortho specialist hopefully that same day, or the next. I'll update here for those who might be interested. Never know when our experience might help someone in the future!

Similar story to Midatlanticdad.  Son was an Ivy, Patriot, NESCAC type player.  Son partially tore his UCL during the last game of the high school season his junior year.  Rest, PT, more rest and he still couldn't throw.  Missed all tournaments and showcases that summer except one.  He still couldn't throw, but wanted to go to Headfirst in August.  He went there as an outfielder since he could hit without pain.  Didn't do the defensive showcase portion, but did everything else including playing in the games.  Ended up on Coach Decker from Trinity College's team one game.  Double, triple and the only play he got in CF was a long running catch on a ball hit over his head for the third out so he didn't have to make a throw.

He ended up having TJ surgery in October of his Senior year.  All D1 interest dried up, but every D3 that was recruiting him still wanted him even after he told them about the surgery.  He only DHed his Senior year of High School, but was fully recovered when he showed up at Trinity that fall and had a nice career there. 

Thanks for your son's story 1ST&3RD. That's a really nice outcome and, coincidentally, Trinity College is on my son's radar for his HF camp at the end of June if he's ready. Like your son, that would probably be the one showcase we would choose not to miss even if all other plans fell through. Might be a little more difficult since my son essentially plays catcher only, and considers his defensive skills the stronger of his recruiting tools, but I think we'd make it work somehow.

As a little update, we had a second opinion yesterday and it was in alignment with the initial assessment which was a shoulder impingement. He got a steroid shot, prescription nsaids, and had his first PT appointment today. He's also got an MRI scheduled for tomorrow for what hopefully amounts to peace of mind. If all is correct, and goes well, we're cautiously optimistic that he may be able to resume throwing in 2-3 weeks based on feedback from the doctor as to his progress. Thanks again for your story!

Hi Folks,
A couple of you have requested that I provide updates to my son’s injury status for potential future benefit in the unfortunate case that anyone finds themselves in a similar situation. I’ve received so many great pieces of advice and knowledge in my short time here that I feel privileged to provide some of my own whenever possible, so here goes. We’ve got a few things working so I’ll attempt to organize/summarize:

Orthopedic doctor assessment
⦁    Original diagnosis was shoulder impingement
⦁    Performed x-ray
⦁    Prescribed oral steroid pack
⦁    After no real improvement in two weeks of not throwing, we got a second opinion/assessment, which generally agreed with the first
⦁    Performed another x-ray
⦁    Gave steroid shot in shoulder
⦁    Prescribed NSAIDs
⦁    Advised to seriously limit throwing
⦁    Suggested MRI/Arthrogram
⦁    Prescribed PT

MRI/Arthrogram
⦁    We ordered this on our own through another doctor that we know and trust
⦁    Without going into too much detail, the impression from the MRI was “Scarring along he posterior labral capsular junction with blunting of the posterior labrum without a definite labral tear, likely related to overuse. Mild tendinosis and articular surface fraying along the conjoint tendon. Remainder of the cuff is intact.” The net of this is no throwing for a while and continue PT.
⦁    We’ve also got a family friend in SoCal who is a fairly well-known orthopedic surgeon that we have asked to review the reading and imagery but we don’t suspect much change in diagnosis.

Physical Therapy
⦁    Working with a well-known facility in our area and with a therapist who my son has worked with on two previous occasions for other issues.
⦁    Therapist thinks he will fully heal and recover and they are working to modify/strengthen the impacted areas of motion so as to not have the issue repeat. This will likely go on throughout the summer.

Summer schedule
⦁    Summer team coach consulted MRI results with his trainer from the D3 college where he coaches and he advised shutting down throwing during this process, so that is what he’s done. With six tournaments on the schedule, my son will DH in probably all but the last one (or two), which is mid-July if the healing process goes well.
Four showcases on the schedule:
⦁    Local baseball training facility sponsored – already cancelled
⦁    PBR Top Prospects Games – requested cancellation
⦁    Headfirst West 2 session (end of June) – will likely push this out to the October session in Phoenix
⦁    The Complete Showcase (8/11) – should be ok for this one (fingers crossed)

Needless to say, Tequila Jr. is very frustrated but I think he understands the importance of healing and re-preparing the right way. He has been hitting the gym hard with his trainer (and on his own) with exercises that will not impact his shoulder, getting plenty of decent calories, icing, taking his anti-inflammatories, started band work, and is going to try to concentrate on hitting and defensive aspects that don’t involve throwing (blocking, footwork, transfer, receiving). You never know; there could be a silver lining to all of this in that his development could be significantly further along by the time he is able to showcase. As others here have pointed out, with him targeting higher academic D2 & D3 schools, there should still be plenty of recruiting time.

I hope all of this helps someone in any way. Thanks again to everyone for the feedback and encouragement!

Stuff does happen, and  players are players.  We know 2 guys who are currently playing 1B on D1 teams and killing it, but neither played the position before as far as I know.  And a C on my son's team found himself playing RF this season despite never playing OF in the big field.

Hey Tequila,

My perspective is totally the "Holiday Inn" variety so take with a grain of salt.  But when you were describing the symptoms earlier, it screamed of what I have seen with too many players.  And then, when you provided the diagnosis that included some version of frayed labrum, that was exactly what I expected to hear.  

I'm sure there are varying degrees and types of frayed labrum injury.  But, I have seen it happen too often... get prescribed with shut down or rest along with PT and re-examine.  Then, quite often, surgical repair was eventually necessary.  Meanwhile, several months to a year of time were wasted with the initial efforts of shut down and PT.  It seems to be the common protocol.  So, please keep doing what you are doing utilizing second opinions and seeing specialists so that you can get him on the road to recovery in a reasonable timeframe.  I was very hesitant to throw this out as I don't want to send fear of surgery when it may not be necessary but I don't want to see another player lose unnecessary time.  

Thanks Cabbagedad! We're not too afraid of the "S-word" and I think you're right about varying degrees of fraying. Fortunately, most can supposedly heal in time but surgery for clean up of scar tissue, etc. is not nearly as recovery intensive as full-on cuff repair from what I can gather. As a minor correction to your mention of "frayed labrum," it's not the labrum that is frayed but the Infraspinatus, which is a tendon. Evidently tendons can heal, unless there is a  but the labrum, eh... not so much.

I mentioned earlier an orthopedic surgeon in southern California that we know. Well, I got his feedback a few minutes ago and he said basically that it doesn’t look like something to panic over. He said if one of the Padre catchers had this then his coach would be working with him to at least slightly alter his throwing motion. Otherwise resting the shoulder is about all you can do. But even a slight change in his throwing motion should help keep this from hanging around or coming back. He has worked with the Padres for years, has seen many many cases when it comes to shoulders, and has been amazed at some of the comebacks he's seen from worse than this.

We hope it doesn't come to surgery and wasted time, and nobody we talked to has suggested that at this time, but it was mentioned as an option down the road if rest and PT fail to correct it. Thanks again!

UPDATE (for those interested in following this thrilling tale):  As we begin week three of throwing shutdown, the boy is pretty miserable and frustrated.

On his summer team, he’s DH’d in five games over two tournaments, totaling 11 ABs. He says he’s learning from them but the games are typically over before he gets to apply it. With them allowing a DH and an EH in these, most kids only get to the plate twice per game. He took a step back this past weekend and decided we should re-evaluate the benefits of remaining on the “showcase” team and I think he’s pretty close to having made the decision to break with that and focus on skill and strength development. Legion is also an option for live ABs, and would result in a similar number but keep us close to home which would pretty much eliminate travel expenses.

He’s doing PT twice a week and can still feel pain when he makes certain movements so we’re definitely not there yet. I think at six weeks (essentially a month from now) we’re going to let him try some light throwing. His ortho doc says that if he can gradually return without much pain then he should be good to go.

He sent emails to all the college coaches he’s been communicating with informing them of his schedule changes. We were able to move most of the camps he had to dates in August and beyond so hopefully he’ll be ready to go by then - better late than never. Response has been positive so far from these guys about options for fall camps/visits, etc. We were pretty torn on how to approach the details in the email so we consulted with his summer coach, who is also the pitching coach for a local D3, and he gave us some ideas on how to frame it up without going into specifics about an injury. More along the lines an explanation of rest and conditioning being the focus.

I’m sticking to the positive thought that this may end up having a silver lining. He seems to be adding lbs. of muscle daily. He’s also working on his hitting daily and, after having not seeing him practice in a while, I noticed the sound and velocity, just off the tee in the back yard yesterday, were remarkably different. He had me feed him two buckets out of the machine yesterday just receiving (he’s a catcher) and wanted me to leave ite up so that it would be easier for us to do this throughout the coming weeks. He worked with his hitting coach once last week and has sessions set up with his catching coach back-to-back days this week (and wants to continue this pattern - if my finances can hold up!).

This is all pretty good stuff in my mind and I’m just along for the ride at this point. Thanks to everyone for channeling any healing vibes . More updates to come….

My 2019 is in a similar situation. Fall of Junior year breaks hand during Hurricane Harvey with surgery. Comes back for Junior HS season to find out he had an elbow issue. Misses entire Jr season. 2 weeks into summer of rising senior year was having an issue with left inner thigh. MRI showed a hip impingement called FAI. Now doing PT for 8 weeks and hoping by Fall will be able to pick something up late. Never had any health issues until this year. Crazy

My 2019 LHP is also in a similar situation.   He had a posterior internal impingement in his throwing shoulder last fall.   He had the MRI w/ arthrogram, had steriod injection, did PT, etc.....    Nothing remarkable on MRI.. no tears.  We even had his biomechanics analyzed by a pro.       Long story short he missed most of his Junior year HS season due to setbacks during his return to throwing program.  It was a much SLOWER process than we anticipated.  He played OF a little toward the end of his junior year.    However as he tried to return to the mound for this summer, he ended up with more shoulder pain and was dx'd w/ bicep tendonitis.    Ortho shut him down again to let it cool off.   He is currently doing PT 2x per week and started 8 week return to throwing program again.   Returning to the mound will take longer as Ortho & PT want to ramp up his mound throwing much slower.    I understand why.  But it is so frustrating!!!    He is a rising senior afterall.   UGH!    We planned to do Headfirst in August, but I am not sure he will be outfield ready by then.     We are hoping he will be ready to play in the fall and are planning accordingly.   He is an academic kid as well. 

