The challenges of college

Finding all to be true with our freshman. Sometimes we both discuss and cuss. One positive is that since he's been gone he is much more appreciative of what we do for him than he ever was before.

For us Freshman parents...once we've made it through making the team and being on the roster for the Spring,,,my next concern is balancing the school workload with the travel and game commitments in the Spring. Iguess I'll be able to relax after the season...ahhh no...with summer ball and living away from home and too much free time....oh ****!

As the mom of a freshman pitcher I was thrilled to see my son on the spring roster. He has adjusted to the demands of academics and fall baseball. Like Novice Dad a little worried about the challenges of spring travel. It seems like they have to miss some classes. My son just informed me that he has registered for the spring and his classes will end by 12:30 PM.
Any parents that could shed some light regarding spring baseball for us first timers would be appreciated.

Another good topic/post.

Hope this doesn't come off like bragging, but the baseball was the least of his worries. He went in knowing he might not play his freshman year, but was confident in his abilities.

The academics however were something else. His first email home was that he thought he was the "stupidest kid on campus". After talking with other parents they said that was the same email they got. There is definitely a learning curve. Biggest tip my son got is to not get behind in class. It just snowballs and is hard to catch up.

As for the "extra curricular" activities, yes they did worry me as he joined the frat, was one of the better "pong" players, etc... That said, since childhood he was always more mature for his age and kept things in perspective. Was the RA for the frat, and pretty much was the big brother who kept things in some assemblance of order, although when the wife first saw the frat she was starting to look for the cleaning supplies. (A funny sidenote; after about a month of one of the toilets not flushing on another floor, they complained to Josh who checked it out and replaced the battery in the sensor ) Lots of book knowledge up there, but practical knowledge is another story.

Happily I can say it seems to have worked out and is a better person for having experienced college life.

As I said in an earlier post he has adjusted to college life. But his first months conversations went like this:

I'm tired. The food is not agreeing with me. Everyone here is smart.The one thing left unsaid was missing girlfriend.

And if your son has academic money as well as baseball money, he has to keep a 3.0 GPA. Sometimes he seems to spend more time calculating his grades than studying! (This GPA is for the whole year, but you don't want to get behind and play catch-up in the spring or next summer to keep your scholly)

We are amazed how tired he is. For him, high school was easy and college-level intro classes are not too hard, but he never held down a full-time job in high school.

When you add college baseball to classes, running, weekly mentor meetings for both baseball and engineering, laundry, strength/conditioning, running, finding food when practice went late and you missed your meal ticket food, mandatory study tables, did I say running?, girlfriend at home calling every night, bullpens, CSI (can't miss that), football games (GO HOGS!) and getting up at 4:45am on weights day (BEFORE 7:30am class MWF). No wonder he's so tired!

He can't wait to come home and sleep the Thanksgiving break away. I think the kid has earned some TLC!

This is a fun thread

I remember the horror of walking into my son's shared kitchen and how sticky/dirty the floors were. Dirty dishes etc. His room was fairly decent so we spent our brief visit in there. I do remember when I moved out of my parents home - never to return, at 19 years old. I had a roommate initially (my brother) and things got messy at times

RE: School Issues

Remember once last year (during freshman year) he called and sounded quite serious, "This so & so course is pretty hard!" I remember kidding him something like, "Oh, college a little more challenging than hs eh?" He raised his voice slightly and said, "I'm not kidding, this stuff is really hard" I said, "Calm down, calm down, it will come to you eventually"

This, his second year, I haven't heard any complaints thus far. They say the brain is like a muscle and gets stronger the more you use it. I think these kids learn that over time.

My soph son called a few weeks ago and I could tell ne was uoset. He had blown an exam. He rarly shows any emotion but I asked him what happened. He is the type who can go to class and sucks it all in but this prof dosen't teach in class and expects you to learn on your own. My son says I don't have time to read. I told him he had better make time to do what he has to do. He called a few days ago and had 2 straight "A"s. I told him this shows me you weren't doing what you had to do. He had a very good interim report and the fear of not being eligible is always in the back of his mind. Spring only gets tougher with all the travel and excitment. His worst mark was in the class he missed the most classes. All his roommates in both years are top student athletes and were on the Presidents Honor roll. I believe keeping good company is very important.

