For those with kids that are playing or have played in college. What did they do baseball-wise the summer prior to freshman year. I know he will not be asked to go away anywhere, just curious if younger kids played Club ball, College summer team and how many games?
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I'm not sure if this is a helpful answer (because I think it may be unique) but my 2017 is playing on what's basically a summer college team. Most of the other kids are rising college juniors and seniors. They have about a thirty game schedule from late June to early August, with about 20 of the games being played in Japan. The other ten games are against teams visiting Hawaii from Japan with some of the games being played on Oahu and some on Maui.
My 2017 has already signed his contract to play this summer. He will be gone end of May until August. He's pretty excited. Not really sure how it works but do they normally send incoming freshman to play? All new to us!
Oh wow, that's a long summer. I don't know how most schools are. The 2 my son is deciding on Do not have kids go anywhere until after freshman year. We live in So Cal so there is no shortage of baseball to be played.
All the kids who played travel from my son's high school played Legion for the first time. It was one last chance for a group of successful seniors (two conference titles and a second) to play together. For my son it was a schedule light enough to spend a lot of time rehabbing his injuries. He had a PCL/MCL injury the previous summer. He had separation shoulder surgery in the fall. The sling came off three weeks before senior season started. He was weak, relative to being a future colllege player spring of senior year.
Same question in November:
My son decided to take a placement in a smaller collegiate summer league mainly to see college pitching and to get experience managing life on his own. Helped that his placement was in a really fun little city in a great State (Boulder, CO), far enough away from us to garner him some real independence. I thought it was a great decision and totally supported him.
I think a lot of your decision should revolve around the extent to which his present summer is competitive etc. I just don't think in our case that spending yet one more summer racking up ABs against kids going into HS Jr or Sr years was going to help him get better.
Clemson asks it's Freshmen to enroll, take 2 classes and get familiar with the campus, routines and start workouts. I guess son would have played on his summer travel team and gone to Jupiter instead had he not been headed there already.
Son played with his Summer team. One last hurrah. My son was going to a D3, and this was a while ago, so not many options except a local College wood bat team. Problem is every time his travel team ever played other teams in the local league. They handled them pretty well.
Shoveit4Ks posted:Clemson asks it's Freshmen to enroll, take 2 classes and get familiar with the campus, routines and start workouts. I guess son would have played on his summer travel team and gone to Jupiter instead had he not been headed there already.
I think thats an excellent idea. Good for them. Lots of football and basketball players do that.
Our two pitcher-sons had a pretty active summer on the travel circuit before college. In hindsight, I think it was a mistake. Both entered college a bit tired at the end of a busy summer. They shoulda done either what Clemson recommends or just taken the summer off and worked out.
My son played one last hurrah with his travel team. But much lighter. Played 5 tournaments instead of the previous year 9 straight weekends. All local but one (there is good baseball to be had with 60-90 miles from home here). The one not local was to Omaha NE and was planned to be there when the college world series was there for the final 2 teams. Played 4 games - one a day, all during the day and went to the CWS at night. Baseball trip of a lifetime and boys had a blast. Anyone couldn't make a weekend for any reason at all was no big deal as long as there was some notice. Which would have been in the past.
I guess my question would be did the college your son was playing in place him prior to his incoming freshman year.
My son was placed by the college. Just wondered if that is normal for incoming freshman?
Thanks
The summer before his freshman year was the LAST time our son lived at home. He played on two local teams made up of good high school and junior college players.
Once he left for college in the fall he never came home except to visit.
The three summers during his college career he played in the Great Lakes, Atlantic and New England collegiate leagues. In each case he would have about a week once the season was over to come back to California for a visit.
Once your son knows where he will be going to college, the only thing to be accomplished is for him to be in shape and prepared for the rigors of collegiate life. My son got all the baseball that he needed while having one last summer with the family.
To this day, my wife complains that my son gave up friendships and family time to pursue his baseball dream. With that said, ask yourself "what needs to be accomplished?"
My son's college didn't set him up for summer ball prior to his freshman year. Most summer coaches are looking for a commitment early in the year from a college coach to send them decent college level players.
