The importance of grades in high school.

quote:

Then I'm a coach's dream, I never talk to the HC. Should I put this on the questionnaire?

I know you already know the answer to this. But for any inexperienced parent that doesn't ...

You establish your reputation with your son's current coaches every week. When a college recruiter asks the coach about the player's parents he'll be reading the coach's body language in addition to what he says and how he says it. Your son's coach doesn't want to hurt his chances. But he's not going to lie. The recruiting coach will be looking at the body language of what he's not saying or the level of enthusiam of what he says about the parents. So for any parent who isn't doing the right thing, start behaving.

Last summer my son took five 3-2 called thirds over two weeks. Even though four were very questionable calls, I snapped at him, "Swing the GD bat. You're not going to walk your way to college ball." It took his coach a few weeks to get over I yelled at him from the stands. The coach and I had a couple of talks even though I had never said anything previous to that moment. And I don't hang around practices.

While baseball (and talent development) is important, it falls in to second place behind grades/academics - and even more so in our current economy. There are many reasons why - beyond just getting a player in to a school of his choice (who wants him for baseball). Consider the level of academics he will be thrown into once he arrives at college. It will be tough enough to keep his head above water if he is not at the required academic level for the college/university, let alone stay afloat after you throw in all of the time they spend in fall ball, etc. And the competition can get even tougher within his major field of study. And then there is always the issue of what happens when baseball ends? How will his academics help him get a job? and so on.....

When in doubt, please re-read the post by 06catcherdad as it is right on.

quote:

Originally posted by baseball_fever:
Confused - they were offered an athletic scholarship and denied admission? A college can give out a scholarship before a student is accepted to the school? I guess I never knew that.

Yes, early signing is in the fall of senior year and admission usually isn't awarded until the spring.
However, most coaches usually ask advice of admissions before they award the NLI, there have been cases where players aren't accepted but that's usually because they are ineligible.
Can't beleive those two players were not accepted with those grades.

55mom,
The kidding part was you asking if you could put that on a questionaire.

TPM, nobody could believe they weren't accepted, including the Cardinal coaches. Both students verballed and were stunned when they found out that they were denied. Also, it was tough because other schools had moved on in many cases. Tim ended up displaying his true character, as he decided to be the guy who would stay home and play for Sacramento State, even though there were still a lot of high profile schools that would have loved to have him. He felt that at some point, the better local players needed to be willing to stay home instead of going off to bigger opportunities, and that he should lead by example. That's the kind of person he is, humble, focused, an acheiver and fine all around young man. Lars ended up with a deal to attend and play for Cal, but the Red Sox drafted him and after a very solid summer they signed him and he hasn't looked back. The problem at Stanford has been dealt with and they can now get guys in that they couldn't consider 3-4 years ago. I think you're seeing some of those results on their football team these last two seasons, and baseball should be very good, just like they usually are.

06CD - This is the part of the college baseball recruiting process that really s*cks......when you hear about stories like this. I totally understand these were standout students, standout athletes, and standout young men. Somehow the smart people at Stanford lost their minds temporarily. The cream will always rise to the top. I'm really looking forward to seeing Lars Anderson in a MLB Red Sox uniform soon. I will be rooting for him even more now that I know the path he had to take. Hopefully, Stanford has somethig in place to prevent this from happening. Something like "likely letters" in the Ivys or top LACs. This protects both sides a little better, or possibly Stanford has a process where admissions does a pre-screen and allows the athletic scholarships to go forward. I really feel for what happened to these young men, and I hope it was just a speed bump in their academic/athletic lives.

Fenwaysouth, I wouldn't worry about Lars, he's doing great! In the end, it worked out for the best, as if he'd ended up at Stanford, he wouldn't have gone in the draft at all. As it turned out, he's very happy that he chose the path he did...and he LOVES the Red Sox organization. It has worked out very well for him, and he recently told one of our younger players that if he knew then what he knows now, it would have been an even easier decision to turn pro. Sometimes, things just work out the way they were meant to be, even though it might not seem that way at the time.

Don't know if he's going to start the season in Portland or Pawtucket, but either way he'll be just fine. I'm hoping to fly out to see him play this summer, and hopefully it'll be at Fenway, but only time will tell.

quote:

Lars Anderson

Not sure why topic has turned to Anderson (or maybe I simply missed it).

Anderson has been on Red Sox Front Office fast track since assigned in 2007. (And got a lot of bucks for signing in 2006.)

Anderson, and with a pro body, put up great numbers in 2007 & 2008. In 2010 I hear he has received an invite to report to ST early in 2010.

Yet his numbers in 2009 at AA are not impressive and the grapevine say he has revealed a need to improve not striking out vs AA off-speed pitches.

A student/athlete signed an NLI (Division I school), applied for early admissions and was informed that an early admissions decision cannot be made and that he will need to submit his 1st and 2nd qtr grades. Consequently, no final decision on acceptance until March 31 at the earliest. Assuming his grades meet NCAA eligibility but admissions does not accept the application what can be done now to contact other schools, whether it be Division I or Division II?

quote:

Originally posted by Northeast BBALL:
A student/athlete signed an NLI (Division I school), applied for early admissions and was informed that an early admissions decision cannot be made and that he will need to submit his 1st and 2nd qtr grades. Consequently, no final decision on acceptance until March 31 at the earliest. Assuming his grades meet NCAA eligibility but admissions does not accept the application what can be done now to contact other schools, whether it be Division I or Division II?

