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It'll be a little different for us this year.  The D2 university son was at did not renew his scholarship (his grades slipped) so he decided to go back to the junior college and get his AA (he was a few credits shy when he transferred to the 4 year university) before he goes on to different university (that's the plan anyway).  So officially he hung up his cleats, but he's listed as a "student assistant" (volunteer coach) for the JuCo.

It won't quite be the same, but I'm glad he's keeping his hand in the sport he loves.

 

I should add the D2 university coach still wanted him, but couldn't offer any money.

Last edited by FoxDad

Not to throw a wet rag on this conversation. This will unfortunately be the first spring I will not get to watch my son play baseball since he was 5. He was recovering from ulnar nerve transposition surgery this past September. Everything was going well until last Monday. He threw his first bullpen from the mound and felt a pop. A MRI confirmed out worst fears, torn UCL. I am sitting in his apartment waiting for tomorrow when the TJ surgery is scheduled. 

I wish all of your sons a healthy spring. Never take a single inning for granted. You never know when it will be over. We are hoping for the best, but I'm never again going to take anything for granted.  The next 12 months will likely be the longest of my life.

Son is in good spirits, all things considered. He was pretty upset for the first couple of days. After a couple conversations with his head coach and surgeon he completely changed his attitude and realized that everything happens for a reason. He said he is just ready to get the surgery over with and get to work on the rehab.  

younggun posted:

Not to throw a wet rag on this conversation. This will unfortunately be the first spring I will not get to watch my son play baseball since he was 5. He was recovering from ulnar nerve transposition surgery this past September. Everything was going well until last Monday. He threw his first bullpen from the mound and felt a pop. A MRI confirmed out worst fears, torn UCL. I am sitting in his apartment waiting for tomorrow when the TJ surgery is scheduled. 

I wish all of your sons a healthy spring. Never take a single inning for granted. You never know when it will be over. We are hoping for the best, but I'm never again going to take anything for granted.  The next 12 months will likely be the longest of my life.

Son is in good spirits, all things considered. He was pretty upset for the first couple of days. After a couple conversations with his head coach and surgeon he completely changed his attitude and realized that everything happens for a reason. He said he is just ready to get the surgery over with and get to work on the rehab.  

That's a bummer.  I really wish your son luck with this.

Good luck tomorrow and Merry Christmas!

younggun posted:

Not to throw a wet rag on this conversation. This will unfortunately be the first spring I will not get to watch my son play baseball since he was 5. He was recovering from ulnar nerve transposition surgery this past September. Everything was going well until last Monday. He threw his first bullpen from the mound and felt a pop. A MRI confirmed out worst fears, torn UCL. I am sitting in his apartment waiting for tomorrow when the TJ surgery is scheduled. 

I wish all of your sons a healthy spring. Never take a single inning for granted. You never know when it will be over. We are hoping for the best, but I'm never again going to take anything for granted.  The next 12 months will likely be the longest of my life.

Son is in good spirits, all things considered. He was pretty upset for the first couple of days. After a couple conversations with his head coach and surgeon he completely changed his attitude and realized that everything happens for a reason. He said he is just ready to get the surgery over with and get to work on the rehab.  

Sorry YG! All the best to you and YG Jr. Injuries suck! Continue to encourage him, reflect on the journey and hope for the future. Prayers your way!

FoxDad posted:

It'll be a little different for us this year.  The D2 university son was at did not renew his scholarship (his grades slipped) so he decided to go back to the junior college and get his AA (he was a few credits shy when he transferred to the 4 year university) before he goes on to different university (that's the plan anyway).  So officially he hung up his cleats, but he's listed as a "student assistant" (volunteer coach) for the JuCo.

It won't quite be the same, but I'm glad he's keeping his hand in the sport he loves.

 

I should add the D2 university coach still wanted him, but couldn't offer any money.

Fox, sorry to hear about the re-route.  Really great that he is able to jump right in to the coaching gig, though.  Keep us in the loop with how that goes.  That will provide him with a whole new set of baseball challenges! 

younggun posted:

Not to throw a wet rag on this conversation...