Tequila, your post was helpful for those of us going through a similar issue so thank-you for posting.

  

MountainMomof4 posted:

Tequila, your post was helpful for those of us going through a similar issue so thank-you for posting.

  

Hi MountainMom and thanks for your son's story. Eerily similar I must say. My son is just over four weeks of not throwing and tested it out a couple of days ago. He said it was weak and sore but no sharp pain so I think it's going to be a few more weeks before he can really try it out.

I know what you mean about the frustration and my son is definitely feeling it. One of our biggest challenges has been cancellation/re-arrangement of plans for the summer and his keeping all the coaches up to date of where he is or isn't going to be. It's looking like just about everything for my son will be moved to the fall including doing the HF camp in Phoenix in October. We can only do what we can do and hope to find the right fit, even late in the game.

Good luck to your son in his recovery and keep me posted on how it's going!

It's been a couple of months since my last update to this thread so here goes. WARNING: This may be a little bit of a downer in the midst of all the fantastic news of commitments so read at your own peril .

2019 shoulder impingement rehab has continued with PT, band work, strength/agility/mobility, hitting, and position specific training. His throwing has ramped up to five days a week with max distance at 120ft and max effort at 80% (but not those together). He came home yesterday after throwing and the look on his face told me all I needed to know. He's feeling pain but his physical therapist has assured him this is normal. Still, it crushed me to see it so obviously on his face that he thinks this may not ever go away. I'm trying to be optimistic for him as it has only been two months and "results may vary" on recovery in these cases but, as a parent, I hate seeing him down like that. He doesn't really have the luxury of time in his favor and he's trying to be ready for a few chances in front of some coaches he's been communicating with by mid-September though October. I think he's frustrated because it's hard to sharpen up throwing to bags, for example, when you can't actually make a throw at the effort that it will need to be. It's hard to get better at baseball without actually playing baseball and I think he's feeling that pressure right now, especially with activity all around him from teammates and other kids he knows. He told me the other day that he feels like it's been so long since he's played, and it has. Longer than he's ever gone without playing.

Someone mentioned way back in the thread that, to paraphrase, he might end up at surgery anyway. With a 12-16 week recovery for this type of surgery it would effectively be January before he could get up to full speed so we're not going down that path as it would likely be the end of baseball for him, and I don't think he's ready for that.

We will continue down the path we're on with him and hope for the best. To say that this has been disappointing to him would be a gross understatement and we're just trying to be supportive along the way. The road is uphill even if he's 100% by mid-September but he's fairly confident in the decisions he's made i.e. doesn't want to play badly enough to sit out a year or take the JuCo route. Not hating on JuCos either, he's just interested in a high academic college experience that doesn't involve transferring mid-way through.

I'll try to update in another month or so. I suspect the water will be much less muddy by that time as college applications will be being filled out, and financial aid estimated, along with continued assessment of pain and progress.

I am sincerely happy for all those who have secured commitments and have no intention of overshadowing that with this post. The process is different for everyone and there are things to be learned from all journeys. I'm hoping that updates to my son's might help others who may experience any similarity of ups and downs.

I feel your pain.  Going through a similar experince with my 2019 MIF.  Broke his wrist during sophommore HS season and missed entire travel season rising Junior year.  Son had not yet showcased as we were "waiting for something to show".  Came back with a moster Highschool season this past year led conference in batting average and extra basehits.  Had some nice success at WWBA and WIlson tournament.   Was planning on doing a couple top showcases but then hurt tendon in his wrist sliding, completely unrelated to last years break and out 6 weeks.  Had a few D1's wanting one last look and hes' been out last 4 weeks with at least 2 more to go, and currently playing football with a cast.  It looks like D1 options are not likley with his timeline.  The positives is he has been offered a spot at many very good D3 baseball schools, but that's not what he wants.  At this point it looks like Juco is his preferred rout "betting on himself" as he wants the D1 experience.

 

Best of luck to your son, it's a long lonely road back from injury.

Last edited by Handcontrol
tequila posted:

... The process is different for everyone and there are things to be learned from all journeys. I'm hoping that updates to my son's might help others who may experience any similarity of ups and downs.

Sorry to hear that current status is rough, Tequila.  Hoping for the best for him.  Love the perspective above.

tequila,

Does your son have HA D3s that are actively recruiting him and had already seen him play?  If so, reach out to them and let them know the situation.  They may still want him.  While my son lost all HA D1 interest after he was injured and had TJ surgery every single HA D3 still wanted him.

Best of luck to your son and keep us updated.   

Handcontrol posted:

I feel your pain.  Going through a similar experince with my 2019 MIF.  Broke his wrist during sophommore HS season and missed entire travel season rising Junior year.  Son had not yet showcased as we were "waiting for something to show".  Came back with a moster Highschool season this past year led conference in batting average and extra basehits.  Had some nice success at WWBA and WIlson tournament.   Was planning on doing a couple top showcases but then hurt tendon in his wrist sliding, completely unrelated to last years break and out 6 weeks.  Had a few D1's wanting one last look and hes' been out last 4 weeks with at least 2 more to go, and currently playing football with a cast.  It looks like D1 options are not likley with his timeline.  The positives is he has been offered a spot at many very good D3 baseball schools, but that's not what he wants.  At this point it looks like Juco is his preferred rout "betting on himself" as he wants the D1 experience.

 

Best of luck to your son, it's a long lonely road back from injury.

Tequila...hope everything works out well for your son. Fingers cross.

Hand Control - Does he want to play baseball or football? Is he a football prospect? I would think that nursing a wrist injury and playing football don't really match up well? If my son was getting D1 interest and was rehabbing a wrist injury, the order of priorities would be 1) Rehab 2) get in front of those D1 baseball coaches asap when healthy 3) Telling the football coach he'll be back when priorities #1 and 2 are accomplished.

Just my opinion

 

1st&3rd posted:

tequila,

Does your son have HA D3s that are actively recruiting him and had already seen him play?  If so, reach out to them and let them know the situation.  They may still want him.  While my son lost all HA D1 interest after he was injured and had TJ surgery every single HA D3 still wanted him.

Best of luck to your son and keep us updated.   

Hi 1st&3rd,
He doesn't have any HA D3s actively recruiting him that have seen him play in person. We live in a relatively small metro area, and he wants to go out of the region, so the schools he's interested in from an academic and geographic perspective would have never gotten to see him play around here. His summer team (B-team / big-name org) connections are regional for the most part, and they never have played in the big name tournaments other than a couple of the "national championships" put on by Premier Baseball each summer, so that hasn't been a very fruitful avenue. Hindsight being 20/20, I'd have helped him do this a little differently if we'd known what we were doing when the process all began. The stud team goes to all that stuff but he's not been with that squad, other than filling in a couple of times when they needed a catcher. No animosity there; we've been realistic about his talent for quite some time now and think it's pretty solidly in the lower-D2/D3/NAIA space if he wants actual playing time.

We thought we had it all set up beautifully for the summer, with some tournaments, a HF event that had multiple schools of interest, and a couple of other showcases/camps that were slightly more targeted, and then the plan went to hell in a hand-basket with the injury in his last couple of games in the HS season. So, long story short, he currently has one NAIA HC that has seen him and wants to start the recruiting process but would like to get him to a camp so the rest of his staff can participate, a handful of HA D3s that are expecting him at event X in the fall, and a regional D2 that has seen him at a camp that is still on the radar that have expressed interest but not started the recruiting process. He had initiated communication with all the coaches that were going to be at the original HF event, and had good dialog going with several, so he had to inform those of his injury and rescheduled plans, which was met positively for those who responded.

We'll see where it goes and I'll post out here as the process moves along. Thanks for the comments!

GaryMe posted:
Handcontrol posted:

I feel your pain.  Going through a similar experince with my 2019 MIF.  Broke his wrist during sophommore HS season and missed entire travel season rising Junior year.  Son had not yet showcased as we were "waiting for something to show".  Came back with a moster Highschool season this past year led conference in batting average and extra basehits.  Had some nice success at WWBA and WIlson tournament.   Was planning on doing a couple top showcases but then hurt tendon in his wrist sliding, completely unrelated to last years break and out 6 weeks.  Had a few D1's wanting one last look and hes' been out last 4 weeks with at least 2 more to go, and currently playing football with a cast.  It looks like D1 options are not likley with his timeline.  The positives is he has been offered a spot at many very good D3 baseball schools, but that's not what he wants.  At this point it looks like Juco is his preferred rout "betting on himself" as he wants the D1 experience.

 

Best of luck to your son, it's a long lonely road back from injury.

Tequila...hope everything works out well for your son. Fingers cross.

Hand Control - Does he want to play baseball or football? Is he a football prospect? I would think that nursing a wrist injury and playing football don't really match up well? If my son was getting D1 interest and was rehabbing a wrist injury, the order of priorities would be 1) Rehab 2) get in front of those D1 baseball coaches asap when healthy 3) Telling the football coach he'll be back when priorities #1 and 2 are accomplished.

Just my opinion

 

Garyme - He could be a FB prospect, he missed last FB seasson with broken scaphoid in wrist. likewise he's a very good wrestler that's gotten unsolicited college interest.  All that said he absolutely wants to play basbeall at the highest level possible.  I agree he needs to focus on getting healthy and showcasing baseball as soon as possible.  The reality is with his current injury the specialist said he can play football with the cast padded and no further harm to wrist.  Swinging a bat full speed because it's his ECU tendon will take the longest to get to.  Probably at least 5 weeks to get to that point.  He has communicated with his FB coach that when at footbal he is 100% commited to the team, but may need to miss a game or two for baseball showcase/visit becasue that's his college focus.  Coach was very understanding and agreed to this which based on what i had heard was not likely to be his response.  It's definitely been harder for him to train baseball enough being a 3 sport athlete in a large school/state, partially why he's very open to Juco.  He's 5'11 165lbs 6.9 60, 86 infield, 88 exit velo and physically still growing.  He's a good all arouind athlete with his best tool being his bat, he catches alot of barrels against good pitching.  Feedback we've gotten from some respected folks and verigfied by calls from rc's is he's currently if healthy a regional mid major D1 prospect.  If he goes Juco for a year with his continued physical maturity, focused only on baseball, lifting, and eating  he likely will have his pick of schools potential power 5 money.  Of course being healthy is most important.

I hope this is a message of encouragement for those dealing with injury.  My 2019 son who was a catcher/ pitcher/outfielder was primarily used as a catcher through his 9th grade year.

