The standards for excellence

A kid has talent. Let the chips fall where they may.

Might be impossible, fungo. Talent shows up in so many ways, and the list of intangibles in a game like baseball goes on for miles. I agree that parents are to blame many times for a school being the wrong "fit"...that's why the player and his head coach (or the coach he trusts the most, if the H.S. guy isn't qualified) should do more with this. I see too many coaches who don't really help their players to get to the college level, or don't even pay attention to anything that doesn't affect them personally.
For example, I was set to take players overseas this summer with USAAI, a great organization that sets up international trips. I sent letters to 122 H.S. coaches in Michigan....and got 2 responses! Afraid most of this becomes junk mail.
Not sure that you can have set standards for baseball talent...but I AM sure that coaches, parents, and players can do more to help each other find the success that all are looking for!

Talent is not like slicing cold cuts

I agree with Coach Knight--there are too many variables to set a standard

There are certain standards and there are exceptions to all those standards. IMO working hard to possibly reach those standards is a better plan than trying to rely on the intangibles and become one of the exceptions.

The standards are the tools and most college recruiters and MLB scouts will grade these tools fairly close to the same in each player.

There's nothing wrong with "shooting for the moon", but parents should understand the odds involved in making a DI roster as a walk on.

If a player is small and most others run faster than him, have a stronger arm, hit the ball with more power, and are more athletic... Well, it takes a lot of intangibles to make up for it. And those intangibles need to show up in a big way in a very short amount of time.

Picking the right school is very important. Aside from academic reasons, parents should "guide" their son's to the school that he can play at. Playing is the most important thing for a "baseball player".

We get replies every day from young players who list the colleges they're most interested in. Very often we see Arizona State, Stanford, Texas, LSU, Miami, etc. listed. For some their choices make sense and for others they're just barking up the wrong tree. Reality needs to be addressed and parents should get involved.

A few years ago we had a young player in Iowa who was pretty good. He was recruited by the U of Iowa, but he decided to walk on at Arizona State instead. The next year he transfered to the U of Iowa and was cut after fall practice. Playing any lower level did not appeal to him, so he quit baseball all together. He would have been a star small college player! He had the size and potential to improve and become a possible draft pick if he would have taken a different path. Sometimes the glory route is the wrong path.

And it's exactly some of those variables that the parents will appeal to if their player is not progressing as they had hoped:

He went through puberty late, he will develop what's needed physically 'next year'.

His 'baseball intelligence' can only be appreciated at the college level.

The pitching locally is too slow/too erradic for him to get into his groove.

Having said this, it can be difficult to get an objective opinion on your player from someone who has seen him play enough to make an informed judgement.

Alas, there are no certain formulas.

quote:Parents seldom take the blame for this mistake while I suggest they might be the main culprit.
Fungo:quote have heard it said many times on this site that it's not a parents job to select a school for the athlete. how many kids have it in thier own mind what is best for them? so how is the parents the main culprit?

Ripkenfan,

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quote have heard it said many times on this site that it's not a parents job to select a school for the athlete. how many kids have it in thier own mind what is best for them? so how is the parents the main culprit?

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How can the parent be the culprit?. . . The parent’s evaluation is normally what determines “fit”. Why? It is my belief that any parent/son relationship has a senior advisor. That senior advisor is the parent. While the son may have a strong desire to attend a particular school, in a sound relationship, the parent's advice should be a major influence with that child. I didn't pick my son’s college but he did want my approval. I’ll never forget that night while he was on the phone with the head coach. He scribbled a note to me. . . . . He wrote: “I’d like to commit”. I looked at his mother and asked what she thought. She nodded yes and I wrote back “Go for it!”
Did we pick his school? NO. Did he consider his mother and my opinions? Sure he did. I am 50 years his senior and I think he respects that. As he matures he has the option to either thank me of blame me for the influence I had on his college selection. If I thought the fit was bad I would have felt obligated to indicate my feelings. Parents do more than just send money!
Fungo

fungo... so then the rest of all descisions we make or help make from the time they are born could be subject also! they dont come with owners manuals and most parents try to do what they feel is in the childs best interest throughout thier lives, sometimes right sometimes wrong.i,m just saying that at 18-19 yrs old the student usually has some say in the choice. meaning that there is no culprit in my opinion.

Ripkenfan,
Having seen players sign, play, quit, and transfer and having listened to the parents prior to, during, and after all this happened, I know these parents are the main reasons their son’s failed. Of course kids don’t come with operator’s manuals but when parents fail to be objective (rose colored glasses) they contribute to the problem.

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most parents try to do what they feel is in the childs best interest throughout thier lives, sometimes right sometimes wrong

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I agree with the last statement. Parents don’t do this on purpose. Parents are, and should be, their sons biggest supporters, but many parents are not objective when it comes to their child’s talent but very few understand that. Instead many are convinced their son can play for the top D-1 in the country and try to instill this belief in their son. The result is a big letdown to major disaster. The coach gets the blame but it was really the parent’s fault. (culprit)

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at 18-19 yrs old the student usually has some say in the choice

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Again I agree but parents will be asked for their advice and they need to be realistic.. . I’m sure PG Staff sees a lot of this because he says it best:

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We get replies every day from young players who list the colleges they're most interested in. Very often we see Arizona State, Stanford, Texas, LSU, Miami, etc. listed. For some their choices make sense and for others they're just barking up the wrong tree. Reality needs to be addressed and parents should get involved.

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Ripkenfan, you and I are on the same page because you think parents should do what is in the best interest of their sons and we also agree an 18 year old should have some say-so.
We only disagree on the quality of advice given by the parent. I say alot of advice is bad you say that's OK because the parent meant well.
Fungo