YG so sorry to hear about that.  I feel your pain.  We'll all be pulling for a successful process and rehab for him. 

It is good to hear that HC has been involved. 

FWIW, when cabbage lost his first college year to surgery, it was a big hurdle to get past the actual procedure.  That seemed to trigger a more tangible countdown to recovery.  Still, the wait between procedure and first date of therapy was a particularly tough period.  Another player who recently had a similar experience found that detailed planning of good reads, career research and other things he COULD do helped considerably.

 

Last edited by cabbagedad

As a parent of a freshman this year, the Spring 2016 season brings on a lot of excitement as well as the unknown.   Moving from a High School & Travel Ball veteran parent to being a "newbie" again!  Trying to meet upperclass parents who already know everybody, understanding the little nuances of attending games like where are you supposed to park, what to bring, do we get to see the players after games on the road, etc.  But the excitement of seeing our son work to earn a spot on the field at this next level is very exciting!  65 Days until Opening Day!

Sorry to read that younggun - hopefully your son can come back.  Hard to go cold turkey though!  My oldest did the transposition when he was like 14 or 15 and was able to throw/pitch again in HS. While recovering he helped coach my youngest son's minor division team... Funny to seem him throw BP with the other arm...  When my youngest was 14 or 15 he had the decompression surgery...  Now he's on the shelf again after having labrum repair surgery this past September (90% tear, anterior).  He just "threw" for the first time the other day... Well really not throw - more like elbow on glove and flick the ball using just the forearm - 25 times at 25 feet.  Only another 30-40 weeks of rehab.

wow, I hate to hear about the injuries and other reasons players aren't going to be on the field this spring. Just last night a neighbor, former HS teammate of my son and a D2 conference foe, was in the basement. He just got the sling off from a shoulder labrum tear and is already out for the season.

Younggun the best of luck to your son, Foxdad I was hoping to see your son play at next years regional, the best to him in his travels down the coaching road.

Sons team is only 45 days to the opener.

After a 2015 run to the D2 world Series and end of season ranking of #4 its hard to expect to top that. The team lost some key players due to graduation. But after watching some fall scrimmages I don't see much of a drop off in talent. They may have gotten stronger with the addition of some transfers.   7 of the top 8 pitchers return and a redshirt that was one of the top 4 pitchers from two seasons ago returns healthy. 

my son will be a RS-Jr this year, he will be graduating with a biology degree this spring. I am not sure the exact direction he is going with that, his intent is to go into the medical field. If he returns for a 5th year he will also get a sports medicine degree before hitting the post graduate grind.  Last year was his first year as a starter, he was the closer the previous year. Except for a mid season bout with the flu that kicked his butt for a couple weeks he had a pretty good season.

The best of luck to all for the upcoming season. May all of the players stay healthy and the parents get to attend every game!

 

younggun posted:

Not to throw a wet rag on this conversation. This will unfortunately be the first spring I will not get to watch my son play baseball since he was 5. He was recovering from ulnar nerve transposition surgery this past September. Everything was going well until last Monday. He threw his first bullpen from the mound and felt a pop. A MRI confirmed out worst fears, torn UCL. I am sitting in his apartment waiting for tomorrow when the TJ surgery is scheduled. 

I wish all of your sons a healthy spring. Never take a single inning for granted. You never know when it will be over. We are hoping for the best, but I'm never again going to take anything for granted.  The next 12 months will likely be the longest of my life.

Son is in good spirits, all things considered. He was pretty upset for the first couple of days. After a couple conversations with his head coach and surgeon he completely changed his attitude and realized that everything happens for a reason. He said he is just ready to get the surgery over with and get to work on the rehab.  

I am so sorry to hear that Young Gun!  Fingers Crossed for a speedy recovery!

younggun posted:

Not to throw a wet rag on this conversation. This will unfortunately be the first spring I will not get to watch my son play baseball since he was 5. He was recovering from ulnar nerve transposition surgery this past September. Everything was going well until last Monday. He threw his first bullpen from the mound and felt a pop. A MRI confirmed out worst fears, torn UCL. I am sitting in his apartment waiting for tomorrow when the TJ surgery is scheduled. 

