Should HS coaches care about a players future goals?

I think that the response to your sons answer does mean that he cares.

Baseball is such a large part of a players day, you may not understand that now but you will remember this when he heads off to college baseball.  He can spend

more time at the game than in the classroom.

Why would anyone want to attend a program with a losing record if they had a choice?  Competitive players just don't see it that way.  Now if your son said, he wanted to attend the program to help make it better, that is totally understandable, but not caring about the record, I just don't understand.  JMO

If the school offers academically what he is looking for, and he doesn't care if he wins or loses, then  why not just attend school?

Cal Tech is a wonderful place and you gotta be darned proud of your son for aspiring to such incredible heights.  I do fully understand your son's feelings on this and I hope that his dreams will come true.

The coach just didn't know what he was saying...thats all I can imagine.

I had a young engineering intern in my office recently...a junior from a large Midwestern school...his GPA is 3.99 which means he got one A- in one class...all the rest A's.  He had another potential employer tell him his 'grades are too high' and that it must mean all he does is study.  What a foolish thing to say to a young 20-year old man.  (BTW, this kid is well rounded and the comment by the other employer was ridiculous).

Don't ever be dissuaded from such grand places as Cal Tech.  Thats better than making the big leagues in my world. 

I am not disagreeing with what you are saying about that particular school. What I am questioning is the statement about not caring about a programs record. 

Because he loves baseball and wants to play as long as he can, this does not always equate to winning or losing or wanting to play in the MLB. Of course he wants to win just not at the expense of a world class education if available.

Why would the past record mean anything for a HS Sophomore? Nobody knows what the future holds.

Dad, I could interpret the coaches comment a couple of ways.

One way would be that your son can compete in the classroom at Cal Tech, but the baseball experience won't be much different than what he is doing now in HS.

If that is along the lines of what the coach meant, it actually sounds accurate. Right now on the D3 message boards a number of SCIAC posters are commenting that the Cal Tech baseball team does not belong in the league and is just not close to competitive, with one poster suggesting they would struggle to compete in most HS leagues.

I could also interpret the comment that your son can indeed compete in the very best college classroom and the coach feels your son can compete in college baseball with some very good teams at very top academic schools, and challenging him that direction to open his options in the classroom and on the baseball field, because he has upside in both.

Either way, it sounds like a coach who could very much care about your son and his future in college and college baseball.

As a HS sophomore who is starting to look at college and college baseball, I would think the past record should be very important. Unless Cal Tech changes how they have approached college baseball for the last 15 or so years, your son would need to look at the situation and determine if it can be turned around or whether he will be satisfied, from a baseball perspective, with a program more likely continuing its current direction than any other.  The baseball at Cal Tech may be fine for your son, with the experience more than offset by the classroom experience and beyond. 

Better to look at all options first, though, I would think.

Wow! Just...wow! What a dips**t. I've often told my kid that if you are ever accepted to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, or Stanford, you just go. No questions to ask. I don't care if you're a top 5 draft pick - you go.

I would agree  the coach was telling your son his potential skill is at a higher level then Cal Tech. I have never seen Cal Tech play, but have heard about their understandably poor record....but then again, if he can get into Cal Tech, he'll have a lot of other excellent choices with schools that have quality teams. i.e. UCLA, Stanford, Cal, Cal Poly, UCSB, UCD, UCSD etc.. whether or not he can make or even play on those teams, is another question.   

Additionally, kid's change their mind all the time on this stuff, especially after they:

1.   have seen the team play

2.  talked to the coach

3.  talked to players on the team

4.  figured out how important playing college baseball is to them.

Good luck.

roothog66, I am not sure the second sentence was very necessary.

From what KauaiDad has posted, it sounds like his son is very talented in the classroom and on the baseball field.

As I perceived the question, it was Cal Tech with an understanding of the baseball program and experience being similar to a HS program,  or perhaps schools like Columbia and the Ivy's, for instance, with top academics and a chance for a very different and more challenging baseball experience.

Any coach that would say ANYTHING negative about a kid putting his academic priorities over his college baseball choice is exactly what I said he was.

Cal Tech is on the way up, man. They've won as many games this season alone as they have in the past 10. Of course, that's only one, but still, they broke that 228 game losing streak.

What he said!

I am a very firm believer always education first, but I also believe that one must be happy.  Because I know how much time is spent on baseball, you have to be happy, or it doesn't work, or it least would not have had for son.  Staying in the game as long as you can doesn't mean much if the player is not satisfied.

As far as your OP, should a coach care about a players futures goal, absolutely, and I still don't think his comment meant he didn't care, just was a little bit not too pc in his reply.

I would venture to say there have been hundreds, if not thousands, who have posted on this site over the years who openly stand for the view that it is okay in college for baseball to come first and academic fit someplace behind that. I am not in that group, but I am also not the parent of their son or living their situation.

I would never call them a dip#%^t and would not be inclined to lower the boom on this HS coach in the way you have.

From what KauaiDad is posting, it sounds like his son has already focused on what Cal Tech offers in the major he sees himself choosing. As he learns more about the baseball program and is able to balance that against his goals in college baseball, if any, he can make more solid choices, assuming of course that letters of acceptance are coming his way in a couple of years.

Just because the HS coach might feel the student-athlete could be selling himself way short on the athlete side does not equate to being a dip#%&t in my view, especially if Columbia and schools like that could be options.

K Dad,

Two things -

#1 -  we're all capable of inserting foot in mouth at any time, so maybe coach deserves a bit of slack.

#2   - He has a point.  If I remember correctly your son is a likely engineering major?  If so, pretty much every other top engineering school has a more successful baseball program, whether it's an Ivy like Cornell, a  big state school like Cal, or a big private school like Stanford.  Or even Harvey Mudd.  If your son is all that both on the field and in the classroom, maybe Tech would not be a good choice for him unless he was ready to focus on the academic side only.  (1-29 right now, BTW)

This the first timeI totally agree with you root! Well said

Thanks for all the opinions. The Kid is 15, although he has been laser focused on this for 3 years the kid still has lots of growing to do and priorities will undoubtedly evolve (Girls are not even in the picture yet). There are other schools he is interested in but it really is too early to pinpoint 1, but he does love Physics so his initial list of schools is focused around that not baseball.. I don't share much with him on what i see here but one post i did share was making sure that when you choose a school pretend that you could never play again and if you would still want to go to that school, i believe he has has paid attention to that comment.

Like every other dad on this forum i only want him to be happy with whatever he chooses, if that means going to a "non baseball school" so be it. Of course i would love him to play CF for the Yankees, but i also don't have a problem with him owning the Yankees one day :}

Reading through these opinions and knowing the coach in question im sure he was not trying to be a D, unfortunately he came off as one with the comment. Im playing golf this Saturday with all the coaches and im sure this will come up and then be squashed. 

I didn't interpret the response of the coach as putting baseball over academics, the comment he made under his breath was about the bb program.

"Of course i would love him to play CF for the Yankees, but i also don't have a problem with him owning the Yankees one day :}"

Love this, Kauai. Way to put it all in perspective in one snappy sentence.

Totally agree -- but saying it under his breath ... obviously loud enough for many to hear ... that's the part I'm not cool with. If you believe it, Coach, say it. If not, be quiet in that setting, and share your views with the young man or his parents later.