What are you doing now?

Great thread topic. 

Working with hs counselor on proper classes for college admissions and preparing for sat/act etc.

My son is a sophomore. When I see these types of threads that talk about a general timeline and what son should be doing at any point in time, I struggle with how to connect the dots between chronological timeline and developmental timeline.  What I mean is, isn't there a different timeline for a soph pitcher already throwing 85+ vs a kid throwing 80 (Academics/Test Prep aside)?  Mine is in the 80 camp. My thought is, until his velocity gets into a recruitable range, we should be totally focused on development as there is nothing there to recruit and may never be. For example, why invite a target school to come see a RHP throwing 80 mph?  Am I wrong?   

Playing basketball for HS team while rest of the baseball team winds up off-season play and starts official practice.

1) Signed up for Headfirst and Stanford (luck he did early as infield pos are sold out at Stanford)

2) Working on short video to send out with introductory letter to colleges attending above

3)busting butt through tryouts this week

4)getting used to new position on HS team as main position is blocked by senior

5)3 days a week at night taking rudimentary Physics classes at local community college.

 

Good thoughts.  Perhaps another way to look at this is not a three year timeline but a seven year timeline.  Let me give an example.  The last thing you want him to do is to pressure him to hit some number before his high school years are up.  Let him develop his strength and talent naturally over time so he avoids injury.  Maybe he sets a goal to add two mph per year (via a legitimate long tossing program) so that he is averaging about 84 mph when his senior season begins.  Then, with the long term strategy in mind, you look for JUCO options where he might fit.  He continues to gain strength and after two years of JUCO ball finds that he can cruise at 88 mph with natural strength.  He also has developed tremendous off-speed pitches in the mean time.  He then hits the recruiting trail again and finds a D1 or D2 opportunity for his final two years in college where he winds up throwing 90 and has become a polished pitcher.  He garners some scouting interest his senior year and gets drafted to continue his development.  There are other plans you could develop as well.  One athlete's timeline may not work for another athlete.  Sometimes you have to think outside the box and not worry about what someone else's timeline might say.  The most important thing is how important is baseball to your son?  If it is something he has a passion for, encourage him to develop a plan and then execute it. 

Check all regional college game schedules for any of your schools of interest, and try to find some games to attend that fit in your schedule.

 

Check schedules of your schools of interest, and figure out if any of your HS games might fit in their schedules.  If so, send them an invite.

Look at your summer ball schedule and set up unofficial visits to colleges near by.

Thanks CD. That makes sense. He is passionate about baseball but is also a realist. Right now he is just trying to make varsity and working to be the best pitcher he can be. As long as he keeps working at it with the right attitude he will get to where he is supposed to be. Where that is exactly is up to him and the baseball gods.   I guess my main point with my original post is that there are a set of pre-requisites for the recruiting timeline. Meaning your son has to be "recruitable" first. I am not sure that is always clear when these timelines are discussed. When the timeline starts for an individual is based on when he hits certain measurables (probably wrong term but I think you get my point), not a date on the calendar.

Really good points Royalsfan!