I wish all of your sons a healthy spring. Never take a single inning for granted. You never know when it will be over. We are hoping for the best, but I'm never again going to take anything for granted.  The next 12 months will likely be the longest of my life.

Son is in good spirits, all things considered. He was pretty upset for the first couple of days. After a couple conversations with his head coach and surgeon he completely changed his attitude and realized that everything happens for a reason. He said he is just ready to get the surgery over with and get to work on the rehab.  

I am glad I dropped in to read but not glad to hear the news. 

Sending you a pm.

Approaching this season with uncertainty.

Son is a redshirt senior recovering from shoulder surgery. He just started throwing a few pitches from a mound at half speed, and it's too early to project whether he will pitch this season.

We're excited about the team, which surged last year from its perennial spot in the cellar of their conference to a 35-win season and second place finishes in both the regular season and conference tournament.  They return a senior-laden team that lost only two starting position players to graduation last year.

Son wants to be part of taking the next step with his buddies, but he also knows he has only one season left and doesn't want to pitch until he is truly ready. If he can't pitch this season, there might be a next year: the school compliance officer thinks he could get a hardship waiver, and the coaches say they'd have some scholarship money, though not as much as he's been getting.

He completed his graduation requirements this week, but didn't file to graduate. He will take courses this spring to round out his information systems degree with certificates in networking, web development, and cybersecurity.  Cybersecurity went from an afterthought to his primary vocational interest this past semester--one good professor can have that effect. If he can't play this year, he'll apply for a masters program when the school applies for his hardship waiver.

At this point, he doesn't know what is possible as far as playing this spring, and he's not even sure what he should be hoping for. So he's just working, and we're just waiting.

Son is a freshman at a D1.  Didn't get to play any IF in the fall....just pitched and DH'd.  Had his "meeting" with the pitching coach after the fall and was given some very interesting info....more than we had expected.  Depending on how things go when they get back after the holidays, his role could end up being a lot bigger than he had thought for his freshman year.  Hopefully he'll get back, have a good month and get the news he's hoping for as the season starts

Swamp, yes, uncertainty for your son but he found his career path and is still in position to enjoy the ride just a while longer one way or another - win, win!!!

For my son, I find myself looking back as I look forward.  Going into his RS Jr year, he seems to have already had the full breadth of experiences... a lost year to injury, good Falls, a bad Fall, nearly 200 teammates being cut, a year of earning PT, an all-conference year, three "recruiting" phases and three HC's. 

What could possibly be next?? 

I'm sure the story, for each of our boys here at HSBBW, could be a book.  I'm excited to see how it plays out for him and proud regardless.

PS - I'm sitting here reading Cabbage's calendar schedule provided by his coach for now until first game Feb 5.  Well, he does have Christmas Day and New Years day off

 

Son's team (Wright State) was in the "got votes" category. Reality of mid major D1, gotta win the league tournament. Playing some teams in the same category early for a series (Georgia and NC State)  and a mid week game with Louisville.

Last year we played several early series with top 10 / 20 teams and did well. Won a game in each series and lead / tied late in all but one of them. It definitely helped the team confidence. Hopefully we can do the same this year.

65 days until "play ball"  

The NCAA standard for D1 student-athletes to be eligible is based on the school's individual minimum GPA for graduation and how many years of school the athlete has completed.

Thus, there is no minimum GPA for a freshman to play in the spring of his first year. A freshman who was a qualifier out of high school only has to meet the NCAA standard of completing 6 credit hours for the fall term to play in the spring.

For subsequent years, their cumulative GPA must be at least 90 percent of the institution’s minimum overall grade-point average necessary to graduate by the beginning of year two, 95 percent of the minimum graduation GPA by year three and 100 percent by year four. So if the school will let you graduate with a 2.0 GPA, you can play as a sophomore with a 1.8 GPA going into your sophomore year.

Academic progress rates don't kick in until the end of the second year.

It's possible the school or the conference may have stricter rules.

 

Last edited by Swampboy
Swampboy posted:

The NCAA standard for D1 student-athletes to be eligible is based on the school's individual minimum GPA for graduation and how many years of school the athlete has completed.