KCB wher do you have to get a 3.0 GPA ? That would wipe out 6/10ths of the players in my son's conference. 40% got 3.0 or better. His school requires a 2.0 to keep you academic money.

Most schools that offered academic $ to my son required a 3.0 GPA over the course of the year to keep your academic $, but the GPA for athletic $ is MUCH lower. Most were around 1.8 for sports $, if my memory is accurate. We dealt with both state schools and private schools and found this pretty common. I'm not familiar with academic $ that only reqires a 2.0, but that doesn't make me the authority! Just speaking from our experience.

In the Big South slightly over 40% got 3.0 or better which is the bench mark for The Presidents Honor roll. They consider that quite good from what I read. It is still the headline on the baseball Big South site.
My son's school is 2.0 GPA to maintain his academic money.

Bobbleheaddad,
I do believe that if son had received money for academics from State of Florida, 3.0 needed to be maintained. It may be different coming from the school that give it.

I can definetly relate to lots of things posted here.

Sons biggest challenge also was in the classroom. Having found HS academics somewhat challenging, with little studying, it was an adjustment. This semester he found classes in major to be even more difficult, but he has made adjustments and one very well overall.


Although fairly good at taking care of his apartment and personal things, this moring he called me to ask if he should wash his comforter or send it to dry cleaners. Not too many questions asked like that anymore, but at least he still needs mom.

For those whose sons have not gone through spring season, your boys will adjust. They also will learn by end of year, doing well in fall classes is most important.

If your sons are struggling with class work, they should seek out advisor and use academic resources as much as possible.

I have a freshman adn can relate to almost all of these post. Difference is my son is dyslexic. Fearof failure in the classroom has really been on my mind. Finally got the nerve to ask him how his grades were. They had just completed a grade check and to my surprise he was just offering up the grades. He is carrying a C in his English class but the rest were A's & B's. Frustration is I am an English teacher, but I can't complain. I asked my son what he was doing differently than in high school? His response, I'm listening Mom. I guess he is growing up

quote:

I have a freshman and can relate to almost all of these post. Difference is my son is dyslexic. Fear of failure in the classroom has really been on my mind. Finally got the nerve to ask him how his grades were. They had just completed a grade check and to my surprise he was just offering up the grades. He is carrying a C in his English class but the rest were A's & B's. Frustration is I am an English teacher, but I can't complain. I asked my son what he was doing differently than in high school? His response, I'm listening Mom. I guess he is growing up

That was so good, I had to quote the entire passage

Some things in life just are not that complicated. Little things like listening more attentively can make a big difference. I keep telling people, baseball provides a great incentive to do well in the classroom. The corallary to that is that coaches have a vested interest to ensure things. All in all, I think you will be surprised at how much baseball will have positively benefitted your son. All the best to him!

quote:

I remember the horror of walking into my son's shared kitchen and how sticky/dirty the floors were.

LOL CD! I remember my first visit to son's house last year as a freshman. Horror kinda describes how I felt when I saw the place. I spent an entire day cleaning the two bathrooms and the kitchen. It was great because I got to hear lots of conversations going on which gave me some true insight into the life of a college baseball player!

This year is different I think. I believe he feels much more confident in the world of college athletics. I certainly don't worry as much! I am very thankful for that!

It's "normal" for them to feel tired and overwhelmed at times. It's "normal" for mom and dad to worry about them.

Come to think of it.... maybe I'm not as worried about my son because I've begun to put my energy into worrying about my 2008 HS grad!