Beginning fall of his 9th grade year he began complaining of “tightness” in his knee and difficulty running, particularly after catching.   But he could play with it.  By the middle of his 10th grade basketball season, it was so bad that we stopped him and got an MRI that showed a 2.5 cm OCD lesion in his right (push off) lateral femoral condyle.  

It required 2 surgeries.  The first was a micro fracture performed in January of his sophomore year.  It wiped out his entire sophomore season.  And, he was put on a registry for a matching donor knee for a graft procedure with no way to predict when that graft would be available.  He would never catch again and if he had any baseball future, it lied in pitching.  

He pushed himself trying get back in about 5 months and salvage his rising junior summer - typically the most important for elite pitchers (typically a 9-12 month recovery).  But he could only manage 8 innings in his rising junior summer before having to shut it down from pain and stiffness in his knee.  He received no interest despite being contacted by several P5 schools the summer before.

He continued his rehab and we made arrangements for him to do several camps in the fall and posted several 30-40s videos of him doing bullpens throughout his fall rehab, all the time we new a second surgery could happen anytime on few days notice.

Despite what some may claim, the short videos do work.   We posted them to YouTube and sent them to schools he was interested in from the Ivy League to the SEC.  Every school we sent a video watched them (YouTube and google can track this for you and tell you where and when the video was watched).  Many watched them multiple times,  and he got phone calls from schools in all P5 conferences, no offers, just intent to follow through the summer.  He also got calls from schools we didn’t contacr that told him they had seen them and were very interested.

With no surgery happening, he attended 5 fall camps.  His knee feeling some better, he stood out at some, not so much at others.  Got invited to an in-state mid major 3 hours away for an unofficial visit (after they saw a bullpen video).  There was no offer.  

In January he went to a camp at an in-state school, with a very successful D1 baseball program and one of his favorites.  He did very well, and was asked to stay after camp to meet with the coaches.  No offer, but again expressed interest and intent to follow.

After being at camps and talking with various HCs, PCs, and RCs at  SEC, ACC, B10, PAC, Ivy schools, etc. he said, “This is where I want to be.  This is where I want to play and go to school.”

We made arrangements for our whole family to go back for their opening series and he let the coaching staff know we were coming. They asked us to come a couple hours early so we could talk and they could give our son a tour of all the facilities.  By this time, his junior season of HS had started.   In his first outing he went five full innings gave up 0hits, 1walk and 12Ks.  PC said he was coming to his next outing and he went 4 1/3 with 1hit, 2 walks, and 8Ks.  The next day, the HC called and made an offer.

We went back the the following  day and accepted.   Told the HC and PC about his knee.  Response was very positive.

He went on to have a very strong HS and Summer Season.  He touched 96 a couple of times, sat 90-93 in a of his outings and managed to gain attention from pro scouts. 

A donor match was just found, and he had his second surgery this past Tuesday. As a 6’4” 195lb RHP, he has been told that he is likely a top 10 round pick if he is healthy and makes himself known to be interested in signing.

College has always been his top priority, and I have always preached that he is one injury away from baseball being over.  Retrospectively, he says that the injury was very helpful.  He thinks he is truly going to the best situation academically and baseball wise.

He thinks that he would have likely gone to a P5 school if he didn’t have time to vet several of the schools. Instead he had time to grow and mature before making that decision.

My first advice for those of you dealing with injury is no different than others.  Your sons need to heal first.  But then, I would say think about recruitment differently.  

While I focused on getting him healthy, it was really my wife that encouraged my son the best.  She told him that where he attended school would be his decision, not a coach’s decision. He could hardly play, was depressed, his future seemed uncertain and he was ready to accept anything if it meant an opportunity to play in college,  My wife stepped in and reminded him that he was worth much more than what he does on a baseball field, so she expected him to make decisions about his future accordingly.

He came out of surgery Tuesday and while still a little loopy said, “Dad we made it,  I’ll get a chance to play my last HS season without pain, and I’m going to a great college with a great baseball program.”

There is always hope, but it doesn’t hurt to make your own luck.

@tequila Thank you for posting your journey and best wishes for continued healing and strength.  In your OP you mentioned something about "Vandy catchers rehab document", my 2021 catchers has had some arm tightness lately and I was wondering if you could share that document either here or PM me?  I just want to be ahead of the game if his tightness turns out to be more.

Thank you 

Coach_TV posted:

@tequila Thank you for posting your journey and best wishes for continued healing and strength.  In your OP you mentioned something about "Vandy catchers rehab document", my 2021 catchers has had some arm tightness lately and I was wondering if you could share that document either here or PM me?  I just want to be ahead of the game if his tightness turns out to be more.

Thank you 

Sure thing coach_tv. Here ya go:

https://www.vumc.org/sports-me...eball%20Catching.pdf

Good luck!

Last edited by tequila

Latest update - the follow-up MRI Arthrogram came back showing a labral tear in addition to still present bursal fraying, etc. Since he hasn't been throwing until recently, I have to believe this was missed on the first MRI either by the reading or the scan itself. A shame for the time lost trying to rehab it but it does no good to cry over spilled milk.

The boy is not ready to be done with baseball so we elected the surgical route, which is scheduled for next Wednesday. After that, the road to recovery begins and hopefully a snowball's chance at a recruiting miracle in the spring. Thanks again to everyone here who has been so supportive of my son's situation. Regardless of the outcome, this has by far been the best tool we've found in the journey.

tequila posted:

Latest update - the follow-up MRI Arthrogram came back showing a labral tear in addition to still present bursal fraying, etc. Since he hasn't been throwing until recently, I have to believe this was missed on the first MRI either by the reading or the scan itself. A shame for the time lost trying to rehab it but it does no good to cry over spilled milk.

The boy is not ready to be done with baseball so we elected the surgical route, which is scheduled for next Wednesday. After that, the road to recovery begins and hopefully a snowball's chance at a recruiting miracle in the spring. Thanks again to everyone here who has been so supportive of my son's situation. Regardless of the outcome, this has by far been the best tool we've found in the journey.

Good luck to your son Tequila!

tequila posted:

Latest update - the follow-up MRI Arthrogram came back showing a labral tear in addition to still present bursal fraying, etc. Since he hasn't been throwing until recently, I have to believe this was missed on the first MRI either by the reading or the scan itself. A shame for the time lost trying to rehab it but it does no good to cry over spilled milk.

The boy is not ready to be done with baseball so we elected the surgical route, which is scheduled for next Wednesday. After that, the road to recovery begins and hopefully a snowball's chance at a recruiting miracle in the spring. Thanks again to everyone here who has been so supportive of my son's situation. Regardless of the outcome, this has by far been the best tool we've found in the journey.

My son has this same injury in his non throwing arm.  He was originally diagnosed back in Dec '17.  We opted for PT & therapy to get him through the season and the summer showcase circuit.  After about 4.5 months, he was back to playing and swinging with almost no ill effects.  He does have some minor issues and still cannot do certain activities like pull ups or any over head weight activity.

We are scheduled for an appointment TODAY to discuss surgery with the doc.  We want him all healed up and 100% ready to go for college.  This may mean he will miss his Sr. year in HS, but at this point he is only concerned about being 100% ready for college ball. 

SoCal OG posted:

My son has this same injury in his non throwing arm.  He was originally diagnosed back in Dec '17.  We opted for PT & therapy to get him through the season and the summer showcase circuit.  After about 4.5 months, he was back to playing and swinging with almost no ill effects.  He does have some minor issues and still cannot do certain activities like pull ups or any over head weight activity.

We are scheduled for an appointment TODAY to discuss surgery with the doc.  We want him all healed up and 100% ready to go for college.  This may mean he will miss his Sr. year in HS, but at this point he is only concerned about being 100% ready for college ball. 

I wish you guys luck on all that. What my son wouldn't give for his injury to be in his non-throwing arm!

Tequila, I'm going home and having a shot of tequila for you.  D@mm!t, was really hoping this was not going to be the case. 

These words will probably ring hollow right now but when the time is right... still, make absolutely sure he does all PT and everything to fully heal.  I know, somewhere, you said he is not willing to sit a year and try to play again but if he finds himself fully healthy at some point early in his college days, ya never know.  Even more important... he's an athlete.  He will most likely want to stay active and somewhat competitive into adulthood with one sport/activity or another (or six or ten), even in later years.  He will be regretful if he cut his healing process short and left himself any less physically capable than he could have been.  I have those regrets.  Don't let him be me in his 50's.

I hope the surgery goes well !!

cabbagedad posted:

Tequila, I'm going home and having a shot of tequila for you.  D@mm!t, was really hoping this was not going to be the case.

Thanks cabbage! I'm breaking out the tequila myself tonight. If anyone needs any recommendations along those lines I'm happy to oblige. It's a bit of a passion of mine believe it or not!

With son's surgery tomorrow, I felt like it might be helpful to others if I chronicled the process. I toyed with the idea of starting a new topic for this but decided just to change the name of this one to include the word "labrum" so that all of the information regarding his particular case will be in the same spot.

I found a good thread from some years ago outlining a similar case but the OP stopped posting after a while so we don't really know how everything turned out for the player. https://community.hsbaseballwe...rs-and-labrum-repair

I also found this article, which is eerily similar to my son's situation (including the date of August 27th when the kid had his surgery) so we're using this as inspiration in the process. Based on a little searching, it appears that he went on to play at a juco but I couldn't find much past his first season. https://www.standard.net/sport...f9-804b979a99e7.html

I'll update post-op tomorrow and try to keep up with it as regularly as possible after that. Depending upon what is found when they get in the shoulder (and about 100 other factors) we're cautiously optimistic that he can be ready to go by the start of his spring HS season.

Thanks to all for the support. ¡Salud!

tequila posted:

With son's surgery tomorrow, I felt like it might be helpful to others if I chronicled the process. I toyed with the idea of starting a new topic for this but decided just to change the name of this one to include the word "labrum" so that all of the information regarding his particular case will be in the same spot.

I found a good thread from some years ago outlining a similar case but the OP stopped posting after a while so we don't really know how everything turned out for the player. https://community.hsbaseballwe...rs-and-labrum-repair

I also found this article, which is eerily similar to my son's situation (including the date of August 27th when the kid had his surgery) so we're using this as inspiration in the process. Based on a little searching, it appears that he went on to play at a juco but I couldn't find much past his first season. https://www.standard.net/sport...f9-804b979a99e7.html

I'll update post-op tomorrow and try to keep up with it as regularly as possible after that. Depending upon what is found when they get in the shoulder (and about 100 other factors) we're cautiously optimistic that he can be ready to go by the start of his spring HS season.