Thus, there is no minimum GPA for a freshman to play in the spring of his first year. A freshman who was a qualifier out of high school only has to meet the NCAA standard of completing 6 credit hours for the fall term to play in the spring.

For subsequent years, their cumulative GPA must be at least 90 percent of the institution’s minimum overall grade-point average necessary to graduate by the beginning of year two, 95 percent of the minimum graduation GPA by year three and 100 percent by year four. So if the school will let you graduate with a 2.0 GPA, you can play as a sophomore with a 1.8 GPA going into your sophomore year.

Academic progress rates don't kick in until the end of the second year.

It's possible the school or the conference may have stricter rules.

 

Thanks! Good info to be equipped with going forward.

BK_Razorback posted:
Swampboy posted:

The NCAA standard for D1 student-athletes to be eligible is based on the school's individual minimum GPA for graduation and how many years of school the athlete has completed.

Thus, there is no minimum GPA for a freshman to play in the spring of his first year. A freshman who was a qualifier out of high school only has to meet the NCAA standard of completing 6 credit hours for the fall term to play in the spring.

For subsequent years, their cumulative GPA must be at least 90 percent of the institution’s minimum overall grade-point average necessary to graduate by the beginning of year two, 95 percent of the minimum graduation GPA by year three and 100 percent by year four. So if the school will let you graduate with a 2.0 GPA, you can play as a sophomore with a 1.8 GPA going into your sophomore year.

Academic progress rates don't kick in until the end of the second year.

It's possible the school or the conference may have stricter rules.

 

Thanks! Good info to be equipped with going forward.

Most schools have higher guidelines for GPA than required by the NCAA as well as academic progress rates. Make sure you understand the schools requirements.

Picked Off posted:

#1BBALLMOMFAN

I remember it well, very emotional once that day arrives. All the hard work and now your sitting there watching him standing in line for the national anthem.

Good luck, enjoy the moment! 

#20

 

Gee, can't seem to pick him out from the crowd.  Haha.  Happy Holidays to you and your family!  I hear the boys think we broke up.  Looking forward to February.  Tell your son to stay at the other end of the line.  I got cabbage some lifts for Christmas but I'm thinking it won't help much.

Last edited by cabbagedad
#1bballmomfan posted:

Its about to get real......1 month from today is sonnyboy's first collegiate game.  Not sure how much playing time he will get if any being a freshman..... but excited none the less.  Can't wait to cheer on the team whether he is on the bench or the field. 

Yup, five weeks for junior.  After a very busy fall, he was glad to come home for some rest and doing a whole lot of nothing over Christmas break.  I think that lasted about three hours...  

He has played football, basketball, several trips to airport to pick up other friends home from school, "friend gatherings" almost every night, helped a few times with my HS squad, daily workout prescribed by school, hit in the cage almost daily, ugly Xmas sweater parties, traveled in several directions to see family for Holidays, selling stuff on ebay to earn money for summer ball and most recently, a bunch of the guys decided to go shoot shotguns (and other assorted firearms).  

I have a family heirloom shotgun that was his great grandfather's.   His name was Carl and he was a machinist so his name was engraved on the shotgun.  I reluctantly let son take it out.  It hadn't seen the light of day for over ten years and that was only briefly to scare away the first boy wanting to date my daughter. By the end of the day, the boys had a favorite gun of choice.  Carl. 

At least he didn't go snowboarding this year.  Yet.  His mother wishes he was a bit more of a bubble wrap kid. 

Best wishes to your son, #1bballmomfan and everyone else looking forward to opening day!

Last edited by cabbagedad

Son has thoroughly taken full advantage of just being home for the holidays and relaxing.  We went to our deer lease for a few days then he followed that up with eating, sleeping, working out, spending time with his siblings playing xbox and playing cards, little more xbox, hitting the cages and fields several times a week....eats more and just being a carefree college student .  LOL Love having him home.  I know he's anxious to get back and get into some dirt though. Seems just like yesterday when he picked that big barrel bat up for the first time, when the glove was the size of a cooking mit and his pants swallowed him up to now being so grown up.  Some of the best years of our lives as parents watching him navigate and learn about life and it's ups and downs....and it seems to only be getting better. College has agreed with him so far and that makes a mamma's heart happy.  Baseball has just  been the icing on the cake for him.  I'm gearing up and getting ready for a new chapter and watching some college baseball.  Can't imagine it should feel differently sitting in that stand as any other, but somehow I imagine it does. 

