I was reading this article online and wanted to see what others thought of it?
http://www.boston.com/sports/schools/baseball/articles/2004/08/22/hitter_hopes_switch_is_in_time/
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ghouse,
I assme you are familiar with the situation since you live in Mass. From reading the article and not knowing any other details I'll give my take.
Put it all in perspective. While being drafted in the 43rd is significant, it doesn’t indicate the player is above being redshirted. There are thousands of “all-star” players that graduate high school each year . . . . and . . . . . there are thousands of players redshirted each year. Like I said in another post, a player’s talent is in the eyes of the beholder. While I can appreciate Nick’s disappointment, I don’t see anything out of line. It sounds like another sour grapes story to me with the Boston Globe guilty of trying to create a story where none exists. The reporter insinuates the new coach is negligent in failing to recognize what the Globe reporter sees as a great player. Sounds like this edition of the Boston Globe would make good liner for the bottom of the parrot’s cage. What's your take?
Fungo
I assme you are familiar with the situation since you live in Mass. From reading the article and not knowing any other details I'll give my take.
Put it all in perspective. While being drafted in the 43rd is significant, it doesn’t indicate the player is above being redshirted. There are thousands of “all-star” players that graduate high school each year . . . . and . . . . . there are thousands of players redshirted each year. Like I said in another post, a player’s talent is in the eyes of the beholder. While I can appreciate Nick’s disappointment, I don’t see anything out of line. It sounds like another sour grapes story to me with the Boston Globe guilty of trying to create a story where none exists. The reporter insinuates the new coach is negligent in failing to recognize what the Globe reporter sees as a great player. Sounds like this edition of the Boston Globe would make good liner for the bottom of the parrot’s cage. What's your take?
Fungo
Agree with fungo, Can the kid run? How hard does he throw? Lots of info missing on this one.
gee, the boston globe out to prove point? agree with fungo - goes in the bottom of the bird cage with the rest of that biased rag.
I actually wasn't familiar with the situation, but for some reason the entire article bothered me. I just thought it sent a bad message to other parents and students. Are they trying to glorify a kid leaving a very good university because he didn't start his freshman year to attend a junior college in the hopes of being drafted again.
quote:
The reporter insinuates the new coach is negligent in failing to recognize what the Globe reporter sees as a great player.
And I am sure that the Boston Globe reporter was at all of UConn's fall practices and intrasquad scrimmages ... so of course he has the best perspective. Heck, he can't even get the information correct about the player "having to sit out a year" if he went to another D-1 program ... guess he doesn't understand the concept of "getting his release". Give me a break !!!
And since when is it a crime for a coach to play upper-classmen over freshmen? Like this player is the first redshirting freshman at the school ... yeah right.
Something tells me that UConn might be better off without this particular player
Add this to the miscues--- the head coach did not resign --he retired--there is a big difference---it was all done with the approval of the university
The new Head Coach, Jim Penders , had been there for a number of years previous to this move so he knew all the players on the team when he took over. To infer the new coach did not like the player is way out of line--- Coach Penders was part of the process that brought the boy to the team
Once again a newspaper writer in his zeal to get a great story bobbles the ball--- is it any wonder as to why pro athletes do not want to talk to reporters !!
Way too many miscues in the article !!!
The new Head Coach, Jim Penders , had been there for a number of years previous to this move so he knew all the players on the team when he took over. To infer the new coach did not like the player is way out of line--- Coach Penders was part of the process that brought the boy to the team
Once again a newspaper writer in his zeal to get a great story bobbles the ball--- is it any wonder as to why pro athletes do not want to talk to reporters !!
Way too many miscues in the article !!!
The player will get an opportunity to be a part of a team at IRCC. If he's looking for more than that he'll be disapointed again.
Sounds like another example of player (and parents) getting all bedazzled by the D1 mystique. Coach recruits, schmoozes, etc., and the player and parents don't do the appropriate homework.
Accepting an offer to play for a team means you accept the offer to try-out for the team. This is true whether or not there is any athletic scholarship involved.
I know of several players from my area who either learned the hard way and got disappointed or are headed for disappointment.
So many people are blinded by the "D1" tag that they don't realize they are no longer the big fish. I'll bet most of these guys have had their head so filled by well-meaning local supporters that they actually believe they are great. It's tough to learn that everybody else on the team is "great", too.
Playing time is never guaranteed.
Accepting an offer to play for a team means you accept the offer to try-out for the team. This is true whether or not there is any athletic scholarship involved.
I know of several players from my area who either learned the hard way and got disappointed or are headed for disappointment.
So many people are blinded by the "D1" tag that they don't realize they are no longer the big fish. I'll bet most of these guys have had their head so filled by well-meaning local supporters that they actually believe they are great. It's tough to learn that everybody else on the team is "great", too.
Playing time is never guaranteed.
To add to what Tom has said...Coach Penders
<who should have been part of this story
in the interest of full-disclosure>
has been on staff for many years. He has
enjoyed much success and I doubt he is
a coach who would not put his best 9
out there to continue that trend.
An 18 year old being critical of a coach through the media is BUSH.
