recruiting question pt 2

mombaseball555,

Sorry that your previous thread took a very serious detour. Thanks for sharing your progress and please keep us updated. This is a very exciting time. Your exactly right as many kids grow up quickly when they are making adult decisions.

Congratulations to your son for getting an offer, especially one which is interesting to him.

Congratulations! In my limited experience, I can only add a few things.

My son went to a school that wanted him, but in perhaps some areas was not a good "fit". Ultimately, the closeness of the baseball team and the professionalism of the coaches won him over. Yet, I've seen players leave their "dream" team after a very short time.

I don't know the secret, but it starts with players (and parents) having realistic expectations. Unfortunately, the no transfer rule creates such high stakes, it's hard to always remain calm.

Good Luck. :-)

55;
That is an outstanding post. My son too is at a school where the baseball team/coach wanted him, but otherwise was not a natural choice. The mutual dedication and respect he has in this relationship has exceeded his expectations at this unlikely fit. Too often we hear the advice - would you go here if you didn't play baseball? We believe it's terrific if you go here BECAUSE you PLAY baseball!

It's terrific that your son has had a positive experience; but, the fact that he has doesn't discredit the advice that, if possible, a player should strive to attend a college where he fits both the baseball program and the school, itself.

Since advice like that is necessarily a generalization, it relates to probabilities rather than certainty. There will be some who do the best they can to find a good fit in all respects and still find once they get there that it's not the best place for them. There will also be players like your son who concentrate on the baseball decision and find that it works out well.

An effort to find the best all-around fit is about lessening the risk associated with the decision. It's easy to lose sight of or minimize the prospect that things will change radically after a player has gone to college; radically enough that it makes baseball untenable... but, it happens. Career-ending injury and wholesale coaching change come to mind readily as causes.

Because of this, if I were on the front end of the investigation and decision process, I'd do my level best to do my homework and try to find the best combination of baseball and school.

quote:

Originally posted by gamefan:
55;
That is an outstanding post. My son too is at a school where the baseball team/coach wanted him, but otherwise was not a natural choice. The mutual dedication and respect he has in this relationship has exceeded his expectations at this unlikely fit. Too often we hear the advice - would you go here if you didn't play baseball? We believe it's terrific if you go here BECAUSE you PLAY baseball!

Similar experience and I agree. He will likely enter Graduate School elsewhere but the baseball experience was what he expected and more.

I had intended to reply to the original thread, but it closed before I had a chance.

Mom- I wanted to pass this along to you.

My son pursued his "dream" school until the bitter end, when they (despite having told him that they "loved" him all along) let him know that he was not in their recruiting plans. He was devastated, but picked himself up and rapidly expanded his list of alternatives.

My advice:

1. Your son must realize and accept how good he is, or rather, how good he is not. This will help narrow his choices to "real" choices.

2. Understand your son's baseball, academic, and career needs (and capabilities), and weight each appropriately when making a choice. For example, my son informed me that he believed he NEEDED to play baseball in order to be successful academically. He felt that in the absence of the structured schedule, tutoring support, etc. that come along with baseball, he would be at risk academically.

3. Consider that playing on the field for 4 years might be better than sitting the bench for two years at the "dream" school.

4. It is always better to go where they "WANT" you verses going where they will "TAKE" you.

5. Stay in touch with the interested schools. Send them an email with a simple "I'm still interested" statement, send them your updated high school playing stats on occasion, ask them a question about their program, or ask them for recruiting advice.

6. Don't fret too much about staying in regular touch with the interested schools. In the end, if they really want your son, they will relentlessly track him down.

My son ended up signing with a small D1 school that he had never even heard of until they rang the phone one random evening. He researched the school, visited the campus, met with the coacing staff, spent time with the players, and eventually fell in love with the school and the baseball program there.

Retriever Dad, good post and welcome to the site!