Last edited by #1bballmomfan
fenwaysouth posted:

Enjoy it as much as you can.  It will be a very memorable event especially for the new starters and freshmen.  For my son's first appearance, we took lots of pictures but I really wish we had taken some video in addition.   Good luck!

Took care of that...hubs bought me a new zoom lens for the good old camera.  Best present in the world to me so that I can capture those once in a lifetime moments and videos.  Now if I can just figure it out before the first game.  So many settings and functions.  ANY PHOTO EXPERTS out there willing to give advice????

I am! send me a PM with your questions. Or start a new thread and we can give everyone on the board some photo advice. I worked for newspapers for 25 years and now have my own photography business. Photograph many of my son's games (2017RHP) but also try to enjoy the games and pick one time to take photos and other times just to watch and be a mom. Lighting, composition and speed are what you need to work out to get the sharpest, well-composed photos. And think about multiple photos that tell a story.

Loving this thread, as our son navigates the college recruitment landscape this year, it's exciting to read about your sons in college.

Many thanks & Happy New Year!

#1bballmomfan posted:

Son has thoroughly taken full advantage of just being home for the holidays and relaxing.  We went to our deer lease for a few days then he followed that up with eating, sleeping, working out, spending time with his siblings playing xbox and playing cards, little more xbox, hitting the cages and fields several times a week....eats more and just being a carefree college student .  LOL Love having him home.  I know he's anxious to get back and get into some dirt though. Seems just like yesterday when he picked that big barrel bat up for the first time, when the glove was the size of a cooking mit and his pants swallowed him up to now being so grown up.  Some of the best years of our lives as parents watching him navigate and learn about life and it's ups and downs....and it seems to only be getting better. College has agreed with him so far and that makes a mamma's heart happy.  Baseball has just  been the icing on the cake for him.  I'm gearing up and getting ready for a new chapter and watching some college baseball.  Can't imagine it should feel differently sitting in that stand as any other, but somehow I imagine it does. 

I see that you live in Texas and so does Redfishfool.   He is always talking about going to the deer lease!

Players report in 4 days. They were just told  to make sure to bring sleeping bags with them so that they can camp out in the gym for three nights and four days.  They begin the campaign by eating, sleeping, learning the system, working out and practicing together for the first few  days back before school starts. Now that's taking the idea of training camp pretty literally. 

School and official practice starts today. He has been there since December 27th, though being close he did pop in often to the homestead. As far as I can tell most everyone who was not in dorm was back about a week ago. I know I have 15 different players at my house since then to feed off and on .

Grocery budget took a good whacking in last week

39 days 2 hours 47 minutes until first pitch

My Son's Spring Practice started at 5:30 this morning!  First game is Superbowl weekend so it should be cold/rainy in McMinnville, Or!  His school (Linfield) is ranked #10 in pre season.  They lost some pitching to graduation but have some good arms coming up!  Offense should keep getting better with only a handful of graduates leaving and a strong group of Sophomores that got alot of playing time on Varsity last year.  My Son will probably spend another year as a Utility player, which is awesome getting to play multiple positions!  May even pitch a little, can't wait! 

Have to share.........just got the call from a super excited young man that during their scrimmage he dropped his first college bomb of 380+ against a pretty descent pitcher.  Son said pitcher took it well and congratulated him for taking advantage of his ill placement.  In 2 weeks is "GO" day.    Little brother starts his select ball next week so ready or not here comes the best time of the year!!!!!!!!!!!