Man can I relate to this, have a freshman going to school and playing ball in Colorado and you talk about an emotional rollercoaster concerning academics. He calls pretty much daily or at least every other day to talk and one day it was everything is great "I just got an "A on a paper", and the next time we talked "I have got to be the stupidest kid around I just bombed a Calculus/Chemistry test"

My son and roommates also found out that once floors are sticky, ants will come. They are hard to get rid of. They also figured out that after you place a mouse trap, you have to dispose of the mouse at some point or it will stink in the house. He also lost his cell phone ???????, dad got a call from the local senior center that it was there ??????? after we had replaced it. What is "Pong"????? he he

One of my friend's criteria in selecting a school for his athletic daughter was the presence of athletic study halls or the like. Tennessee has Thornton Center for its student athletes- is this common in D1?

quote:

One of my friend's criteria in selecting a school for his athletic daughter was the presence of athletic study halls or the like. Tennessee has Thornton Center for its student athletes- is this common in D1?

Yes, and the atheltic study centers are very impressive. Not only do they have computers for the athletes, tutoring is available upon request. Most large schools we visited had from 35-50 computers. The center is for all sports.

Study table are mandatory for freshmen. My son logs 6 hours each week between Sun and Thurs. The center closes at 10:00pm, so he can't procrastinate. The Baseball Academic Coach keeps track of the hours and assigns a mentor to each player. My son's mentor is a grad student who meets with him one hour each week. She has been very helpful, proof-reading compositions and making sure my son stays on top of everything. He also has an hour with an engineering mentor each week.

My son requests a tutor the night before each Calculus test. The athletic dept pays for the tutor and son has someone (smarter than him or his Calc I peers) to study with. Believe me, the baseball dept is doing everything they can to help their players succeed.

.
Freshmen?...Have had two years of freshman...one last year, one this year...

Freshmen Parental Highlights between the two:

- "No really Dad, I'm telling you turn off the X Box Live subscription, NOW!! I can't stand having all these people over all hours of the day" This coming from a kid who has ALWAYS been the life of the party.

- "Dad I have a flat tire" Sorry kid I'm three hours away you'll have to figure this one out on your own.

- A month later, "I tell you my roomates have NO lifeskills" This coming from a kid I was convinced had none. He now washes, cleans, shops...for everyone.

- "No, Dad, I'm telling you seriously you have NO idea how hard they work us" This coming from a kid who did two a days at home...for fun.

- "This is really hard but I'm seriously thinking about giving up baseball..." This in a week when he went 0-fer, and struggled to balance tests, papers and baseball. The next week he hits a couple dingers in a game, gets an A on his tests and life is good again.

- "These guys are really, really good..." refering in awe to the players on his team. A year later "He's not really that good..."

- Typical...missed monday required running due to lab, so the running was rescheduled to 5:30 am BEFORE a 8am test...and he actually liked the idea becasue it "go the blood going to his brain for his test"

- In the weight room early one morning and Kobe Bryant shows up and wants to work in...I'm pretty sure this never happened at home.


44
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quote:

Tennessee has Thornton Center for its student athletes- is this common in D1?

Many colleges (not just D1's) provide study facilities for the student/athlete. My son had excellent facilities (including computer classrooms) and tutors available in almost every class.

quote:
Many colleges (not just D1's) provide study facilities for the student/athlete.

Did not mean to post it Yet. LOL

That's what I fealt most comfortable with.
The Fact that they had good Study Facilities, And Tuders.
And small class sizes.

First year, got 2-3 calls a week, first semester.

2nd year... Got a call when he first arrived, saying he was safe, and then not until HE's painted with a LETTER on his Chest and thinks he might be on ESPN during a football game... telling us to watch... LOL

My biggest concern, I could call him at my bedtime (I'm on west coast, he's on East coast) and he would just be going out for the evening. (fortunately he stays on-campus ... mostly)

Think a couple of these posts show one of the major differences between D1..and D3. Son at a D3, and must maintain a 3.25 GPA at a very tough academic school....there are no tutors, and no study halls....he gets it on how own...or he doesn't....he usually does, but has a lot of "all nighters". He is still required to report early every morning to run, and afternoons for weight training....think this is what makes a D3 athlete special.....but that's another thread!

