The Irony of it all

ITS

After having spoken with "D" last week and hearing his thoughts he is comfortable with his decision I applaud him for being up front with the scouts--very simple --use the pick on asnother kid who wants to sign--the young man has matured

quote:

I just keep living and learning - and being amazed at the whole wacky ride.

Wacky...to be continued! Sounds as if you've raised a smart one, its! Best to your son and YOU!

Its
you've raised a good one.....I'm sure #2 will be a pleasure also.. Good Luck and give my best to "D"

We experienced the same thing with our son who is between HS and college. He's signed to play SEC baseball, but got lots of attention through the spring from pro scouts and was the envy of his peers. The phone rang quite a bit these last few weeks with questions regarding signability (rounds, but mainly money). Our son shocked us by deciding that missing college baseball would be too hard. He feels that he'll be better off as a player with the level of coaching he'll receive. Now he can really learn how to pitch instead of just throwing the ball hard and will get the kind of training that we don't see here in Kansas baseball. But he also feels he'll be better off as a person with three years at college under his belt before this all happens again. He was completely honest with the scouts.
In the end, our son set his numbers very high and told the pro scouts that if they wanted to make him a life-altering offer, he would sign. But if the money wasn't in the range he stated, that he wasn't interested in missing college baseball. He didn't go high, so he wasn't drafted at all.
I guess the only let down has been trying to explain his decision to friends who've been watching all the attention this spring. Its hard for some people to accept that $300,000 isn't life-altering when you consider what you're giving up.
I've never been more proud of my son than I am right now. He's further down the path to maturity than I gave him credit for. The only thing he missed out on was the boost to his ego that seeing his name on draft day would bring. He knew what he wanted and had the integrity to stand by his decisions. He didn't play the game and lead scouts on, just for the sake of impressing his friends. He's going to be just fine and I can send him off to college knowing he's ready.

KC,

That's eerie. Your story reads very much like my son's story. I applaud your son for reaching what is a really tough decision and echo the pride you feel in him.

You must be a very good parent.

ktcosmos

KC, great post, and you should be very proud of your son....best wishes to him.