Dropped the son off last week for Spring Training.  Then the wife and I went and enjoyed the So Cal sunshine and beaches for a few days.  Stopped in to say hi and take the kid to lunch on the drive back home.   Pretty clear it's going to be tough to get much playing time.  The team kept 13 outfielders in toto.    2 seniors, 5 juniors, 1 sophomore and 5 frosh  (though one of he frosh is hurt and can't throw right now but can bat, so that's really 4 and a potential DH, I guess).    Definitely looks like the frosh are all headed for JV squad  this year.  7 of the 8 upperclassmen are returning varsity outfielders  and one is a junior  JC transfer.  Two of the returners saw  almost no  PT last year when the varsity carried a mere  7 OF.  If they carry all 8 of the upperclassmen, there will be even less to go around.    Tough odds.  Very crowded OF.  Kid says that they can all play too and that a number of the bench guys would be starting on other teams in the league.   On the bright side,  my kid seems to be playing his butt off.  But  man, that's a lot of competition!  

Last edited by SluggerDad
JCG posted:

That's just crazy.  Seems kind of selfish too for the coaches to stockpile so many players.  I know it's a business, but that is cold.

Yeah, it left me wondering how typical this is for a D3 with a JV program.  There are something like 40-42 players on the total roster between JV and Varsity.  Still 13 OF seems on the high side, though. 

Last edited by SluggerDad

Questions that need to be asked in the 1st interview. SSU or SRJC is no different. 100 players "trying" out in the Fall only  30 will have active participation in practice and games.

At MSU, there was a Freshman team, 100 players "tried out", only 5 played 3 years later on the Varsity in the College World Series.

Question:  JV or "red shirt" or transfer.

Bob

Goodwill Series and Area Code 1983-2016

Sometimes it depends on the league. The OAC almost every team is in the 40's. In my faborite, the NCAC is usually carries in the 30's. Denison since Deegan has taken over may carry the lowest roster size. The HCAC is similar to the OAC. Bluffton carries in the 50's. But Bluffton neber cuts a player. There are players on team that know that they will never see the field. (Thanks to jboss for his info there). Mount Union in the OAC does the same thing.

BishopLeftiesDad posted:

Sometimes it depends on the league. The OAC almost every team is in the 40's. In my faborite, the NCAC is usually carries in the 30's. Denison since Deegan has taken over may carry the lowest roster size. The HCAC is similar to the OAC. Bluffton carries in the 50's. But Bluffton neber cuts a player. There are players on team that know that they will never see the field. (Thanks to jboss for his info there). Mount Union in the OAC does the same thing.

40+ or even 50 WITHOUT fielding a JV team?  Wow! 

Son's first year at JuCo there was 55 or so during the fall season.  When asked the coach said not to worry, he won't have to make cuts.  They'll self cut by spring.  Sure enough, a few became ineligible due to grades, some injured (redshirt) and the rest self cut (quit).  Come spring the roster was at 35.

Additionally by the last month the active roster was down to 28 or so as more quit due to lack of playing time, grades and I think maybe one or two injuries.

SluggerDad posted:
BishopLeftiesDad posted:

Sometimes it depends on the league. The OAC almost every team is in the 40's. In my faborite, the NCAC is usually carries in the 30's. Denison since Deegan has taken over may carry the lowest roster size. The HCAC is similar to the OAC. Bluffton carries in the 50's. But Bluffton neber cuts a player. There are players on team that know that they will never see the field. (Thanks to jboss for his info there). Mount Union in the OAC does the same thing.

40+ or even 50 WITHOUT fielding a JV team?  Wow! 

Not sure anout JV, if there is they do not play many games.

Wife and I are just trying to learn the freshman ropes and excited too see what playing time and contributions son can make to help his team this spring. They say "adversity doesn't build character but reveals it" and his path to get to this point has been filled with one roadblock after another. I'm not sure how I would've handled it but he has with the heart and desire of a true champion. 