When colleges offer NLI they would have done a pre approval process to ensure that the player will be approved to get admitted.

Some high academic schools will use the offer of admission (to some who normally would not get in) as an incentive to sign with the school.

If you have concerns that he will not be admitted, you should contact the coach to get assurances. Now if the player does not keep up his side of the bargain of keeping up his grades, the school may withdraw the NLI.

By signing the NLI, your player is committed to that DI school in terms of baseball. DII also use the same NLI. You have options which were outlined in the NLI, but they would include having to sit out a year if you plan to go to a DI or II.

Good Luck and enjoy the ride.

The question by Northeast BBALL is a cross post.

As was noted in the other thread, if a player isn't admitted to a college, the NLI he signed with that school is null, and he may sign a NLI and/or attend elsewhere without penalty.

As an aside, it is my opinion that posting the same question in multiple forums is counter productive. Not to mention confusing to me.

3FG

I agree---I read it once and responded but then found it in a few other forums---had me wondering if I really did respond

Hi guys,

Just want to get your opinions regarding taking Honors Classes vs AP classes during your Junior and Senior year. RR23JR is currently a sophomore and basically registered for all possible Honors classes for next year. How important is it to take AP classes in getting to college or getting to as well as playing BB in college?

RR23

Ryanrod I used to teach AP US History and in my opinion if your son can handle the academic load of an AP class he is MUUUUUUCH better off taking the AP classes.

Several benefits

1. AP classes weigh more - A in regular class is 4.0, A in honors is 4.5 and A in AP is 5.0

2. AP can give you actual college credit - some colleges offer what's called a dual credit. If you take the high school AP class and pass it with like a B or an A then the college associated with the high school now gives the student actual college credit.

Or if there isn't a dual credit there is an AP exam at the end of the class. It's scored on a 1 - 5 scale. 5 is extremely well qualified, 4 is well qualified, 3 is qualified, 2 is possibly qualified and 1 is you wasted your money taking the test. If you get a 5 virtually every college in the country will accept the test result and give you college credit for two classes (well in US History - part 1 and part 2). A 4 most colleges will accept the score and give you credit. A 3 and you are probably not going to get the credit from any college with the exception of some JUCOs or low level 4 year schools. I've never heard of a 2 getting any credit.

3. AP provides a more real life college look at depth of content than an Honors class. While a lot of this depends on the teacher you can't teach an AP class without going into great detail in whatever it is.

College will look favorably at honors classes but AP classes will get you actual college credit if you pass the test of have dual credit.

In all honesty Ryanrod your son will be much better off going the AP route if he is able to handle the load. It will be much tougher on him during baseball season and he will need to able to pace / organize himself.

quote:

1. AP classes weigh more - A in regular class is 4.0, A in honors is 4.5 and A in AP is 5.0

There isn't a standard from state to state or even district to district within a state on weighted gpas. Our high school doesn't weight grades externally. They do it internally. The student never sees it. It raises the student's class rank. It's why coaches ask for unweighted gpa. Then they might ask about the courses.

A friend's son is playing baseball at a very prestigious academic university in a major D1 conference. He was a Baseball America Top 150. He didn't even take honors courses in high school. No problem. The baseball program also gets JuCo transfers accepted.

If a kid wants to play at Hopkins, Emory, Trinity (CT), etc, course load will matter. They're not recruiting the top baseball talent in the country to stay competitive in a major D1 conference.

Thank you very much Coach 2709.

We are contemplating on changing Humanities H to AP either American Literature or US History. I appreciate your input.

Which is easier to get a 5.0?

Appreciate your input too RJM.

I've said this before and hope I don't sound like a broken record but...AP classes can help immensely in college. If your college accepts the AP credits (usually must have a 4 or 5 on AP exams), then the student gets credit for those classes in college. Between the AP classes and college classes my son took in hs he was given 17 credits upon entering college.

For an athlete especially this is a nice cushion during the season(to have extra units). This was the only area I ever slightly pushed my son in. Little nudges now and then helped to make his college life much easier. Take AP classes that you love and you won't notice the extra work!

But, it does depend on the college and the student's major. Engineering usually won't let the student skip too many college introductory classes in math. This info is available on the college website as to which AP credits they accept. The really high level colleges may not accept many AP credits. All colleges weight the high school transcript with their own formula, so the GPA may vary from college to college.

It helps to know what kind of colleges your student is aiming for. You can google the common data set for each college to find out the average GPA and SAT results for the previous year. This can help your son set obtainable goals academically.

Not sure I agree with asking which is easier to get a 5.0 in----says something about the thinking-

Thanks CaBB..
@ TRHIT.. It was meant as a joke.. I know you cannot get a 5 without working hard for it. Just clarifying. Have a great day!

The only thing I would add is as posted above make sure he can handle the course load. A c or b- in AP does not help with college admissions, it will work against him but if he can do well go for it.My son`s school is an IB school and he may be able to skip a year in college if he scores well enough on his IB exams.

The following article has a great discussion about grades, courses and test scores related to college admissions. It came to me from a member of a local school board.

http://www.centerforpubliceduc...CB39EE372F4*¬oc=1