Walk On Questions

Don't know the answers to any of your questions but

- just wanted to say CONGRATS to you and your son. That is awesome, regardless of which way he decides to go. You should be very proud of him.

I know there are many knowledgeable posters here that may be able to enlighten you so you can help your son make a decision.

Congrats to your son and family. That is very exciting for your son, and not something you hear everyday. Walking on is no small feat, and I'm sure he worked very hard. It is hard to help from a computer screen and somewhat removed from the emotion of the situation. Based upon what you've shared, here are my initial thoughts:

1) If he really likes the school, coach, teammates, and academic situation I would do it. Finding that perfect fit between academics and athletics is very elusive. If you find the right fit, grab it by the horns.

2) I would stay away from the D1 camp if he decides to join the D2 team. Do your hitting drills elsewhere.

3) If he was trying out, that will not count against his eligibility. He was not a recruited athlete, and he was not on the roster.

4) The redshirt issue is a tough one. I would want to hear (again) why the coach is recommending it. 40 ABs or any playing time as a freshmen is good. The chance to play in any D2 post season games is even better. I'm sure your son really wants to play in a game this year...so I probably wouldn't do it without a really good reason.

5) D2 has 9 possible scholarships at most. Rosters are unlimited in D2 as you know. Your son may want to discuss the financial side of this with the coach when he talks to him next. If there is as much team talent as you are describing, those scholarships are probably spoken for. Your son is not really in a great position to ask for a part of those scholarships at this time, but he can ask what he needs to do to get in that position.

I hope this helps at least to get another perspective.

If it were me (and my son) in this situation; I would research the last 2-3 years rosters. I would know what happened to the kids that were asked to red shirt. How many really made it, how many got to play, how many left the program. At the same time; I would like to know the number of freshman that played every year; how many at bats did they get.

You also have to access what the coach said versus what he really means. Some times it is one in the same; some times coaches can be "optimistic."

Do your research and you will be better prepared to help your son.

Tough to say without knowing the player or school. However, if your son plans to graduate in 4 years there's not much reason to redshirt

With respect to posteason not everyone on the full roster gets to go, at least in D1, so I would assume the same for d2, so don't assume a roster player won't get treated like a redshirt at the end of the year.

Good luck.

I think your son has to decide what the coach was really telling him. It sounds like the coach is saying they'd much prefer him to redshirt but that they are willing to work with him if that isn't an option academically.

Sometimes it is much easier for both the coach and the player if the player is allowed to believe that he's chosen the option of redshirting.

Very good points everyone.

I will add that the 50 ABs, 12 game starts and 1 plate appearance at D2 CWS for my son his freshman year were the best possible competitive elements for him. He got to see the preparation it took and it drove him to work harder. Plus, he would not have seen any live pitching once the 5 game a week season started if he was redshirting.

I second the concept about going an extra year of school - it will cost money for school and earning time later on. Also, what about if you need that redshirt year medically later?

Hey, congrats!!!! Really...

I would have your son ask the coach this:

When is the latest I can decide if I want to redshirt?

Then I would get to that date, see who got injured snowboarding, graded out, got homesick, etc. and ask the coach this: Is redshirting the best thing I can do for the team this year?

If the answer is yes then reshirt. The extra year is often a great idea.

One thing to consider about redshirting: How do you feel about paying for a fifth year of college?

I'd take the offer up to play. I'd make the coach spend a bit on my player, uniform, equipment, etc. I'd have my player sit down and ask questions about possible scholarhip money, does he see it happening? Just because he made the roster doesn't mean the coach is going to give him scholarship $$. He should pay for his books, regardless.

Think about this, why would a coach give someone who was willing to come play for nothing, anything? Much less someone who will not be contributing to the team.

Redshirt is a designation for eligibility which would not be rewarded until sophmore academic year (redshirt freshman), so find out what's involved for this year, some programs handle their freshman who are not involved as.... not involved. What about the game he played in? Was it just among the team or another? Does it count within their games allowance?

Good point brought up about redshirting, what if the player gets hurt? What if after the year not satisified the cocah lets the player go or the player decides to go, what do you have to show for your efforts?

I don'
t know if he can go to D1 camps if already enrolled in 4 year college, someone check that out.

Congrats is in order, don't let all of his hard work go to waste, sitting out (IMO) means nothing unless someone is paying for you to do so.

Vicarious Dad,
First let me congratulate you, your son and family on his making the spring roster. That's great!

