For years We've been doing everything we could to help make our sons dream of playing Collage ball come true.
Hence the Title of this post "The Journey"
Here are a few of the high lights, and low lights of that Journey.
High light: watching your son doing something he really loves to do.
Low light: watching your son doing something he really loves to do in the freezing cold or blistering heat!
High light: Traveling all over the US to watch your son play.
Low light: Paying to travel all over the US to watch your son play.
High light: Going to Perfect Game in Florida, and pitching a complete 4 innings with only 2 hits no runs and 4 strike outs.
Low light: Seeing a young man who pitched for 1 inning, and gave up several runs and yet make the top prospect team?
High light: At 14, pitching on the varsity (5A) and beating the #1 team in our district (11-0 at the time), along with beating the # 1 pitcher in our district ( who is now playing AA ball for Chicago)
Low light: local paper not mentioning a single word on how well the young Pville pitcher did, but had a complete write up on how the # 1 team and # 1 pitcher had an off day.
High light: Meeting and becoming friends with people from all over.
Low light: Seeing parents do and say things (including myself) that really shouldn't have been done or said.
example: I once had my son's high school coach send me a note via a player asking me to please stop yelling. that I was disrupting my son while he was pitching.
High light: Getting to watch my son play at every major D1 school in the state of Texas.
Low light: watching my son throw great games at these D1 schools, and watching the scouts stop watching him after a inning or two, once they realized he was not throwing 85 or above.
High light: Getting the first recruitment letters from major D1 schools.
Low light: Realization that every recruitment letter my son received, was from private academic schools. Average Cost before academic scholarship, 25k a year.
High light: Watching my son grow into a fine Youngman.
Low light: knowing, that fine Youngman will be leaving us in less then 7 months.
I could go on for ever.
I guess if you boil it all down, you could say I wouldn't change a single thing.
If you ask me if it was all worth it, I would tell you yes and no.
People will tell you that showcasing is the only way to get your son noticed, and yet others will tell you that if your son is talented enough that they will find him.
People will tell you that select is the way to go, and others say High school ball is a must.
Well, My son did all of the above. he played on the best select team we could find in Austin. (Austin Slam)
He took private lessons, he Showcased from the 8th grade on.
We did Everything we could to get his name out there.
In the end, it came down to serendipity.
this past fall my son was playing on a team with no real measure of credibility, in a no name tournament at runt down high school.
He pitched like he normally did, slow but with a lot movement and deception, but this times the scouts did not turn off their guns, they watched him pitch the complete game. and once it was over, several of the scouts went to the coach, then to me.
My son has committed to a very good D3.
So if you take anything out of this post, take this, do whatever you can to help realize your son's dream.
And do your best all of the time because you just don't know who is watching.
Randall
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