Specific college's of interest - When will my 2016 have an idea

BOF, 

Similar thing when it came to bed time.  2 or 3am was the norm.

Don't get me wrong we had time to party.  Similar stuff, there was a specific house near campus that was "passed down" every year to another set of Sr's on the team for rental.  This is where most of our socializing happened in season.  The major difference being it didn't start until we got home from a meet on Saturday and everyone got there.  Which means the party did not really get going until 1am or so.  We would then continue until mid morning Sunday and then crash.  

I also got really good at class scheduling classes.  I was able to work around practice, avoid classes before 10am and found a way to keep from having classes on Fridays or Mondays.  This meant a lot of night classes which were either filled with athletes or commuters.  

That type of scheduling will most likely not work for a baseball player.  But 5 day weekends sure sound fun!

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com

Thats the one advantage or running track, meets were mostly on Saturday or Friday-Saturday.

I think it's pretty common of these young kids to feel this way.  What you describe was similar to my son.  What really seemed to help a lot was when we were on a trip for baseball in an area where there were a lot of colleges (and many showing interest for my son).  We made specific plans to visit 8 of the colleges over 2 days and attended 4 games at 4 of the colleges (having invites to meet the coaches at the games).  Seeing the campuses and the playing fields and getting a better ideas of the differences one might experience between colleges, it helped him better determine what he wanted and what he didn't want in his college experience.  So, based on this experience, I might suggest getting him out to several colleges to help him see what he might or might like like.

Mine was similar. His dream schools showed zero interest. I was constantly talking with him about school types, locations and offerings/majors. Until he visited the campuses not much moved the needle. Once there it was about the coaches, then the facilities and campus/town. He wants to get his education but also has the goal to play MLB ball so that was a factor ....understanding who all had been drafted from that school etc. was key for him. In the end, the coaches and campus made a huge impact on him, along with the distance from home/southern (warm) playing location.....oh yeah the $10M they are pumping into the baseball stadium completed before his freshman year and new Nike baseball contract was pretty cool too.

Ditto here to. I think it is mostly that they do not understand the process and we want them to.

My sons first reality check was as a junior, hitting 90 brought about a lot of interest, serious interest to schools outside of our state.  His choice was narrowed down somewhat as the above post by Shoveit4Ks.  Lots of factors go into the decision, and everyone has their priorities.

I suggest this winter would be the prefect time to sit down and discuss the college recruitment process with him, begin a serious plan, if you need help, we are here.

First would be to understand where he might fit.  Has he a ranking, rating, and what are his grades. test scores?  Does he want to go far away from home or stay close?  These questions can help to identify and clarify his search.

I agree that it depends on your kid, and also on what baseball opportunities have or likely will arise.  My son is a pretty smart kid, but honestly, he is a baseball player first.  In some ways I wish it was different, but it's not.  Baseball is the determining factor for him, and he will decide where he wants to go largely based on that.  Thankfully, he is a good student too, so I feel he'll make the most of the university he chooses.  All kids and situations are different, and I don't believe you can have a one size fits all solution.  

Everyday Dad - I don't think your 16 years is much different than any other. My

2016 has been lacks about college. It has been a struggle at times to get him thinking about college, especially since he wants to play baseball.

To move the process, when he was a freshman I created a list of all the colleges in IN, MI, OH, KY and IL that play. We live in Indiana and he said he didn't have any interest going a long way from home. From that list we look at the schools with communications/journalism programs. And began to shorten the list. We got it down to 50 and then 25. And began to look closer at each of the schools. I made him choose different sizes rather and more than just D1.

Over the past year his major of interest has changed. He now looking at sports management. So we went back to the drawing board and created a new list of schools. Some schools came off and new ones went on.

His interest in college picked up this fall when a coach from a D3 reached out about visiting. It was a school that wasn't even on his radar but we had played on their field this summer and they saw him play. We scheduled a visit and he loved the school. We got some time with the coach. Since we have made two more visits at a D2 and another D3 school. He is finding out things he likes at each of them. Coach, major requirements, location. We are going to make additional weekend visits before baseball starts in March.

My advice is keeping moving forward. As long as your not the one reaching out to the coaches doing the research and checking schools on the internet will allow him to concentrate on school and baseball.