Maybe telling you my son's story will help give you some perspective. First the backround: He was recruited by a DII that goes to the playoffs every year. The coach is a hard driving old school guy who has one goal and one goal only each year--the DII National Championship. My son was the only freshman outfielder with nine other outfielders in the spring all tranfers or returnees including two all conference returnees. If you don't bat .300 plus on this team you pretty much don't play. One true freshman non pitcher had started at the school since 1990 and he was the returning all conference centerfielder. The other all conference returning outfielder was a transfer the year before from Mississippi State. This was what he was up against.

He was on scholarship so it wasn't quite as perilous as walking on but it was going to be tough to get playing time. The coach told him that he was not going to redshirt him at first because he was going to see how things went with his outfield. Technically to the NCAA there is no such thing as a redshirt. If you don't end up playing that year then you were redshirted. In DII with unlimited rosters they can kind of hold you back if they want just in case and that's exactly what happened with my son. The coach told all the other freshman at the start of the spring they were redshirted except a pitcher and a DH that was a great hitter. My son had to stay every weekend just in case something happened to the all conference centerfielder because the other outfielders were mostly corner outfield types. Remember too, when promised 40 AB's that the travel squad is only 25 guys as are the squads in conference games(at least our conference). So we had some 42 guys in the spring. Finally the coach stated that he didn't want my son to waste a years eligibility on 15 or 20 AB's , so with a couple of weeks left before the playoffs, he told him he would be a redshirt.

At first when we signed I was of course against him redshirting but now we all agree it was the best thing that could have happened. Here's why:

He was able to adjust to college, mature, and make a 3.87 and a 4.0 GPA for his first year. He had 53 hours credit at the end of his freshman year.
He was able to hit the weights tremendously and gain 12 pounds of muscle and increase his speed at the same time.
He is going to get a masters degree anyway so the extra year of college will not be a adverse factor.
In an end of the spring scrimmage against the starters in three AB's he hit a single, triple, and an HR off a lefthander(he's lefthanded) and made a couple of great plays in center when he had a last chance to show the coach something before leaving for the summer.

After all that in his talk at the end of the year the coach told him he regretted redshirting him after all for certain reasons but now he had him for four more years and he received the same nice scholarship. So either way you go your son can come up a winner!
He and a couple of redshirts hit virtually every off day and travel days.
He became even hungrier to win a job this year and now looks like he will see substantial playing time according to where the coaches ranked him at the end of fall.

He used the redshirt season in my opinion to the best advantage he possibly could. We found out a redshirt season can actually not be a disaster and can lead to even better things if used properly by a driven athlete.

quote:

Does his playing time as non-athletic aid student in fall ball count as anything toward his eligibility? He played in all but one game (9/10?).

It doesn't matter if he was on scholarship. By rule 14.2.4.1, a student uses a season of eligibility if he engages in inter-collegiate competition during the playing season, which is Sept 7 through the end of the championship (spring) segment.

However, I'm not sure how fall games are tracked by the NCAA.

quote:

...he'd play much more next year, as a redshirt freshman.

If the coach has a track record of consistently playing redshirt Freshmen, fine. However, if he does, I think he's in the minority (Except for redshirts due to injury. That's an entirely different situation.).

To be perfectly blunt about it, assuming that the coaching staff consistently brings in the same level of talent each year, what is it about next year's circumstances that make it more likely that he'll play? His experience?

Don't count on it if you don't see recent examples of it happening to others. The fact is that the perception of talent tends to prevail; and, if the coaches believe that they're recruiting and offering athletic aid to more talented players, he'll have a steep uphill battle his redshirt Freshman year, as well.

I agree that it's not an easy decision, but he is to be congratulated for having stuck on the roster as a non-recruited walk-on at a program that expects to be in the NCAA post-season tournament each year. In my experience, I haven't seen that happen very often.

quote:

Originally posted by Prepster:

I agree that it's not an easy decision, but he is to be congratulated for having stuck on the roster as a non-recruited walk-on at a program that expects to be in the NCAA post-season tournament each year. In my experience, I haven't seen that happen very often.

I got to go with the above, you don't see this happen too often, I am going to assume that the coach kept players on for insurance, if a starter got hurt he would have players to use. There is no guarantee he would play at all next year, regardless of what the coach says or appears to "promise".

Three Bagger, good stuff for your son, wishing him a productive year, however, there is a big difference between a scholarship player sitting out a year and one that has no monetary commitment. In his case, if the coach lives up to his agreement, the extra year is funded by him, there is no such thing as of this time for the OP's son.

I vote with TPM on this one. I once told her that pitchers are **** beetles, they just have to keep the ball moving forward, but thinking about it un-recruited walk-ons really fit the description better. Keep the ball moving forward and stay in front of the coach.