Thanks to all for the support. ¡Salud!

Tequila,

I'm a little late to the party on this but thanks for chronicling your experience.  I wish the best to your son.  Just keep hope..the academic D3's continue to recruit late and if he can get into the school without coach's help he has a chance to walk on as well!  I'm very much looking forward to comparing notes as we have also decided on the surgery option for my son.  Just to recap for anyone looking for labrum experiences, I'll add our as well.  I briefly mentioned it an earlier thread.

Son is a 2019 who was diagnosed with a torn labrum in his non throwing arm in Dec '17.  

MRI conclusion was:

1) tearing of the inferior and posterior labrum from approximately 6:00 to 9:00

2) synovitis within the axillary recess

3) mild tendinopathy of the supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendons.

The ortho felt with the location of the tear and being his non throwing arm he may be able to rehab without surgery.  We opted for the non surgery route in an attempt to get through his Jr. HS season and hopefully the summer showcase circuit.  With PT he was able to get back on the field (about 4 months) and only miss 3 games of his Jr. season.  He was also able to participate in the showcases we had scheduled.

Fast forward to today.  His shoulder still feels ok and he could probably continue without surgery, however, there are still activities that give him trouble.  He can't sleep with his arm above his head, absolutely no overhead weight exercises (including pull ups), when surfing the paddling motion really gives him trouble and lastly..this is a little hard to explain.  You know when you raise your arm above your head and without looking you know or can feel where your hand is?  When he does this he says his hand disappears, he loses the feeling of where it is in space.  Which you can imagine is a little concerning trying to catch a ball above your head!

We want him to be 100% healthy and ready to go for college ball so we're scheduling his surgery for the first week in October.  Doc says recovery should be 4 months, maybe 5.  We opted for October because he has multiple official visits scheduled in Sept. and he doesn't want to show up in a sling.  I should also mention that since revealing his injury all his D1 prospects lost interest.  Which initially was really disappointing, however, in truth he is a borderline D1 prospect.  Maybe he could work his way in by Jr or Sr year if he was lucky on a D1 roster, but he has a very strong chance to come in as a starter and be an impact player on a D3 roster.  He also has very high academics so he is going to have a chance at going to an amazing academic school and play out his last 4 years of baseball.  

I'll try to update after his surgery and his progress in rehab.  Hopefully, this gives some hope to any others who are in a similar situation.  When I first heard "torn labrum" I thought his playing days were done...but now we're looking forward to watching his last 4 years in college!

 

 

 

 

 

Surgery went well and we've got him home. They ended up having to put in two anchors as the tear was more than expected, based on the arthrogram read. The only real snag on our part is we underestimated the pain he would be in. I haven't seen tears in the kid's eyes in probably a decade, until the journey from the car to the couch this evening. It had to have been excruciating. With already very short hindsight, I would have insisted on a block in the shoulder area. I think they would have done it had I simply asked. I think a lot of it also has to do with the disorientation and discomfort from coming off the meds but it was so hard for me to experience that, after having not seen him like that since he was a child, that I nearly cried as well. We've got him settled and have our marching orders so the real work now begins. Thanks again for all the support.

Totally with you. Plan to have him use only as necessary, trying to stick to acetaminophen and ibuprofen as much as possible. I don't expect more than sparing use over about 2-3 days at most but we'll see. Again, should have asked for the block and we wouldn't be having this conversation most-likely. That's my takeaway for any folks that might view this thread in the future.

SoCal OG posted:

Thanks for the update Tequila.  Wishing your son a fast recovery.  

You've given me something to think about for my sons surgery for sure.  I'm no Dr. but I'm guessing the extreme pain is from the anchors.  From what we know right now, my son will not require anchors (fingers crossed).  Again best of luck to you.  

Hi SoCal OG, I don't think the pain is from the anchors so much as from the [aggressive] moving around of muscles, tendons, and various tissues to do the things that need to be done. The protocol of your son's surgeon vs the procedure to be done will determine whether they typically do a block. Ours was on the edge, but fell to the side of not, so we didn't really question it. I would do it differently had I to do it over again, in that respect. Hope that helps and best of luck to you guys!

Every individual's situation is unique in some respects, and it is this thought that makes me hopeful for those mentioned here and other pitchers who suffer a torn labrum; but, full recovery from it even when rehabilitated as conscientiously and well as possible is a dicey prospect. I know because it ended my son's playing career.

In his case, it occurred while he was beginning his third minor league season. One of the most vivid memories I have of the time comes from our visit to the surgeon's office the morning following his procedure.

After telling us how pleased he was with the procedure and its results, I asked him the obvious question, "So, with proper rehabilitation, what's the prospect of his pitching again?" The physician, who was his professional organization's chief orthopedic surgeon, paused for a moment and replied, "The human shoulder was never intended to throw a baseball off of an elevated mound."

Needless to say, I found his reply a good bit less than satisfying and not exactly what I wanted to hear. Little did I know that it foreshadowed a difficult and painstaking, nine-month rehabilitation program at the team's training facility in Arizona; only to find at the beginning of Spring Training that his shoulder still couldn't take the stress of competitive pitching.

Ultimately, it ended well because it opened the door to another chapter in his career; but, it was an unwelcome episode at the time he was working through it.

Prepster posted:

Every individual's situation is unique in some respects, and it is this thought that makes me hopeful for those mentioned here and other pitchers who suffer a torn labrum; but, full recovery from it even when rehabilitated as conscientiously and well as possible is a dicey prospect. I know because it ended my son's playing career.

In his case, it occurred while he was beginning his third minor league season. One of the most vivid memories I have of the time comes from our visit to the surgeon's office the morning following his procedure.

After telling us how pleased he was with the procedure and its results, I asked him the obvious question, "So, with proper rehabilitation, what's the prospect of his pitching again?" The physician, who was his professional organization's chief orthopedic surgeon, paused for a moment and replied, "The human shoulder was never intended to throw a baseball off of an elevated mound."

Needless to say, I found his reply a good bit less than satisfying and not exactly what I wanted to hear. Little did I know that it foreshadowed a difficult and painstaking, nine-month rehabilitation program at the team's training facility in Arizona; only to find at the beginning of Spring Training that his shoulder still couldn't take the stress of competitive pitching.

Ultimately, it ended well because it opened the door to another chapter in his career; but, it was an unwelcome episode at the time he was working through it.

Thanks for that, Prepster. We got essentially the same message from the surgeon yesterday morning before the decision to go forward with the operation was made. There is a significant chance that my son will not make it back to baseball at the level he wants to be, or pain free. There is also a fair likelihood that it will recur if the motion that caused it continues. The surgeon was very clear about this. After this message, he left the room for us to chat about it and make a decision. My son felt that having the chance to make it back, at least for a few more years maybe, was good enough for him. He wants to feel that he did everything he could so that there are no regrets later. Only time will tell.

tequila posted:
Prepster posted:

Every individual's situation is unique in some respects, and it is this thought that makes me hopeful for those mentioned here and other pitchers who suffer a torn labrum; but, full recovery from it even when rehabilitated as conscientiously and well as possible is a dicey prospect. I know because it ended my son's playing career.

In his case, it occurred while he was beginning his third minor league season. One of the most vivid memories I have of the time comes from our visit to the surgeon's office the morning following his procedure.

After telling us how pleased he was with the procedure and its results, I asked him the obvious question, "So, with proper rehabilitation, what's the prospect of his pitching again?" The physician, who was his professional organization's chief orthopedic surgeon, paused for a moment and replied, "The human shoulder was never intended to throw a baseball off of an elevated mound."

Needless to say, I found his reply a good bit less than satisfying and not exactly what I wanted to hear. Little did I know that it foreshadowed a difficult and painstaking, nine-month rehabilitation program at the team's training facility in Arizona; only to find at the beginning of Spring Training that his shoulder still couldn't take the stress of competitive pitching.

Ultimately, it ended well because it opened the door to another chapter in his career; but, it was an unwelcome episode at the time he was working through it.

Thanks for that, Prepster. We got essentially the same message from the surgeon yesterday morning before the decision to go forward with the operation was made. There is a significant chance that my son will not make it back to baseball at the level he wants to be, or pain free. There is also a fair likelihood that it will recur if the motion that caused it continues. The surgeon was very clear about this. After this message, he left the room for us to chat about it and make a decision. My son felt that having the chance to make it back, at least for a few more years maybe, was good enough for him. He wants to feel that he did everything he could so that there are no regrets later. Only time will tell.

You're so welcome, Tequila. I've always felt that honesty takes precedence over all else when facing challenging situations like your son's.

It sounds like he's going into the situation with best possible attitude and resolve; both of which will serve him well in recovery. Here's wishing him the very best!

One week post-op update:
The first couple of days were pretty rough from a pain perspective but a week out and he's got little to no pain at all. Taking the dressings off the shoulder was pretty special because of the heavy duty tape they use but we were able to do that and he's pretty much got showering down now (thank goodness). He's learning to be left handed so that's a challenge but kids are amazingly adaptable. One thing I'd advise to any who may have to go through this is to make sure you have thorough communication with their teachers, counselor, and attendance administration during the process. They've been very flexible with us as far as make-up work, etc. and it's easy to forget that it might take a right-handed kid longer to do something when they essentially can't use their right hand.

He has a two-week post-op visit with the surgeon next Monday and that will hopefully result in removed sutures and the start of PT. With the pain now gone, and the routine sort of set, I can see the thoughts of "how is this all going to work out" creeping up in his mind and evident in his statements and actions. He sent his first email last night to a coach that he's had a significant amount of dialog with, and outlined the situation. He expressed to the coach that he intended to apply to the school, regardless of recruiting status, because he felt it was a fit in all other ways but that he hoped that he would still have an opportunity to try to be a part of their program. I've mentioned that my son's targets are primarily D3 schools and we're hoping that it's still realistic that he could find a spot to have a chance to play at one of these. I was hoping to have a response from this coach before posting here so that I could provide some insight into the mind of one of these guys at this stage in their recruiting process, and given my son's injury timing, but I think he's at the ABCA this week so we're not expecting a prompt reply, though he is usually very responsive. I think my son would be fine even if it was bad news because he just wants to know the reality of the situation directly from the horse's mouth so to speak.

