Well the long journey has ended, actually just begun, but anyway BOF Jr has picked a school. (finally I might add, whew that was a marathon) All I can say is that this took a lot longer than any of us (me in particular) figured, but we are extremely happy with his choice. For those who don’t want to read my diatribe on the process - he will be a Trinity Tiger in San Antonio next year.
For those of you still searching, there is some information that might help you, and for those who have got their kids in school already - you may relate to my ramblings.
First I need to thank many of you for your public posts, as well as the countless private messages. Without this site we could not have found our way through the quagmire of college recruiting. HSBBW rocks in this regard!
Those of you who have placed your sons already know; it is not an easy process, and it is particularly more difficult when you are trying to find an academic and athletic match for high academic achiever. Not that it is any less difficult for any other player, and thinking about it as I type this it is probably more difficult if he has poor grades….but I am digressing. At least for us, it became pretty complex when we had the objective of finding a specific academic program combined with a good baseball program. For those of you trying to do the same thing, I say to you; keep working hard and keep using the resources at this site, as there is a school out there that will match your son. It is very likely you don’t even know the school exists, which was the case with us. In fact, BOF Jr’s final two choices were not even on his first list of 30 candidate schools. Also, when all of his buddies are signing and publicizing their choices, at school, in the dugout, in the papers, etc, be patient and keep working toward your goal. Success will come for those who work hard and are patient.
As far as the process goes, Jr is by no means a blue chipper, but he was fortunate enough to have offers from some D1’s to NAIA schools; some as a recruited walk on, down to (surprisingly) almost a full ride. He was however, not flooded with offers and we had to work hard in finding matching schools. He (with my help) has sent out hundreds of emails to coaches over the past two years. I will say that even when you are fortunate enough to get an offer you need to be realistic about it. When it happens you are so excited, because someone wants your son! (or you if you are a player). In our case it was not even a remote fit academically and we had to decline…darn it! If he is lucky enough to get a really great offer, you also need to carefully weigh the school, baseball program, and the match even more. There sometimes is a reason that things seem better than they should be. In our case we again had to say “thanks, but no thanks”. Trust me, this is very very hard for both you to say no, particularly if he is not inundated with interest. (and you are looking at your checkbook balance).
For those of you who’s son gets a recruited walk on offer, particularly from a D1 school be very very cautious and ask lots of tough questions - there is likely a reason they are not offering your son money. In our case at least, I had to help formulate those questions for him and we had to rehearse them a number of times. It is not easy for an 18 year old to call a coach as ask really tough questions. He made multiple calls over multiple weeks to discover the real story. He was able to do this and it has helped him grow into a man. It would have been much easier for me to pick up the phone and call the coach, but don’t do it, let your son. That said, there are times when you need to talk to a coach, feel free to do so when you think it is really necessary.
It really helps in the process, if your wife is a pessimist; mine at least thinks all of these coaches are a bunch of used car salesmen. I can't tell you how many times my wife, my son and I were arguing at about this coach or that coach in the evenings. Guys, let me set you straight right now – she is right.
Recruiting by nature is personal, but you can’t make it that way. It becomes really personal when Baseball U is making an offer to Billy Baseball, and YOU know that your son is better than Billy. What is the matter with that coach? Is he crazy? No - YOU really are. Also guess what? Your opinion does not matter! The only thing that matters is the opinion of the school’s coaching staff. I found myself several times thinking “I can’t wait for my son to strike out Billy Baseball when they play each other and show THAT coach that I know more than him”. I know it sounds crazy, but those of you who have had your son recruited, did the same thing. Didn’t you? I see you sitting there at that computer smirking. This was the most difficult thing for me to do, but you must not take it personal when Baseball U says they are going in another direction.
For those of you having sons wanting to only play D1 baseball - think about this carefully. Go for it if you want (it helps to be a blue chip stud), but make sure you go to a place that you are really wanted. Be aware however that it is likely that he may sit on the bench for a year or two. There is also the risk that Super Billy Baseball may get recruited next year and take the spot that he thought was his. (you are particularly vulnerable to this if you are a preferred walk on, as the money that was told to you last year was yours, suddenly is not) My son had opportunities to play D1 baseball and chose D3 instead for several reasons. First and foremost it was a great school, and the coaching staff really wanted him; not the other way around. They were able to articulate exactly why, and where they planned on him playing when he got there. He saw them play, he did his homework and he knows who is coming in, who’s leaving, who is on the roster, and he knows he can compete at the school. Do a lot of homework here, read rosters, have multiple meetings with the coaches, ask the same questions on different days and in different ways, and don’t believe everything a recruiting coach tells you, (guys a pessimistic mom really helps you here) see them play many times if you can. If you smell something fishy – trust me there is a dead fish somewhere in the dugout.
Again for the high academic kids, it is possible to play D1 baseball and take a difficult major, but it is not easy. Make sure he really understands the commitment and make sure the coaches will support him in his endeavors. A lot say that they will, but few back it up with actions. You have to REALLY dig into the details to know for sure. Make sure he talks to kids in the program who have done it, don’t take the word of the coach (remember the used car salesmen in coaches clothing). Ideally your son should be able to sit down and talk to these players and get their experiences face to face. It can be done but they are far and few between. The reality is that D1 coaches are paid to win, not get your son through school with a pre-med degree with honors. Don’t let your son go to a school because it is his only offer, and he THINKS he can make it work. He and you have to KNOW it will work.
Something else to think about is how successful the program is. In my son’s case he could have been playing for a good, solid, D1 program, but they are never at the top of their conference. In the case of the school he is going to, they are proven winners year in and year out. I know he is going to be having more fun playing for a winning D3 program vs. a losing D1.
Do not underestimate academic money. In my son’s case he got significantly more money via academic aid vs. athletic aid. He is going to have to perform in school to keep it, but in my view college is about learning first, playing baseball second. My son understands that he is going to have to keep working hard academically, but I am comforted knowing he will keep his priorities straight. (if not HE will have some big loans to pay off) Also, if he breaks his leg and can’t play the money will still be there.
Finally, for those of you with son’s who do not have offers, don’t fret, you can still find a place to play if he really wants to. As I said, Jr is by no means a blue chip stud, and is in fact a bit of a late bloomer, which made the process more difficult and maddening. Because of this we did explore the JC option and he had several places he could have played should things have not worked out for him. It was not his first option, but it was an option if he needed it. Also keep working even if you plan to go this route, my son had several programs tell him that they get kids in up until August.
In the end he found a school that had an excellent academic and baseball program and again I am very thankful for all of you at this site. Like I said at the beginning it would not have been possible without HSBBW!
Cheers!
Original Post