Everyday Dad,

I would say that a large majority of kids have your son's mentality in regards to colleges of interest.  Bsbl247-son knew that he wanted to play at a high level baseball school, and he wanted to stay on the west coast, but that was about it.  We made a list of twenty or so schools, and sent emails expressing his interest to the Head/Recruiting coaches that included his upcoming schedules.  In addition, he participated in several college camps and played on a competitive travel team.  He and I attended approximately 30 collegiate games during his recruitment journey...not only to check out the various campuses, but to gauge his ability to the programs he was interested in.  

I skimmed through the thread, and there are some great responses from parents that have been on this journey with their kids.  I apologize if I missed it, but what level does your son have aspirations to play?  And...what level is he currently playing at (high level travel, local, etc...)?  Is he receiving any love from universities in your area? (I believe you stated that he prefers to play outside your state?) Has he started sending emails to potential schools?  

Motivation? There is nothing wrong with helping your son get started with the process and steering him in the right direction, IMO.  Most kids want some guidance, they're still teenagers and aren't sure what they're doing next week, let alone what they'll be doing a couple years in the future.  If you help him get the ball rolling, and he's still not "motivated", then he'll be answering the question for you.

When does it Click?  For my son, it was when he realized that he had the talent to play at the schools on his short list, which was his junior year...about where your son is now.  Fast Forward to present day, and he's an academic senior (red-shirt JR) at a very good university and on track to graduate with a degree in Criminology.  And...you know what?  He's still not sure what he's going to do with that degree. 

As the OP of this thread I fast forward to now.

Made some headway on this without nagging

After reading back on this, we are exactly at the above scenario bballman describes

Wants the big school college experience, yet knows he won't be able to play there.

Everyday 2016 made the comment himself sadly, which indicates he still loves to play.

At least he's starting to figure some things out and will have to weigh the pros and cons.

Has a scheduled major D1 camp visit and tour this weekend.

Things will continue to get clearer. Long way to go yet. To be continued.

Everyday Dad,

I've been following this thread but reserving comment.   You are doing the right things.  I know it is very tough to sit on the sidelines and watch your son possibly miss out on an opportunity.  Midlo's first post is spot on in IMHO, and that goes for all walks of life.

My wife and I went through a similiar situation as you with our middle son (current college soph).  He had some opportunities to play in college (D3) or go to a large university to study engineering.  He likes baseball alot and misses it.  However everything he's ever done has always been on his terms otherwise he won't do it.  Fortunately or unfortunetley college baseball was not going to work on his terms.  I think he began to realize that college baseball was not going to be on his terms and his professional future was through his studies.  He considered club baseball at the large University, but he now realizes he doesn't have the time between his studies, part-time jobs, internships, etc...He found his path.

As the application dates rolled around his high schooll senior year he had to make some hard choices.   My best suggestion is to help him understand those choices, and then let him put together the pros/cons and then decide.  Trust your son's judgement to make the right decision for him.  If there is one time where I saw my middle son grow up over night it was that moment when he decided to apply ED to the large University.

Good luck!

Great post Fenway!

Everydad Dad,

For many many players, the idea of playing at a very big D1 program in any sport is what they think that they want.

I am going to tell you that it is NOT for everyone. And that is why some players get offered and others don't. The coaches try to identify early who they think will be mature enough to handle what is put on their plate and I can tell you that unless you have been there, you might not understand.  Over the years many parents have emailed me that their son would like to play at BIG D1U and very few if any really get there. There is so much more that goes into the process than we can imagine.

Coaches miss sometimes but that is why so many ask specific ones to commit.  There are just not a lot of players that may fit their program.  Remember its not just about the right fit for the player, but for the coaches program as well.

This is in no way an attempt to say that your son cannot get the job done at one of these programs, but I just wanted you to understand the difficulty of the process.

If he really wants to play in college, there are many many options other than D1 programs.  IMO I would much rather son go to a D2 or NAIA rather than some of the struggling D1 programs.

Continue to seek out all options and good luck.  And keep in mind that because you and he feel everyone around you is committing, that is not the way it really is for most. He has all spring and summer and fall in front of him.

Good luck, hang in there.  If your son really wants to do it, he can, but HE has to want it more than you!