There are a lot of unknowns at this time:
1. Will the labrum reattach?
2. Will he come back without pain?
3. If 1 & 2 are yes, when will that be? The estimate is four months but there are a lot of factors in play.
4. If 1 & 2 are yes, will recovery time permit him starting his spring season?
5. If 1 & 2 are yes, will any of his target school coaches still have interest/availability at that time?
6. If 1 & 2 are yes, will any other schools have interest/availability at that time?
7. What safety schools might need to be considered given this course deviation i.e. not the schools that baseball might have helped him get admitted to that he otherwise might not have? An example of this would be Middlebury. It is very unlikely that he'd get admitted with his current GPA and test scores alone. This one is a bit of a bummer because he really liked everything about it, though it was a long shot even with baseball.

I hope I'm not just using up board real estate with these posts and I truly hope that some nugget of information might help someone else along the way. The most important things for us currently are positivity and planning. For those who find benefit, I'll post again in a couple of weeks. There should be more insight once PT starts. Thanks and take care!

Last edited by tequila

Great report! It sounds like your son has a terrific head on his shoulders. Intent upon persevering, but level-headed and realistic enough to know that he has to explore options given the uncertainty of the rehabilitation he faces.

I'm assuming that his physical therapist is experienced in working with baseball shoulders. Once PT begins, it's as important that he not do more than his physical therapist expects as it is that he not do less than expected. This is not the sort of injury that benefits from extra work.

I'm sure that Ispeak for many of us when I say that we're all pulling really hard for a successful recovery!

What Prepster said.  Even if "board real estate" was limited, your chronicles of the experience would be WELL worth occupancy as this is something that comes up frequently.  It can be extremely difficult to deal with and navigate and you are telling the story with such great detail and honest emotion, providing very useful information and experience.  Continued best.

Thanks Prepster, Cabbage, 3and2, and everyone else who have lent supportive words and thoughts! It means a lot, truly.

To Prepster's question; yes, his physical therapist is experienced in baseball shoulder injury recovery and I think we're in very good hands on that front. I agree that doing what is prescribed, as precisely as possible, is very much key to a full recovery. I'll have to really watch my son as he'll have a tendency to want to do more, not necessarily because he thinks it will speed up rehab but because he'll feel like he just can. I've been warned about this multiple times.

One other small update; we did get a response from the coach that I mentioned earlier and he said that they're still looking for two catchers to replace their graduating seniors and Teq Jr. is on the list of potential guys to do that. He also strongly suggested that he visit campus to find out if the environment is somewhere he can see himself at during his college years. To me, that was a very positive response, especially given that my son told him what his expected recovery time would be. Sounds like I'm going to be scheduling a trip soon!

Thanks again to everyone for the support. I'll update in a couple of weeks.

Three weeks post-op update:  The boy is doing pretty well with very little pain other than soreness from PT, which he's starting his second week of. Mostly range of motion exercises which are fairly small movements and pretty boring to him but progress here can't be rushed at any cost.

The other day we were talking about the road to recovery, from a baseball perspective, and I brought up things like fatigue when receiving, blocking, etc. and how his body would remember the training he's done for years but the endurance aspect will take a while. He promptly told me that he isn't even thinking about that stuff right now. He just wants to get back to doing things like being able to sleep on his side/front. That gave me some perspective.

He's got three more weeks in his sling, which means three more weeks without driving. I'm not sure any of us thought through that one all the way. He's been driving on his own since he was 15 so we're having to re-discover the logistics of carting him around everywhere.

He and I are headed up to small D3 in the NWC the first week in October to meet/interview with admissions, sit him in a class, tour the campus with the HC, watch a baseball scrimmage, and hang around for the football homecoming game so that should be a nice trip to break up the monotony and everyday frustration for him. It's also good for him mentally that we're doing this at the request of the coach, who also set everything up for him for the visit. Good to know that there is still interest even with the coach knowing about the injury and rehab time.

The struggle now has become 99% mental so we're just trying to maintain positivity for his sake. He's got a great team of coaches, trainers, family, and friends around him so I think everything is going to be just fine. As I like to reiterate with each post, I hope this may help someone in a similar situation at some point. Thanks to all for the continued support!

Last edited by tequila

Hi folks, I thought I’d post an update nearly seven weeks post-op. As of this past Monday, my son is out of his sling and has been cleared to do anything he does in PT on his own, if he so desires. He can also resume working out his lower body, minus anything that would put stress on the shoulder like front or back squats with a bar. After his workout Monday he was in the best mood I’ve seen him since the surgery, and has pretty much maintained that since. As I’ve stated before, it seems the mental aspect has been the toughest part of this for him. He goes back in five weeks to hopefully get cleared to start a light throwing program but we haven’t gotten any direction on hitting, catching, or any further workout timelines other than the PT Rx.

On the recruiting front, he’s managed to somehow maintain the interest of, and dialog with, three head coaches – a D2, D3, and NAIA. We visited the D3 this past weekend and he did the admissions interview, coach meeting/tour, class visit, baseball practice, and homecoming football game. This school is his first choice but also one of the most expensive, and the coaches know that. His pre-read came back with a recommendation to apply RD to “strengthen his application” and I think this is because they know that affordability is paramount for us here rather than any difficulty getting in i.e. a stronger app would result in higher merit aid. The D2 I think would be a great fit but is essentially a walk-on opportunity (with potential for money later) if extended, though I’m told once a spot is secured there are no cuts other than for disciplinary or academic reasons. The coach has expressed that he would like to get him up for a workout and some hitting in December if possible. He’s seen him once at camp and also had him up for junior day earlier in the year. The NAIA HC also has seen him at a camp and wants to get him on campus but we’re not sure the school would be as good of a fit.

All in all, my recommended takeaway at this time is POSITIVITY and strict adherence to the recovery plan outlined by the surgeon and physical therapist. Thanks to everyone for the continued support!

For those of you following my son's story-line, and any others who may want to chime in, I'm actually looking for a bit of advice in this post.

*Quick update though;  recovery is going well (nine weeks post op). Ongoing PT increasing in range and weight. He's able to work his lower body in whatever way he chooses (short of anything that requires holding weight like bar squats, etc.) so that has been huge. He goes back 11/19 to get cleared for light throwing and hopefully to start swinging a whiffle ball bat.

Back to my request for input - I may have mentioned somewhere that we had a plan A, and a plan B, but we didn't really have a plan C, which is what this injury would have required. I hate to advise anyone to have an injury plan but it would have helped had we had some idea of our course of action in the event. Suffice it to say, it changed much about the application process which, as many of you know, involves forms, processes, letters of recommendation, tax information, transcripts, test scores, essays, emails, phone calls, visits, and deadlines. On the athletic side, it changed our entire 2018 summer and fall schedule which would have involved quite a few events in front of college coaches, hopefully some requests for him to apply early admission, and maybe an NLI. As it stands, he's only applying EA at two schools primarily because these are two coaches who are still interested in his potential in their programs. The big unknown, and crux of my question, is what happens if neither of those result in an offer or, in one of the cases, a financial aid package that will work for us? There are a couple of other schools where there is interest but they are a bit lower on the totem pole of preference for my son. One of them has told us that they pretty much recruit right up until the last possible minute, so that is encouraging, but I'm curious what anyone might think about how to get attention when my son essentially can't play until Feb/Mar of 2019. My assumption is that he'd continue to email coaches until the path is clearly closed but I feel like that's sort of throwing an empty hook in the water without a real plan of action. I've probably also mentioned before that the boy is not interested in the juco route. This isn't because he thinks he's too good, rather it's because baseball isn't #1 on the importance scale and he doesn't want to transfer two years into college. We've also had a relatively difficult time finding any two year colleges that we feel have an academic line-up that meets the criteria that he wants.

I'd be very appreciative of any thoughts on a strategy or any insight based on similar experiences. Thanks for everyone's continued support through this. It's been tough at times but we're going to ride it out until the horse is completely dead.

You and your son caught a terrible break, as shoulder injuries/surgery are very difficult to overcome.  I know neither of you want to hear this, but I would focus on academics and getting into the top schools of his choice.  That, it itself, is very difficult.

You will get an idea of the financial aide package using the school’s calculator.  As you complete them, if you say to yourself “no way” upon seeing the result, rest assured it will be “yes way”

My oldest, HA/no sport student, applied to 12 schools and got into about half.  I think all non-athletes need to be prepared for that volume and results.

If his accepting schools end up with a baseball opportunity in year one, that’s great.  If not, he can look after that year or realize, it’s not as important if he loves the school he’s at.

I wish my response was more positive, but I just think it will be difficult for your son to be offered a roster spot, coming off such an injury.

Best of luck Tequila, hope I’m wrong!

Thanks CTbballDad, and I appreciate your directness. We are prepared for an outcome that doesn't involve baseball though it will be a huge bummer. The outlet and enjoyment that it has provided my son will not be able to be directly replaced but he had the good fortune of finding the gym a couple of years ago, and I daresay, likes it with almost as much vigor. Also, his surgeon did a very good job prepping us for the fact that he may never return to form or the injury may recur. My son simply did not want to look back thinking that he didn't try everything he could. I think college baseball for him right now depends on a couple of things: 1) playing pain free and at, or above, the level prior to the injury, 2) a coach willing to take a chance, and 3) some luck thrown in there. I probably shouldn't say it, as just a proud parent, but I feel that if #1 happens that #2 will get an absolute steal. The kid already has a couple of stories of adversity that he's come out on top of, as it relates to baseball, so I feel that if it's possible, he's one that can do it. Thanks again for the feedback!

I would advise my son to apply to all the schools that have expressed interest (it sounds like this is 3 or 4), plus some additional schools he'd have interest in attending.  I'm assuming these are D3s which would still have roster flexibility.  I don't think there's anything he can do baseball-wise between now and the end of December (most application deadlines) so the focus is on getting into schools he'd like to attend.  Once he gets accepted and you've sorted the financial side, he's got till May 1 to make a decision, and he can use this time to engage coaches and get stronger interest via spring baseball.

Smitty28 posted:

I would advise my son to apply to all the schools that have expressed interest (it sounds like this is 3 or 4), plus some additional schools he'd have interest in attending.  I'm assuming these are D3s which would still have roster flexibility.  I don't think there's anything he can do baseball-wise between now and the end of December (most application deadlines) so the focus is on getting into schools he'd like to attend.  Once he gets accepted and you've sorted the financial side, he's got till May 1 to make a decision, and he can use this time to engage coaches and get stronger interest via spring baseball.