For a position player, its the beginning of working every day to get better.
The step up to college play is large. If your son is a position player he should get as many ab's as possible against college level pitching before showing up at fall practice....after all the upper classmen position players he's competing with spent the summer doing exactly that. Getting summer AB's against guys throwing 78 will not help.
Momof#24 posted:I guess my question would be did the college your son was playing in place him prior to his incoming freshman year.
My son was placed by the college. Just wondered if that is normal for incoming freshman?
Thanks
Two thoughts...
1. I asked our younger son's college coach if he was going to place him that summer - he said, 'no - we think its a good idea for him play either for his old team or locally to be around friends this summer because he won't get too much after that.' Again, in hindsight, we shoulda taken a 3rd option and just shut him down and focused on workouts....or start school.
2. When I asked our older son about getting his younger brother placed in a college league he said, 'I wouldn't do that - the college players on his team may not be too thrilled to have a player just out of HS.' No idea if it woulda played out that way - I'm sure there are tons of good stories to the contrary, but something to think about anyways.
We are lucky enough to have a decent wood bat/collegiate team here in the Bay Area that my son is going to play with this summer. My wife and I didn't want him to go away -- in case this is his last summer at home. He'll play something around 40 games this summer against teams around the area, Sacramento, Reno, and southern Oregon. Mostly JC/D2/D1 players. There will be maybe one other rising freshman on the team. We found the team on our own as our son's college coach said he should do what he wants this summer as it will be his last time doing so (he places kids that want to be placed once they are enrolled on the team). We figured it would be better to start pitching to college-level players vs other high school kids, just to see what the future will hold.
justbaseball posted:Shoveit4Ks posted:Clemson asks it's Freshmen to enroll, take 2 classes and get familiar with the campus, routines and start workouts. I guess son would have played on his summer travel team and gone to Jupiter instead had he not been headed there already.
I think thats an excellent idea. Good for them. Lots of football and basketball players do that.
Our two pitcher-sons had a pretty active summer on the travel circuit before college. In hindsight, I think it was a mistake. Both entered college a bit tired at the end of a busy summer. They shoulda done either what Clemson recommends or just taken the summer off and worked out.
This is what my son did last summer before his first year of college. If your son is a pitcher don't underestimate that spring innings are absolutely earned in the fall.
Shoveit4Ks posted:Clemson asks it's Freshmen to enroll, take 2 classes and get familiar with the campus, routines and start workouts. I guess son would have played on his summer travel team and gone to Jupiter instead had he not been headed there already.
My son is going to do the same at his DI college. My question would be are there any rules in place that would prevent him from finding a local 18U TB team and playing weekends with them?
SomeBaseballDad posted:Shoveit4Ks posted:Clemson asks it's Freshmen to enroll, take 2 classes and get familiar with the campus, routines and start workouts. I guess son would have played on his summer travel team and gone to Jupiter instead had he not been headed there already.
My son is going to do the same at his DI college. My question would be are there any rules in place that would prevent him from finding a local 18U TB team and playing weekends with them?
No NCAA rules against it. Have you checked for a local collegiate league near his school? Many metro areas have local leagues (mostly D2/D3/juco players). Has he talked to his coach about it?
It was mandatory at OSU for ALL incoming Freshmen... Kid went for the entire month of July this year... Got 6 credits, hung out with all his teammates, worked out everyday... said it was great.
ILVBB posted:
Once he left for college in the fall he never came home except to visit.
ask yourself "what needs to be accomplished?"
Well as the father of a 2017 grad the bolded really kicked me in the...I know this is possible and at some point inevitable but wow I am just not quite ready for that thought process yet!
The good news I doubt that will happen in our case, I say that based on logistics, personality and expressed desires from the kid...but you just never know.