As with SDBB, son is on the other coast....so I think we see less, but probably worry more.....and that's one thing we learned from last year....and as sophomore parents we are trying to put into practice....less worrying....it's usually works out.....

It's nice to see, that although our players go to different places and play for different types of programs, the parental/player discussions remain the same.

OB44's post brought one to mind.

Freshman year:
"These upperclassman are "beasts". They are huge".
Junior year:
"The freshman have a lot of work to do to get in baseball shape".

SDBB states:
"2nd year... Got a call when he first arrived, saying he was safe, and then not until HE's painted with a LETTER on his Chest and thinks he might be on ESPN during a football game... telling us to watch... LOL"

I love it!

It is true that spring travel can be tough. They bring their laptops and books, of course, but sometimes it is hard to get work done on the road anyway. If it is possible to choose classes in the spring term that don't meet on Fridays, of course, that helps, but it isn't necessarily possible to do that much schedule manipulation.

Last year we gave S a digital tape recorder, small, in the hopes that he would have friends record any important lectures that he had to miss. I don't think he ever did that, but he sure seemed to like the tape recorder!

This year I have a junior baseball player (small D3), and a freshman musician (large DI). Have their freshman years really been as different as it seems to me, or have I just adjusted and stopped worrying?

Both seem pretty self-sufficient to me this year, but I guess I do worry about the junior's academics a little - upper division classes can be very challenging! I can hardly believe though, the extent to which I can now embrace the "sink or swim" view of their "growing up" - either they will figure out how to handle all the challenges, or they will learn a good lesson from their occasional failures. Seriously, I think I have learned as much as they have in the past two years!

Julie

Son has finished his mid-terms in his first semester, and he is doing exceptionally well. Interested in Biomedical Engineering. Also at a highly academic D3. Similar routine during the morning with some of his teammates, weight training from 7-9 p.m. every other night, working some other sports games as a stastician/announcer. Has been fighting a 'cold' for about 4 weeks and still came home with the sniffles and a cough! The kids are passing it around just like in high school and grade school. Also fighting with 'shin splints'. Eating right, just doesn't always seem to happen!

Second semester in the spring is going to be glorious, with several labs running for two hours, one until 7 p.m. and the other until 6 p.m on Fridays. Baseball is going to be very, very interesting this coming spring. I can see why some kids don't finish playing their sports in college. D3 is, or has to be defined as, the true place for a student/athlete. Boy I've missed him these last few months. We're really glad he's home for Thanksgiving, although he's been with his friends mostly.

At my sons D1, Freshmen have MANDATORY study table during the baseball season. I think its a good 12 hrs a week.
They have tutors there for help and its quiet. After Freshman year, your Mandatory hours are determined by the GPA you acheived the year before. Son has no Mandatory time, but goes in one or two times a week for help or just quiet study time.

During the actual season on trips, its up to the student.
Get all your assignments from Prof and get them done on the bus or plane or in the hotel. Most of sons Prof's put everything on line, which helps alot!

Like Tiger Paw Mom said, you'll be amazed at how MATURE your
son will get!!!!!

What is sort of amazing is the fact kids actually ever graduate with the time committed to athletics. Probably 30-40 hours a week most of the time. A teammate now in pro ball, returning to finish his degree this fall, commented how easy school was without baseball. Athletes with degrees should be proud of their accomplishment.

I agree!

quote:

Originally posted by Dad04:
What is sort of amazing is the fact kids actually ever graduate with the time committed to athletics. Probably 30-40 hours a week most of the time. A teammate now in pro ball, returning to finish his degree this fall, commented how easy school was without baseball. Athletes with degrees should be proud of their accomplishment.

I agree too!
Most of son's friends, now 21, in college have taken on part time jobs to help offset expenses. They are not doing half as well as son.

I am happy my son is a student athlete. If anything it has taught him discipline and responsibility that he will need as he becomes older.