Thanks Smitty! That's plain and simple and essentially the path he's on. Right now there are two D3s, a D2, and an NAIA that have expressed ongoing interest. The D2 wants him to come up and work out in December but realistically it will probably be January before he's able to do that. They've seen him before and evidently they've got a spot for a catcher in his class (no money but with the opportunity to work into it). One of the D3s (his top choice) might not work out financially but if a roster spot offer is forthcoming, all indications are that it will be within the next few weeks. That will be a difficult decision if that happens without a FA package in our hands. Thanks again for the response!

I think it might be best to call the coaches of the interested schools and see where they stand. I wouldn't want to wait another 4/5 months until March to get an answer you can get now. Your son won't be playing and with the exception of the D2, they won't be seeing him play anyway. 

Something to consider - You say baseball is not at the top of the totem pole. But unless your son is being offered money at the D2/NAIA why not just apply to schools as a regular student and try to walk on? I'm not here to put down a D2 or NAIA education, but very few are known to have quality academics. With your sons scores/grades it might be more beneficial to him to apply to some D3s and look to walk-on when healthy. With the expanded rosters/your son being a catcher there is a very good chance he finds a spot somewhere. Just know that your son is coming back from a serious injury, if he gets reinjured or isn't the same - are these schools he would want to attend without baseball? 

Last edited by PABaseball

Thanks PABaseball, those are some great points and definitely worth considering walking on at a D3. Yes, all of the schools he is considering applying to are places he thinks he would be happy at without baseball. The NAIA that I mentioned is the only one that was never really in the conversation. The connection there is that the PC at the D2 left and became the HC at the NAIA and my son really likes him so conversations sort of carried over. I ultimately don't think it's a great fit for him but I don't see any reason to rule it out until we have gone through the process with them. It's part of the whole "go where you're wanted" mentality. Thanks again for the advice!

For those interested, here is my son’s update 12 weeks post-op:

  1. Posterior cuff is tight so PT is to ramp up stretching in that area.
  2. Cleared to begin swinging with a whiffle ball and bat but we need to get clarification on what the progression is with that.
  3. Ortho surgeon provided my son with a throwing program that can begin one month from today.
  4. Upper body strength training can increase but nothing too wide or too narrow. Doc said just do things that “make sense.”
  5. Next follow-up visit is two months from today.

    Hanging in there!

For those interested, here is my son’s update four months post-op:

  1. He has been swinging a whiffle ball bat off the tee and is cleared to proceed to a regular bat as soon as he can go a week at full speed with no pain.
  2. Throwing program began yesterday and it is a little conservative on the front end. If he does well he can progress faster but the thought is if you start too fast you can’t go backwards.
  3. Posterior capsule is still tight and range of motion is not 100% but PT says that’s not a terribly big deal for him right now since his throwing motion is that of a catcher. The work on that continues.
  4. General workouts have expanded out to heavier multi-joint movements but the focus is primarily getting his lower body really strong (squat, dead lift, lunge, kettle ball carry, etc.).
  5. Cleared for running at 75%.
  6. Cleared for all other catching specific work (blocking, shift, transfer, popups, etc.)


As a side note – and on the recruiting front – he has applied to six schools (five D3 - one D2), been accepted to four (with one coach extending an “offer” and three others with expressed interest), and is awaiting packets from the remaining two. The biggest hurdle for us right now, outside his recovery process, is haggling with the financial aid offices at each of these institutions to try to find more money. I guess it’s a good lesson for him about how the rest of life will work.

¡Salud!

For those following, here is my son’s update five months post-op:

  1. Swinging a bat at full speed with no pain.
  2. 5th week of throwing program and cleared to proceed to completion as scheduled.
  3. Cleared for plyo ball work, etc.
  4. PT continuing with emphasis on sleeper & posterior capsule stretches.
  5. Cleared for overhead weight training.
  6. Cleared for running at 100%.

Key takeaways at this point are to adhere to the prescribed rehab plan to a T and don't rush anything. My son's goal is the be ready for the first game of the season, which is on 2/25. However, this is not a critical milestone by any means. If he's ready by the first conference game, or mid-season, we're completely fine with that too. I'm very pleased with how he's handled the entire process and could not be more proud of the kid.

On the recruiting front, accepted to 100% of schools applied. First choice has been eliminated due to cost, next two on the list are both expressing "commitment" on the baseball side. #3 has arrived at a number that we can afford, with the financial aid jury still out on #2 (now #1 on the list).

FWIW, I'm always open to specific questions anyone might have about this process in case you're going through something similar. I'm trying to keep these updates as short and relevant as possible so as to not to take up more space in the digital sphere than necessary. Thanks for everyone's continued support.

¡Salud!

For all the parents out there with kids who have had shoulder surgery, I cant fully explain what a painful surgery this is.  I am 10 weeks post op for a complete rotator cuff tear, torn labrum and bone spurs.  Still in a sling and hope to be out in 2 weeks to start rehab.  I have had multiple knee operations, gall bladder, broken bones and surgery on my foot.  NOTHING compares to the pain that I had from the shoulder.  Doctor told me it would be really bad but I thought it was just so when it didnt hurt so much I would think he was the greatest ever!  I was wrong! 

Long story short, encourage and support your kids going thru shoulder issues and be understanding of the potential mood swings and watch for depression as that is a very real possibility.  Also - Don't rush rehab or getting back out on the field.  Much better success rates by following protocol and working really hard at the rehab.  I hope recoveries go well and that all your son's have healthy seasons.

cabbagedad posted:

Wow, that's a hellofa lot of good news, Tequila, congrats to him !!!  

Curious, about how hard (% effort), far is he throwing at this stage?  Does his throwing motion/arm angle look the same as pre-injury?

Thanks Cabbage! I believe he's still at 50%....this doesn't increase until week seven if memory serves. I'm somewhat embarrassed to say but I don't really know about his motion/angle because he's been doing this either at PT, practice, or the gym. I've only thrown with him once, early on, and I didn't notice anything remarkably different.

Back with what has become my monthly post on my son's journey, for those following. Things are not fantastic in the tequila household but still really just first-world problems.

Son's throwing program is technically "complete" but these things are considered variable, especially at the end. He has had pain throwing at max effort, which we're told by ortho and PT is normal, so he's continuing to stretch it out at less than max effort to build on what he's been doing.

PT continues as well and he was told that he's done everything he's supposed to and on track.

First HS game is Monday and his coach wants him to play his position if docs and parents are ok with it (which we are), with the understanding that throws will not be max effort, or even anywhere near for the longer ones (2B), if he throws at all (which he probably will not). Evidently his potential contributions on offense and defense outweigh any diminished control of the running game but it's just an early season tourney and matters not at all.

The college decision is where the real difficulty is at home right now. He visited a local school, for the third time, that really would like him to play, and he's just doesn't think he'd want to go there if baseball wasn't in the picture, which he may not know for months based on how his arm comes back. The problem is that he essentially has no other realistic offers, we think mostly because of the timing of all this i.e. completely missed this past summer and fall from a recruiting standpoint. A school he'd really like to attend said they can always use more catchers but he would likely be competing with two other freshman for the backup position, with a stud sophomore in front of him. Yeah...no. If he goes there it will probably be without baseball, which is perfectly fine with me but he's having a hell of a time making a decision. The D2 that was looking at him got tired of waiting and picked up a catcher in his class. His #1 choice couldn't get the money right. He's actually thinking of some routes now that were not in the mix before in the form of schools with rolling admissions, etc. I'm struggling a bit with what message to deliver to him right now but remain positive with a realistic twist, or maybe vice versa.

I don't know if anyone has ever heard of a kid getting picked up during/after his senior season (that wasn't a pitcher and/or not by a juco) but any stories, and of course advice, would be welcome. Needless to say, I'm secretly preparing myself for the end of baseball for him, which is sad but not the end of the world by any means. If he is able to play on then I figure we're in the bonus!

Thanks to all and take care!

If your son wants to continue to play at the college level, I suggest he reaches out to the local JUCO coaches and find out where they are at with their catching depth.

It's a Great opportunity for a 2019 Catcher coming off of shoulder surgery. It allows time to sort of hit the re-set button post surgery and most reputable JUCO Head Coaches do a good job placing their better players in four year schools

I don't know the whole situation but, if money is a factor, why not consider the juco route? From what I understand he was considering D2s/NAIA - not high academic schools. Save some money, get healthy and then transfer to a 4 year. I don't know if these schools are public/private, but even if baseball out of the picture, that is two years of tuition saved. 

Tequila, I feel for you and your son, I really do.  But having two kids in college (non-athletes) and seeing so many kids my 2019 has grown up with go on to college to play baseball, I've gained perspective.  I would lean strongly towards going to a school he wants to be at.  I have seen so many kids go to schools only to be redshirted and cut, or cut straight away in the fall of freshman year, or decide they don't like the school and come home, etc.  Honestly, most kids don't make it as a ball player 3 or 4 years anyway.  The kids that seem most successful and happy (with or without baseball) go to schools they love and have great all-around experiences.  I think one of the best pieces of advice I got here on HSBBW was to have your son go to a school he'd want to go to with or without baseball.  This, and academic quality, were the two guard rails we put on my 2019's college selection.

One other thought - he's a catcher, so no doubt he can play other positions.  If he can hit the coach will find a spot for him.  Lots of kids get recruited as catchers and end up playing elsewhere.

PABaseball posted:

I don't know the whole situation but, if money is a factor, why not consider the juco route? From what I understand he was considering D2s/NAIA - not high academic schools. Save some money, get healthy and then transfer to a 4 year. I don't know if these schools are public/private, but even if baseball out of the picture, that is two years of tuition saved. 

Thanks for taking the time to give me your thoughts PA. It's much appreciated! He actually has been looking primarily at higher academic schools, mostly D3s, and all private. The D2 that had interest is a pretty good school academically as well but we really haven't seriously looked at the juco route for a few reasons: 1) we do not feel it would put him in the type of learning environment that he wants to be in, 2) baseball is not the #1 priority, and 3) he has expressed that he doesn't want to transfer in the middle of his undergraduate education unless there is no other choice. There's much more to this conversation but that's crux of it. I'm sure this will all work out but it's definitely trying my patience at the moment. Thanks again!