There seems to be four schools of thought on summer between graduation and freshman year. All four probably have merit depending on the kid, the position he plays, and the program where he's headed . As mentioned above, some schools want the guys on campus during summer taking a couple of classes and working out with teammates. Gives the players a leg up academically and gets the group together in what I assume is a much lower pressure environment yet starts to set the tone for the program. Second is for kids to play in a collegiate league that takes pre-freshman players. Gives them a taste of what baseball at the next level is going to look like, but can be a grind with a heavy schedule and often away from home. Third is to play for their travel teams on a reduced schedule or maybe play Legion with their buddies. Fourth is to stay home, work out and be rested - ready to report in great physical condition headed to fall.
I think all four have their pros and cons. For my two boys, my oldest who plays D1 got placed on a summer collegiate team. He's a pitcher and as it turned out, he experienced a little discomfort as his senior season came to a close. It was decided he give up his summer team spot and do option four - rest, be home, work out and get ready for fall. My youngest is a D3 player - he played Legion with his buddies and had a lot of fun. Probably not the best option from a baseball perspective, but kept him active on the field so it served a purpose.
our 2017 will be reporting for summer school on July 5. All incoming freshman will be doing the same thing, even the walkons. So- son will play ball for the HS, then play a few games with his local summer team, then we're taking a family vacation- may be our last chance for a long time!
CollegeParentNoMore posted:My son's college didn't set him up for summer ball prior to his freshman year. Most summer coaches are looking for a commitment early in the year from a college coach to send them decent college level players.
For a position player, its the beginning of working every day to get better.
The step up to college play is large. If your son is a position player he should get as many ab's as possible against college level pitching before showing up at fall practice....after all the upper classmen position players he's competing with spent the summer doing exactly that. Getting summer AB's against guys throwing 78 will not help.
Excellent point about position players get AB's to prepare for fall ball. However and whereever the player can achieve that. Serious summer workout routine as well.
There are a few collegiate leagues that allow rising freshmen....but I only know one kid my son's age who played in one...and he was in Alaska. His family spent quite a bit of time up there, so I think it was more of a "vacation" than him playing baseball.
My son played on an 18U team.....fewer games than he had played the years prior....just Friday-Sunday vs Wednesday-Sunday (or more).....and all were within a couple hours from home. He was pretty sure he was going to be a PO in college, but wanted to play one more summer of SS or he would likely have just played Legion so he could get some innings in and not give up all his weekends.
Our 2016 PO played in a college wood bat league here north of NYC. They played 36 games plus playoffs between mid-June to the first week of August. We were at a total loss about what to do with him playing wise and then found out about the league at the last min through another 2016 player. It turned out to be perfect for him as he started in the bullpen the first two weeks and then ended up starting once a week the rest of the summer which enabled him to work out and also work - as in a job - for most of the summer. He (and his parents) was very happy to have that extra spending money first semester.
I believe my son will play Connie Mack for the second year. They play a lot of games, with no practices and some of the competition they face is quite good, while some is mediocre at best. The game times are such that he should be able to work at least part time. It's built into his financial deal with his college and us that he has to bring a little money to the table. Hopefully he'll be able to hit the gym pretty hard as well.
I really fall in line with Collegeparentnomore on this for position players. You need to get as many ab's as possible against the best competition you can play before you enter fall ball. I have a different opinion about pitchers. The last thing you want is to be fatigued from throwing all summer in games going into fall ball. If you can find a good fit that allows you to pitch once a week and not be over extended you can continue to work out and be prepared going in. If you threw a ton for your HS team into May and then go into a full summer season watch out in my opinion. Find the right fit for you for what you specifically need. But don't go into fall baseball at the college level without seeing quality pitching for the entire summer. And don't go into fall ball at the college level as a pitcher worn out from the summer.
Your competition in the fall position players have been playing at the level you want to achieve all spring into summer. You left HS pitching took off a few months and now your facing college pitching. Not a good recipe for success in my opinion. The fall will dictate your role in the spring. JMO
Coach May; in addition a hitter needs the experience of retaining the knowledge of every pitcher he bat against. He will see this pitcher again and with his information will determine patterns, the amount of movement of fast ball, curve and confidence level of the pitcher with his change.
"Good hitting" is reducing the # of pitches from the pitcher.
