Dominik85 posted:Live at the field good baseball looks so much faster than on tv.
D1 in tv looks like shit to me compared to mlb but if you see it at the field it probably is super fast. On tv you underestimate that.
Yes the game is much much faster in person than on TV. And it is much faster up close than it is sitting far away.
Not to mention much closer than when sitting far away. Heyooo!
My son actually has zero interest in MLB since he'd rather play the game than watch 3 hours of it, but really enjoys college games for the reasons noted above. I think it's interesting for him to assess where he might fit and that all the guys on the field are just a few years older and relatable in a lot of respects. I think it has also helped him have a mature approach in high school so far and understand he's not a D1 but very happily a potential D3 HA (hopefully) and that the game is still interesting and competitive at that level with its own appeal.
We loved going to college games. Back in '95 we lived in Phoenix and went to a number of ASU Sun Devil games. Five year-old son loved to play catch in the parking lot where an errant throw broke the side mirror on a 'Vette. (Not sure if we ever located the owner to pay for the damage, but we did try.) He also liked to "pitch" to me behind the dugout during games. His mechanics were rudimentary but still garnered a few positive looks.
We went there not just at game time, but also other times to see players hitting off tees and in the cages, catchers catching pop-ups shot straight up out of a pitching machine, stretching and other preparations and bullpen work.
His favorite memory was going between the outfield wall and the outer fence and retrieving dozens of BP and game balls. My favorite (aside from enjoying the experiences with him) was sitting a few rows behind Yogi Berra and his pal, Joe Garagiola. I made a big deal of those two to son, but he no longer remembers.
Later we moved to Virginia and spent a lot of time at Old Dominion University Monarch games and camps when we were not at Tides games. That Coach Tony Guzzo recognized and singled out potential in an eight year-old kid still amazes me.
Kind of jealous of you guys that live so close to colleges! Son was in a Legion tournament in Omaha last summer, so we got to go to the CWS. Amazing.
If your son professes genuine interest in college ball, I would suggest you arrive 2 hours before game time and stay until the last player leaves. Then he'll get a better idea of what the commitment is, on the 4-5 game days each week. Better if you don't attend a game at an Astroturf facility, so that you can see how much yard work the players are conscripted for.
If he gets closer to the end of HS and is still interested in pursuing it, then a visit to a practice day is also very enlightening.
I can't tell you how many guys prep themselves for college for years, only to find, when they get there, that the workload is overwhelming. A lot of talented guys end up not enjoying the totality of the experience at all, and many end up quitting. Especially when some of the alumni visit and talk about what life is like in the minor leagues -- a lot of guys lose interest when the dream comes face to face with the reality.
If your son goes in with his eyes wide open and still wants it, THEN you know it's real for him.
I agree MIDLO DAD, we have gone early before practice and the coach is working on the field or stayed late and watched the whole team take care of the field. We went to a JUCO game with only 10 fans in the stands and a few scouts and my son got in the car with a new appreciation for playing on the team for his hometown. I think he realized these are the days he is making memories playing with friends and after this it’s playing with empty stands because you love it.
Midlo's suggestion is excellent. The players don't just show and play - at least the home team. I know in regards to my son, he and his teammates were at the field 3-4 hours before the game. Spent about half that time prepping the field, then warm ups, BP for both teams and finally taking infield reps while the coaches finalized and exchanged line ups, Finally it was game time. Afterwards it was another hour or so cleaning up before returning to the apartment or dorm. For a typical doubleheader they spent about 12 hours at the field of which only 6-7 hours was actual game time.
He did say there were certain advantages if they were the visiting team. Simply get off the bus, get the gear situated, warm up, BP, infield and then play. Afterwards it was clean up the dugout, gather and store the gear and then back on the bus.
The JuCO he played for probably average about home 40-50 fans. When he played at a D2 university, it was 25 on a good day. In HS it was usually at least 50 home fans and more in the playoffs.