Smitty28 posted:

Tequila, I feel for you and your son, I really do.  But having two kids in college (non-athletes) and seeing so many kids my 2019 has grown up with go on to college to play baseball, I've gained perspective.  I would lean strongly towards going to a school he wants to be at.  I have seen so many kids go to schools only to be redshirted and cut, or cut straight away in the fall of freshman year, or decide they don't like the school and come home, etc.  Honestly, most kids don't make it as a ball player 3 or 4 years anyway.  The kids that seem most successful and happy (with or without baseball) go to schools they love and have great all-around experiences.  I think one of the best pieces of advice I got here on HSBBW was to have your son go to a school he'd want to go to with or without baseball.  This, and academic quality, were the two guard rails we put on my 2019's college selection.

One other thought - he's a catcher, so no doubt he can play other positions.  If he can hit the coach will find a spot for him.  Lots of kids get recruited as catchers and end up playing elsewhere.

Thanks Smitty for the thoughtful response and ideas! Every situation has it's own set of circumstances and nuances and ours is no different. One thing that has been big on my son's list of requirements is that he wants to go out of state. The interesting thing there is that I don't think he knows specifically why. Where we find ourselves is with him having a fantastic opportunity at a local D3 with the only real drawback being that it's local. If you picked the school up and put it in virtually any other state he'd have already committed and we'd have put down a deposit. So, his mother and I are encouraging him to look at what he will be getting out of the situation, the cost savings, programs available at the school, history of student success post-graduation, etc. etc. Our feeling at this point is that he should commit and give it a year (or even a semester if his injury returns or rehab doesn't progress) and transfer if he's unhappy. It's a D3 (no roster limits) and the coaches love him so it's unlikely that he'll get the boot from the team even if he doesn't return to form. He just wouldn't be playing and would likely make the decision himself that he's done. However, it's his decision but I will say that the other school in the mix that he's deciding between is very similar in academic make-up, size, cost (though about $5K/yr more), etc. but it's an eight hour drive from us (like we're going to be dropping in on him regularly anyway). Heck they're even in the same athletic conference but it just doesn't feel to me that he's using the highest level of maturity in evaluating the pros and cons. Time will tell but I've rambled on enough. Thanks again for all the input! Another testament to why this site is so great.

tequila posted:

 

I don't know if anyone has ever heard of a kid getting picked up during/after his senior season (that wasn't a pitcher and/or not by a juco) but any stories, and of course advice, would be welcome. Needless to say, I'm secretly preparing myself for the end of baseball for him, which is sad but not the end of the world by any means. If he is able to play on then I figure we're in the bonus!

I know a 2018 OF who tore his labrum June after junior year (so similar to your son's timing) -- obviously missed summer and fall recruiting. Had surgery in September (after trying PT), went through re-hab, etc., but even in the Spring of senior year his arm wasn't fully recovered. He took a different approach, I guess -- got admitted to a school he really wanted to attend (a P5), and walked onto the baseball team. Made the team, and just got his first AB this past weekend. Is walking on* a path that your son would consider? 

*to whatever level of program your son was targeting prior to the injury

Last edited by 2019Dad
2019Dad posted:

Is walking on* a path that your son would consider? 

*to whatever level of program your son was targeting prior to the injury

Thanks for the response 2019Dad. I believe that is a path he would consider. I'm not sure he'd be happy if he didn't have a realistic chance of contributing fairly quickly but it's certainly an option. Thanks for chiming in!

tequila posted:
 
 

Thanks Smitty for the thoughtful response and ideas! Every situation has it's own set of circumstances and nuances and ours is no different. One thing that has been big on my son's list of requirements is that he wants to go out of state. The interesting thing there is that I don't think he knows specifically why. Where we find ourselves is with him having a fantastic opportunity at a local D3 with the only real drawback being that it's local. If you picked the school up and put it in virtually any other state he'd have already committed and we'd have put down a deposit. So, his mother and I are encouraging him to look at what he will be getting out of the situation, the cost savings, programs available at the school, history of student success post-graduation, etc. etc. Our feeling at this point is that he should commit and give it a year (or even a semester if his injury returns or rehab doesn't progress) and transfer if he's unhappy. It's a D3 (no roster limits) and the coaches love him so it's unlikely that he'll get the boot from the team even if he doesn't return to form. He just wouldn't be playing and would likely make the decision himself that he's done. However, it's his decision but I will say that the other school in the mix that he's deciding between is very similar in academic make-up, size, cost (though about $5K/yr more), etc. but it's an eight hour drive from us (like we're going to be dropping in on him regularly anyway). Heck they're even in the same athletic conference but it just doesn't feel to me that he's using the highest level of maturity in evaluating the pros and cons. Time will tell but I've rambled on enough. Thanks again for all the input! Another testament to why this site is so great.

What's the hesitation with the D3 that's 8 hours from home? Is that the one with the stud sophomore? I understand the desire to get away from your hometown. I felt the same way when I started college. Fresh start away from the high school scene (and parents). With his injury situation, the baseball side is a complete unknown, and it sounds like he wouldn't want to be at the local school without baseball.
Talent is at a premium at every level. Particularly at D3, the best player at the position (whether recruited or not) is likely going to get the playing time. No guarantees anywhere. Always a freshman or transfer coming in to compete for your position.
I know that you know all of that... just trying to help.

MidAtlanticDad posted:

What's the hesitation with the D3 that's 8 hours from home? Is that the one with the stud sophomore? I understand the desire to get away from your hometown. I felt the same way when I started college. Fresh start away from the high school scene (and parents). With his injury situation, the baseball side is a complete unknown, and it sounds like he wouldn't want to be at the local school without baseball.
Talent is at a premium at every level. Particularly at D3, the best player at the position (whether recruited or not) is likely going to get the playing time. No guarantees anywhere. Always a freshman or transfer coming in to compete for your position.
I know that you know all of that... just trying to help.

Thanks MidAtlanticDad. The hesitation is twofold: 1) it's about $30K more over four years, and 2) as expressed to him by the coaches, he would be competing with two other incoming freshman for the backup role, with the sophomore starter in front of him. On top of that, the local school has expressed a strong desire for him there, and have gone above and beyond to show it, so it seems to be one of those fairly unique situations where "go where you're really wanted" is conflicting with "go where you want to go to school if baseball is not in the picture." Thanks so much for the input! I know we'll likely look back on this and laugh about the stress but it's definitely a large gorilla in the room at our house.

CTbballDad posted:

If he's going to a school 8 hours away, make sure there are transportation options that do not include you.  We put our daughter on a 10 hour train ride most of the time, which is miserable.  But no way I'm driving 10 hours, pay for a hotel, just to drive 10 hours back!!

Oh yeah for sure! He has his own vehicle, and they allow them there, so no real worries in that dept.

Just some insight, on another catches path, in same type of situation. Family friends son, had same injury Fall HS senior year. Ended up going to D3, walked on, was able to get a bullpen catcher slot. Worked his tail off, became the preferred bullpen guy for the staff pitchers. PC really liked the way he worked with the pitchers. Fall season of SO year, arm was back to full strength, they gave him a shot in the fall, ended up the starting catcher for the rest of his college career. As you know all paths are not the same, work your tail off and good things can happen. 

Just saw you made updates, I will continue to follow.

BishopLeftiesDad posted:

Has he had an overnight at the local school? It may give him a better idea what the day in a life is like. 

He has done an overnight, admissions dog & pony day, as well as a day of classes there. I think he's on the cusp of making a decision and I think it's going to be the out of state school, which is fine by me. As far as baseball goes, it doesn't change the rehab plans through spring and summer at all, since he's been welcomed to the team at both places. It just makes for what appears to be a tougher challenge for playing time at the out of state due to depth at his position. That said, his HS coach thinks this would be good for him since he's never really been challenged for his position in HS. I'm really fine either way but would much much rather see him off to school with a smile on his face and excited than going in with the idea of a transfer in the back of his mind.

Quick update here only because there is something to update

  1. Son accepted offer of admission from a D3 eight hours away, and has also been invited to play baseball, so we could not be more pleased, given the circumstances. Additionally, he has decided to pursue a career in the U.S. Army and will be participating in the ROTC program at this college with hopes of obtaining a degree in either criminal justice or political science, and accepting a commission upon graduation. End goal being potentially employed by three letter acronym govt’ agency but we all know how these things change course many times in some cases. I mention all of this not only because I'm a proud dad but to highlight that it is not discouraged to take on a challenging academic schedule alongside a military science curriculum and athletics. In fact, we're told by the Army folks that participation in athletics is looked upon favorably when being evaluated for a scholarship. The coach at this particular school said that he had never had an athlete (at this institution) that has participated in ROTC but that he was certain that it would be worked out. My thinking was that it might even look good for the program but only time will tell how it all ends up. Again, we are proud and optimistic. My son has put much more thought, work, and planning into his path than I did at his age, and probably years later quite frankly.
  1. His HS team is six games in and he has caught two and DH'd in all but one (missed completely due to illness). He's not throwing in-game other than back to P and shorter distances like fielding bunts. This arrangement is between him and his coaches of course and he's handling it pretty well. There are certain games where they have expressed a need for his defensive abilities outside of throwing e.g. deep backstops, large foul territory, etc. Hitting has been solid and essentially unaffected by the injury.
  1. Throwing regimen currently consists of the following daily (except on some game days):
  • Basic warm up 10 min. Rest 2-3 min in between sets.
  • 120 ft x 10, easy throws - repeat x 1
  • 135 ft x 10, easy throws - repeat x 1
  • 90 ft x 10, 80% - repeat x 3
  • 60 ft x 10, 90% - repeat x 3

I was his partner yesterday (ouch) and he looked good. Said he's struggling with his release point yet there wasn't any pain after this session. PT is ongoing and his therapist will let him know when to progress which I suspect will be soon. Things are a bit fluid with throwing at this phase and are basically evaluated weekly and even daily. This has been a challenge because there is really no formula that can tell a kid when he’s ready. It’s all about pain/soreness (lack of), range of motion, and strength – and don’t hurry it. This has been key!

I hope this is, or will be, good info for others. It has certainly been an eye-opening experience for me.