Will Clark kept a diary. Willie Mays retained this info forever. He hit a HR off Louis Arroyo on a 3-2 change up.
All Star game, 10 years later, Willie hits the same pitch, same count for 3 run HR.
Bob
My 2017 will be playing for a central cali summer collegiate league team, Cali Storm. They play a lot of games from June through July, fees are basically for uniform and umpires. They try to have Local kids only to keep expenses down, but they will travel to parts of the state for different series. We look at it as jumping right into college pitching to get a lot of ABs. He was sought out by other high level players in our area. His college coach for next year said this would be his last free summer, but my son decided to play ball instead of being a camp counselor.
Consultant posted:Coach May; in addition a hitter needs the experience of retaining the knowledge of every pitcher he bat against. He will see this pitcher again and with his information will determine patterns, the amount of movement of fast ball, curve and confidence level of the pitcher with his change.
"Good hitting" is reducing the # of pitches from the pitcher.
Will Clark kept a diary. Willie Mays retained this info forever. He hit a HR off Louis Arroyo on a 3-2 change up.
All Star game, 10 years later, Willie hits the same pitch, same count for 3 run HR.
Bob
That's a heck of a memory!
Coach_May posted:I really fall in line with Collegeparentnomore on this for position players. You need to get as many ab's as possible against the best competition you can play before you enter fall ball. I have a different opinion about pitchers. The last thing you want is to be fatigued from throwing all summer in games going into fall ball. If you can find a good fit that allows you to pitch once a week and not be over extended you can continue to work out and be prepared going in. If you threw a ton for your HS team into May and then go into a full summer season watch out in my opinion. Find the right fit for you for what you specifically need. But don't go into fall baseball at the college level without seeing quality pitching for the entire summer. And don't go into fall ball at the college level as a pitcher worn out from the summer.
Your competition in the fall position players have been playing at the level you want to achieve all spring into summer. You left HS pitching took off a few months and now your facing college pitching. Not a good recipe for success in my opinion. The fall will dictate your role in the spring. JMO
I guess it depends on the kid. My kid is physically ready to step onto a collage baseball field right now. And the baseball has never been a problem for him. On the other hand, while my son isn't a bad student, he's no Einstein either. Getting some easy credits can't hurt, getting to know the coaches, teammates, school, town has to be a plus. Playing ball vs a summer program is an easy decision for us.
I'd argue that while seeing high level pitching over the summer can't hurt there are other things to consider. Stressing out about grades, new coaches, teammates, surroundings, etc doesn't make for ideal condition's to excel on the field.
San Diego:
When Willie and myself discussed hitting, his memory was outstanding. During his years with the Giants, Willie often directed the infielders where to play as he had analyze the hitter's stance, position of their hands, feet, eyes, shoulders and he knew his pitcher. After a few years, Alvin Dark allowed Willie to help the pitchers read hitters.
When Bob Gibson pitched all hitter knew not to crowd the plate or "dig in". Willie forgot who was pitching as always started to "dig a hole" with his right foot, then looked up with the stark realization as to who was pitching.
Willie look up and started to cover up the hole and his expression said "sorry Bob".
The "inside" game.
Bob
Consultant, those are priceless memories!
Great stuff as usual Bob.
Thank you Coach. It seemed like yesterday. Do you remember Billy O'Dell from South Carolina.
Bob
"I'd argue that while seeing high level pitching over the summer can't hurt there are other things to consider. Stressing out about grades, new coaches, teammates, surroundings, etc doesn't make for ideal condition's to excel on the field."
My advice is based upon experience, and will vary by location and talent....to a limited degree.
Not being able to hit college level pitching in the fall "tryout" is a serious stress "inducer" and potential career ender (or makes for a redshirt year). If your son doesn't look ready to hit college level pitching, he'll get fall ab's against the walk-on pitchers when the coach isn't watching.......
Played 2-3 tourneys with his travel team. Started school on july 5. Not alot of time between graduating and the next step...........
Yes Bob "Digger" O'del.
Yes, from Clemson straight to the MLB. He introduce me to Roberto Clemente.
Bob