Between his freshman and sophomore year of high school he experienced elbow pain during summer ball. His forearm would tighten and his bicep would contract. After 6 months of doctor visits, MRI, nerve tests and rehabs, it was diagnosed as a pinched nerve in his shoulder. At one point we thought we were headed for Thorasic Outlet surgery. Thankfully we live near one of the best in the country for this and he said surgery was unwarranted. He pitched pain free and with a loose arm his sophomore year and through district play of his junior year. In the third round of the playoffs, in the 6th inning of the game, after a fastball on a 1-1 count, he toed the rubber but looked uncomfortable. I saw him twitch his arm slightly and knew immediately it was his elbow. As many on here know,  it's the sickest feeling a parent can have. He signaled for the pitching coach but the coach just thought he wanted another pitched called. When he realized the coach didn't understand, he started to walk off the mound and collapsed in pain. He didn't rupture his ligament, he tore it completely off the bone. This was in middle May of '14. He had surgery in June of '14 to repair and we opted to do reconstructive surgery at the same time. Yes, he now has 2 ligaments in his arm. The doctor said his original was surprisingly healthy with little scar tissue and had pulled cleanly off the bone. Hindsight, his arm had tightened up in the first round of the playoffs (shoulder nerve again) and he didn't tell anyone about it. He learned an unfortunate lesson that the pronator muscles are important to provide support and stability to the elbow and...... communicate. 

Now he had 14 offers from D1 schools, 12 from power 5 conferences. He had committed to a high academic P5 school although there was one school that had really caught his attention that I thought he would never consider. He really loved the coaching staff and especially the pitching coach but thought the opportunity to play baseball and get an education from the high academic trumped that. 

A month to the day after his arm surgery, he had an emergency appendectomy. Two weeks before signing day, the school pulled his offer. Third punch in the gut. After the other schools found out about this, most contacted him to see if he was still interested? Only the one school he loved didn't. We found back channels to let them know he was available and they called him to gauge his interest. They still wanted him and everything worked out, hurrah!

After finishing his rehab in mid October, he started his throwing portion at the end of October. Because the original ligament was still healthy and reattached, it was thought he might be able to return mid season of his senior year. His throwing portion started uneventful, in fact, it was quite amazing. In April of '15, he was suppose to start ramping up his bullpens and the ball was jumping out of his hand. Unfortunately, he kept complaining about a tugging in his elbow. He kept asking, "do you think I have scar tissue in there. We're now at the end of May and doctor visits and an MRI later, he's scheduled for ulnar nerve transposition surgery. So in June of '15 he has the surgery. Doc tells us he had a "spider web" of scar tissue around the nerve. 

After all this, things work out for a reason and he heads to school in July. The "reason", he is on campus with one of the best if not arguably the best pitching coach in college baseball. They bring him along slowly and when he eventually throws his first bullpen, the coach tells him he's seen enough, he doesn't need to rush into fall ball and says he will play a major roll in the spring. He eventually has a limited, quiet but strong late fall. 

Sorry but we're not done. :-) Right before Thanksgiving, he starts complaining about what sounds like a hernia. It only bothers him when he lifts and runs but not throwing. I say, welcome to the family, I had one, your uncle, grandad and great grandfather all had them. Only thing is, he had no protrusion. They want to keep him on a throwing program even though the rest of the staff is shut down because they are trying to build up his arm strength. 2 ultrasounds and an MRI later, it's discovered he has a sports hernia. Now originally, we were told they thought they could manage it through the season, but the pitching coach had a different idea. He didn't want him to have to worry about it during the season and when and if he would hurt. So, we found a specialist and he had surgery on Dec. 28th. He threw all the way up to surgery and will start throwing again lightly this Friday. 

Through this whole ordeal, nothing has made us prouder than watching him grow as a young man and his resiliency and determination will carry him far. 

So......here's cautiously and optimistically hoping it's all behind him and praying he can just do what he so passionately loves!

Last edited by AGDAD19
FoxDad posted:

Son's first year at JuCo there was 55 or so during the fall season.  When asked the coach said not to worry, he won't have to make cuts.  They'll self cut by spring.  Sure enough, a few became ineligible due to grades, some injured (redshirt) and the rest self cut (quit).  Come spring the roster was at 35.

Heh, funny....this sounds exactly like my son's juco, same situation.  Looks like the spring roster is currently at 40.

Season starts in 13 days....woot! 

So......here's cautiously and optimistically hoping it's all behind him and praying he can just do what he so passionately loves!

AGDAD19 - If this were a competition, your son would probably be in the lead for comebacks.  Good luck and hopefully the decks are cleared for the rest of his career.  I've still got about 24 months to go before my 2017 gets his shot and I am hoping for a much less eventful two years.  