Thanks Cabbage and CT. I think the work is only beginning from a baseball perspective. Shoulder injury recovery seems like ticking clock to me but he'd like to get four more years out of his. If HS season goes well, he'll probably go up to see Cressey for a week this summer and see if he can get his motion fine tuned, and a solid prehab/health routine, to help it last as long as possible. Outside of that, it's strength, conditioning, and preparation to leave the nest in store for the next five months or so. What a ride so far!

Hi Ken....man I really hate to hear that about your son. I'm not sure about a slap tear not being a big deal as that sentiment flies in the face of most of what I've read and heard for overhead throwing athletes. It can be a career ending issue but there are also plenty of cases where significant recovery is seen. I suppose if it is minor enough, and doesn't cause significant pain that impacts performance, then one could live with it but that was not the case with my son.

2019 is still doing PT, focusing almost entirely on strength now as well as continued range of motion. He's played nearly his entire HS season now, gradually increasing his throwing effort percentage and I'd say he's somewhere in the neighborhood of 85% of max effort. Still a lot of work to be done but he's having enough success that he's the guy at his position with the exception of some non-conference games where they let him rest. He's sore most all of the time and I think that's just something to be expected. As you know, shoulder surgery is very invasive and somewhat destructive to the surrounding tissue so a little more care and preparation is part of life for him now. It's not injury pain so, as long as it stays there, he'll continue to ramp up as able.

Does your son have plans to go back and address the possible labrum tear surgically or is that off the table due to the eligibility timeline? Best of luck to him and please let me know if I can answer any other questions you might have about this process!

Sorry I saw your update after I had posted.. but my son really is hoping this guy knows what he is doing.. I feel like if he has to wait another 6 to 8 months he will be done.. So keeping fingers crossed he can rehab enough.  Plays 1B now so not as big a deal as playing Outfield or pitching I guess, but as you know you better rake to play 1B.  Thanks again for all your posts.. and advice.   Keep us updated and good luck.

Ken Adams posted:

Sorry I saw your update after I had posted.. but my son really is hoping this guy knows what he is doing.. I feel like if he has to wait another 6 to 8 months he will be done.. So keeping fingers crossed he can rehab enough.  Plays 1B now so not as big a deal as playing Outfield or pitching I guess, but as you know you better rake to play 1B.  Thanks again for all your posts.. and advice.   Keep us updated and good luck.

You mentioned your son's fall season at juco. I think this is the applicable D1 rule (his fall juco season will probably cost him a year of eligibility):

12.8.3.1.1 Two-Year College Scrimmages. A two-year college prospective student-athlete may compete in a scrimmage as a member of a two-year college team without counting such competition as a season of competition, provided the competition meets all of the following conditions: (Adopted: 1/11/94, Revised: 5/9/06, 7/31/14)
(a) The scrimmage is approved by the two-year college;
(b) No official score is kept;
(c) No admission is charged;
(d) No official time is kept;
(e) The scrimmage is played prior to the two-year college’s first regularly scheduled outside competition; and
(f ) The prospective student-athlete participates in not more than two such scrimmages or dates of competition per academic year.

I haven't posted in this thread in a few months, mainly because there hasn't really been anything to report, but with my son's fall practices ramping up I thought I'd give a small update. It's been 13 months since his surgery and his arm has felt pretty good leading up now, with expected soreness in the shoulder but nothing concerning. The team measured some things yesterday, including pull-down velocity and my son was fairly pleased that he reached 86. Though he played it off, I believe he was concerned since he hasn't really thrown max effort more than a couple of times since the surgery. He said it's very sore today but not "injury" sore. Ice and ibuprofen are your friends. Anyway, I just wanted to put this out there for others who may have athletes in similar circumstances to show that there is hope if you stay the course during rehab. For my wife and I, it seems like a gift for him to continue to be able to play so we're concentrating on soaking it in for as long as possible and are long past sweating the small stuff!

I didn't realize it but it's been nearly a year since I updated this thread. My how time flies!

As the journey of every baseball player will, my son's has officially come to an end. We dropped him off for sophomore year at his D3 college a little over a week ago and he made the decision to hang them up. It has been a great ride and I wouldn't take anything back. His decision came from a combination of factors and was well thought out and measured. Nothing dramatic, just time to move on and see what he can do with the time and energy diverted to other endeavors. I put this in this thread because I think it's an appropriate close to it and a portion of the result most definitely relates to the injury. Through that lens, I've got three pieces of insight to share:

1. The timing of the injury/surgery/rehab certainly impacted his path. There is no way to know what would have been but I am fairly confident that this was a major factor in how it materialized. He essentially hit the pause button on playing development at the end of his junior year of high school and could not fully pick it back up until somewhere in the early spring of his senior year. The impact of this was huge and, though he ended up having a good senior season, exposure in the recruiting timeline and continuous applied work at his position were irrevocably impacted. Go into it with eyes wide open.

2. With shoulder injury/surgery, a player can do everything prescribed to the T and there is still a good probability that a full return will not happen physically and/or mentally. Go into it with eyes wide open.

3. It's hard to trust the body after surgery on a throwing arm. My son's shoulder will never be the same as prior to surgery. We knew this, so it was no surprise, but worth a mention. It takes much longer to warm up (especially in cold weather), hurts often when throwing max velo, is sore longer, and is pretty much stiff all of the time. Go into it with eyes wide open.

I'm sorry to reiterate the "eyes wide open" bit but we were really fortunate that my son's surgeon was up front with us about this. It created a comfort in that he may return - at least for a while - or he may not, so every bit of baseball we got after that was cherished. He did return to full capacity, at least from a physical assessment (mobility, velo) standpoint, but he was never really the same mentally. I believe there was fear and caution in the back of his mind at all times and I don't think he could truly perform at his highest level with those present, whether it was conscious to him or not.

Before he went back to school we talked about how all of this paved the way for mom and dad as far as "weaning" us off of his baseball. We didn't get to see him play for nine months, then we had three months of HS ball in the spring of 2019, and haven't seen him play since. This year, between a shortened spring season and simple lack of playing time due to competition at his position, we never saw him play any in college. And I'm OK with that. Though I thought I might be sad about this turn of the page, I'm surprisingly not and a portion of that is because it ended with my son having a great conversation with a very supportive head coach. I can't wait to see what he does now.

This site has been a tremendous resource in my nearly three years out here and I sincerely wish everyone who has seen, or will see, this thread well. I hope the somewhat loose chronicle of my son's timeline might help others who may experience any of it first-hand. I will check back in here from time to time to see what's going on but, if I don't get to as often as I intend, best of luck to everyone!

With everything you said and with Covid it is tough.  My son is also still trying to play after his injuries and surgery.  He found a great PT guy that got him back and finally this summer was able to throw from 3B to 1B.  Took him 10 to 15 AB's vs good college pitching to figure his timing out but finally did.  Didn't lose a year last year so technically has 2 years of baseball left but could graduate by summer.  I told him several times, "nothing wrong with just being a student" but he says he wants to keep playing.  We worked out a good bit these last 2 months since he has been home from Summer ball and I will be honest. With Covid the uncertainty would have made me give up by now.  So I applaud him for wanting to keep playing and my wife and I will do whatever we need to do to make sure we support him.  He left for a new D2 school last weekend and seems to be enjoying it so far.  Baseball has been lifting and working on the field so we will see.  Good luck to those working through injuries or just trying to keep playing.   

It seems hard at the moment baseball ends. My daughter got in four years. My son’s career ended in a doctor’s office in January of senior year. If you play you may not finish the season or walk properly again scared him. He opted for the second surgery. 

But you enjoy your kids will still do amazing things. The journey doesn’t end with baseball. 

Someone here once joked I could still go to the courtroom and watch my daughter compete. I must admit I get a thrill seeing her name in the paper when she gets a conviction on a major crime (murder, rape).

Once baseball was over my son commented at a large family Thanksgiving Day, “Damn! Now I’m as boring as the rest of you!” He’s done well. But analysis to save a corporation millions of dollars isn’t as exciting as playing college baseball. It does pay a lot better.

Then there’s grandkids (I’m still waiting). Comedian Jeff Allen once said grandkids are your reward for not killing your teenagers.

Hey Tequila,

Good to hear that everyone is in a good place with the way things are developing.  And your post provides some very real insight.  It's weird to think this way but i do feel that those in you and your son's situation are fortunate in many ways, seeing and being able to come to grips with the likely end of the baseball road.  We do, as you said, cherish the last  pages of that chapter more and are in a better mindset to begin the next.

Here's to the next chapter !!!  Best to you and son and do keep us informed.   Beyond just pulling for another great HSBBweb family member, hearing about the bigger and better things after baseball is also helpful to the community. 

@edcoach posted:

Thanks Tequila, im so sorry, but appreciate you sharing your story.  It's helping more people than youll ever know im sure.

Hi edcoach and thanks for the response and sentiment. Though I will miss seeing him on the field, there's no sorrow involved for me. In addition to everything else on his college plate, he's also doing AROTC so as baseball winds down he ramps up in another direction. I'm very much excited for his (and our) next chapter!

@cabbagedad posted:

So funny and just enough truth

In my generation we’re all businessmen, corporate and trust lawyers. Boring!

Being the oldest in my generation by eleven years my kids are the only ones of the kid’s generation out of K-12 to grad school. My daughter gets all the attention because she’s not boring. She’s a prosecutor. 

Echo-ing, thanks for all your input on this site over the years.  keewartson has surely had (more than) his share of injuries/surgeries, and more than once we thought it was the sudden end of the roller coaster ride of baseball.  I am so glad you are in a good place. 

There IS life after baseball....and some come back here to tell about it!  

As mentioned above baseball will end for everybody, some sooner than others.  Whether it ended in HS, college, or pros you have achieved what majority of others can only dream about.  I've said before baseball is a combination of talent, being a student of the game, work ethics and luck.  When son started playing in college I stopped praying/wishing he would get so many hits, win, error-free, etc.  Instead I would say a silent prayer for him, his teammates, and opposition to remain injury free.  As with everyone we've seen what injuries can do to alter a baseball future.  Luck (unlucky)  and destiny are things which you can't control.  Thanks Tequila for the update and wishing your son a great journey after baseball.

Thank you for sharing your experiences. My son is heading in for a very similar surgery this Friday and your notes over the 2 year period were very insightful. He is a 2023 pitcher and we have been told to expect him to be out for the full Junior season. Hopefully he will be able to recover in 12 months and will be able to showcase a bit in the fall of his senior year.

Thanks again.

Add Reply

×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×