The fact that the player in front of Mr. DeVito
is an upperclassman is irrelevant if he is the best player.
And, remember, sometimes the media does not relay the information given by the interviewee with complete accuracy.
<who should have been part of this story
in the interest of full-disclosure>
has been on staff for many years. He has
enjoyed much success and I doubt he is
a coach who would not put his best 9
out there to continue that trend.
An 18 year old being critical of a coach through the media is BUSH.
The fact that the player in front of Mr. DeVito
is an upperclassman is irrelevant if he is the best player.
And, remember, sometimes the media does not relay the information given by the interviewee with complete accuracy.
We have known this boy for many, many years...my son played AAU with him on the same team for 3 years...and played against him in the Cranberry League this spring...where I might add we heard the exact same story that was reiterated in the Boston Globe
as told by him as well as his parents...it was a hot topic of conversation amongst many as he had received a tremendous amount of press during his Jr and Sr years of HS for his pitching and hitting ability but...he played for a division 3 HS(there are 5 divisions here in Ma) which means that each school is classified based on student population...so the size goes down from each level making for slim pickings for coaches of all teams therefore anyone with a respectable amount of talent will "shine" at these levels and receive a lot of good press releases...I do feel that the coach should have been given an opportunity to express his side of the story but my gut feeling is that it would have been a no comment... I have my own personal feelings as to why this has occured but will not post them...if interested I can be PM'd
as told by him as well as his parents...it was a hot topic of conversation amongst many as he had received a tremendous amount of press during his Jr and Sr years of HS for his pitching and hitting ability but...he played for a division 3 HS(there are 5 divisions here in Ma) which means that each school is classified based on student population...so the size goes down from each level making for slim pickings for coaches of all teams therefore anyone with a respectable amount of talent will "shine" at these levels and receive a lot of good press releases...I do feel that the coach should have been given an opportunity to express his side of the story but my gut feeling is that it would have been a no comment... I have my own personal feelings as to why this has occured but will not post them...if interested I can be PM'd
catchermom03 ...
The LOBBY awaits ... need I say more?
The LOBBY awaits ... need I say more?
Like a head baseball coach has to justify not playing a freshman to a newspaper reporter.
Not knowing any of the people involved or their motives, my take after looking at this is the young man really wants to turn pro as quickly as he can. But instead he took what either he or others counseling him saw as the safe way around.
You have to ask the coaches and schools that recruit you: What are your short-term and long-term plans for me? It might not have been a bad idea for the player or others around him to have asked the pro scouts that looked at him the same kind of question.
If he wanted to go pro before age 21, he should have sought out junior colleges right from the beginning.
Perhaps because I'm in the newspaper business, I don't see the bias others have mentioned. This is a matter of perspective, not bias. I do see why the paper would write the story. If he is your player of the year and suddenly falls off the map, readers will want to know why.
We probably already know the answer (great high school careers do not college careers make and pros draft on potential, not necessarily what they have now). But the why must be answered. And the story should be built around the high school career, since that is how he was introduced to readers in the first place.
I'll agree with everyone that more leg work (college sources) would have made this a better and more complete story. But since he hasn't played, he hasn't proven he is NOT the player folks thought he would be.
Players transfer every day. A player of the year down here did it and we media types haven't bothered, and likely won't. So I guess I see it as a routine short story that became a long story mostly because the paper had the space.
You have to ask the coaches and schools that recruit you: What are your short-term and long-term plans for me? It might not have been a bad idea for the player or others around him to have asked the pro scouts that looked at him the same kind of question.
If he wanted to go pro before age 21, he should have sought out junior colleges right from the beginning.
Perhaps because I'm in the newspaper business, I don't see the bias others have mentioned. This is a matter of perspective, not bias. I do see why the paper would write the story. If he is your player of the year and suddenly falls off the map, readers will want to know why.
We probably already know the answer (great high school careers do not college careers make and pros draft on potential, not necessarily what they have now). But the why must be answered. And the story should be built around the high school career, since that is how he was introduced to readers in the first place.
I'll agree with everyone that more leg work (college sources) would have made this a better and more complete story. But since he hasn't played, he hasn't proven he is NOT the player folks thought he would be.
Players transfer every day. A player of the year down here did it and we media types haven't bothered, and likely won't. So I guess I see it as a routine short story that became a long story mostly because the paper had the space.
The hardest things for folks (including reporters sometimes) to understand is that the draft has more to do with potential than present skill.
Some of the best hs players are not drafted because scouts do not see future potential even though the kid is one of the top players now.
On the other hand some kids are drafted even though they are not top players in hs - because scouts do see future potential.
Unlike the draft, college coaches do not make their line up based on potential. They put their best players now on the field, not those who may be the best players in a few years.
It is apparently a hard concept for many to grasp.
Some of the best hs players are not drafted because scouts do not see future potential even though the kid is one of the top players now.
On the other hand some kids are drafted even though they are not top players in hs - because scouts do see future potential.
Unlike the draft, college coaches do not make their line up based on potential. They put their best players now on the field, not those who may be the best players in a few years.
It is apparently a hard concept for many to grasp.