Please give us an update as the season progresses.

Our freshman son will start practice 9 days from now. 1st game is on the 19th of Feb. He says, "there are lots of pitchers", but tells us his bullpens are going well. He seems to have a good relationship with his pitching coach and understands the communication, feels confident he will get substantial innings this spring. He's excited for the opportunity and can't wait to get started. 29 more days till I get to watch some baseball. Yay !!

#1bballmomfan posted:

Sons college roster posted this weekend and seeing his name on it took it to a whole new level.  Hoping he gets to travel with them next weekend.  

 

I remember when my son was a freshman at a JuCo.  JuCo's can play a limited number of fall games.  For the first several away games he didn't make the "travel squad" (bus held 28 - 25 players and 3 coaches plus gear), but late in the fall season he calls with news he had made the travel squad and they would be playing about an hour from home (the JuCo was 4.5 hours away).  My wife and I were real excited.  From that point on he always made the travel squad.

Clemson baseball will be having their annual baseball dinner this saturday with guest speaker Dale Murphy as well as the first annual Fan Fest on Feb 6th. Official practice begins tomorrow.

There are a couple of folks here whose sons are on the team, and I am wishing their players the best of luck for the coming season.

As an FYI, I read that one of our webster's son was ranked #94 freshman. Congrats to Ryley Gilliam. I heard he is the real deal!

Best of luck to all of your sons this season. Enjoy the journey!

Our son called last night, made the travel team for opening weekend, 1 on Friday, Dh on Sat.  Has been  pitching and playing 2nd.  He is 9 hours away in ark. their playing in Okla.  Still 9 hours from Houston.  We are leaving tomorrow afternoon.  So excited, hope he gets on the field but will be good to see him.

Was really just a closer on his hs team and PO only so he has enjoyed all the time in practice.  Coach wants to work him on field to but, said if he decided to go just po they would talk.

He is playing naia.  They have 43 on the team, took 30 this trip.

Safe travels to all.

 

BS...great feeling and congrats to your son...not easy task to make team and even greater to make the travel squad and to get to play like he is going to. I am sure that he put a lot of hard work into it and now it shows. Go and have a great time watching him...remember that our kids don't want us to 'cheer' too much because it 'embarrass' them (in my case, I don't care with my son, I still cheer like crazy for the team).

Have a great time and drive carefully all the way and enjoy it. Time flies and these moments are really precious (not priceless! because they are still costing money!). 

Son’s team played their opening series last weekend at PG Lakepoint. It is a fantastic facility. Typical opening series, both teams looked a little rusty. Weather was fantastic for January.

It was great to get my baseball fix in, now we wait for two more weeks to see the next game.

Son looked solid for 1st outing. 5IP, 10K, 0BB, 3 hits. He got some nice ink in the PG blog…

 

http://www.perfectgame.org/blogs/View.aspx?blog=580

Son's team opens the season in... two minutes.  I had a bit of a flashback as I texted him a morning message.  It was the same that I gave him in Little League, all his other sports, Babe Ruth, HS, JC and now at his 4-yr...  it was the same we discussed at length here in a past thread...

"Play Hard.  Have Fun"

Looks like he has beat the odds again and either earned a starting spot or at least a heavy role in the OF rotation.  Of course, as always, that is a moving target and can change in an instant.  Those of you who know his story know how much we consider this all to be just really good gravy.

Best wishes to all your boys and enjoy it!!!!

 

Last edited by cabbagedad

Son's JC baseball season has already started, and he has made 2 starts. The first start was game 1 of the season, and he was a little off.  He threw 3 2/3 innings and allowed 4 runs, 2 earned.  He got a ND, and the team eventually came back to win.  His second start was much better.  5 innings, 4 hits, 1 walk, and 5 K's.  He was throwing from 88 - 90 in the first 2 innings, but dropped to 85 - 88 thereafter.  He says he still isn't quite there yet, but he feels he is getting stronger every day.  Hopefully his arm will keep making progress, and he can hit his goal of 92 by season's end.  We are going to watch him pitch again on Friday.  Love this time of year!

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