What do you guys think of this...

The thing is reputation and alumni network are significant factors. My daughter interned at a large, prestigious law firm the past two years. When she was accepted to a highly regarded law school she was told there would be a job waiting for her if she graduated in the top third. When she was accepted to an Ivy she was told just graduate.

I disagree. I believe this site helps people decide where the balance between academics and athletics should be. I went through softball recruiting with my daughter before finding this site. We came back to a decision (actually I told her) the decision would be 70% academics and 30% athletic. I was willing to let her slide down the academic pole part of the way for a better athletic situation. My kids would have been multi generational legacies at a NESCAC. I was the first generation not to attend. My kids did exactly what I did. They chose solid (not elite) academic D1s for their major rather than play D3. In my daughter's case the college she attended and graduating PBK, plus a two year internship with references got her into an Ivy law school. Had she attended the NESCAC school chance are she would have gone straight to an Ivy law school. But she enjoyed her college softball experience.

I'm in 100% agreement with RJM's statement but for different reasons.  His statement about the balance between academics and athletics is the reason I started coming here years ago.   There were other web resources & message boards that were almost entirely focused on academics and general college recruiting.   This site is focused on baseball mostly with some academics thrown in there because some people want to talk about it at various levels.  They want to know what their options are before jumping into that deep and wide college baseball pool without knowing how to swim.  That was me several years ago....I wanted data before jumping into that pool.   To get the necessary information I needed for recruiting I had to do a lot of reading between the lines, books, message boards and networking.  I had a kid who threw the ball hard and had very high academics....not a typical situation and unchartered territory for me.  I wanted to be assured I was doing all the right things to guide & council him, and be the best parent I could.    

In my oldest son's case, he had initial offers from solid, middle of the pack D1 schools.  These are very good schools that graduate very smart people every year, and maybe get a couple guys drafted.  He may have found the starting college lineup his soph or junior year.  Contrast that with an opportunity to go to a top 15 undergraduate and engineering school to play a slightly lesser level of D1 baseball, and self-project to make the starting lineup freshmen/sophomore year.   He chose the latter because he loves baseball but he lives, breathes & thinks engineering.  Coming to a site like HSBBWeb gave me the right information at the right time.   Nobody can tell you what to do in a lot of cases, because you have to figure this out on your own.   People can suggest.  We eventually figured it out, but it wasn't easy. 

Further contrast that with my youngest son is not the student my oldest son is.  He loves baseball but has no clue what he wants to do when he grows up.   For him, baseball is his ticket to finding a college education.   Athletics will be THE  priority in our future decision making process for him if the opportunity presents itself.  His athletic/academic balance is tilted the other way from oldest son.   There is nothing wrong with it, but there is an awareness.  JMO.

I would come down someplace in the middle of this discussion. I question if the site and input provides guidance on where anyone should come down on the education/baseball/social balancing.  What I think does happen here, which is unique, is the input on the different factors to consider in the balancing coupled with an appreciation of how different families and son's actually balance those considerations.

As one illustration, our son wanted very good academics, but in a learning environment which worked for him.  He wanted to play and especially wanted to be well coached.  Out of the options most available for him, the D3 which had terrific academics, small classes, after hours availability of all professors,  and a very hungry and motivated young coach was the choice.

In contrast to some of his peers who attended Ivy's and chose Summer internships over Summer Wood bat leagues, our son's approach was exactly the opposite. The opportunity to spend Summers in New England, compete at a very high level of baseball and be exposed to some great business people who open their homes and teams in ways which are quite unique was irreplaceable and unforgettable for him.

From my perspective, it isn't that the input on this site is a one size fits all.  The input is invaluable to appreciating most all of the talking points,  how others have viewed and weighted them and the experience which resulted.

This has been another top notch thread.

There is not a lot to add.  

I think one of the posts made reference to this but I'll reiterate… Does he want to be a big fish in a small pond?  Or a small fish in a big pond?  

We all know the kid that got that "shot" at the big school, the CWS contender every year kind of school, that ends up getting 27 AB's in midweek slaughters.  He'll transfer home to a mid major perhaps.  Or finish his career WAAAYYYYY down the bench or off the team.  And we are left wondering what "could've been" if he had gone and been a 4 year starter somewhere a little smaller.  

No right answer.

And of course Golfman25 brought it home… Who has the hottest girls?!?!  

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com

Some of us came to this site for the same reasons Fenway describes . . . only years later. 

My 2013 son and I greatly benefitted from the advise and wisdom that Fenway, Leftyshortstop, Prepster and Birdman14 directly shared via Dialog discussions.  After 103 posts, I bet Fenway shared with me and my son nearly all that he learned from "reading between the lines" and from the contributers to this site that helped him with his/his sons' recruiting paths.  He and the three others certainly allowed us to (1) consider all available options, including options we hadn't considered and (2) analyze and balance the many factors that go into making decisions along the recruiting path (writing e-mails, attending camps, writing follow-up e-mails, reading the tea leaves from coach communications, making the final decision, etc.)

Personally, with all the topics on this site, I always thought that all can get what they're looking for: be it academic advise, baseball advise or a combination of the two.  It certainly was for my son and me.  That advise helped my son find "the right fit" and after just over two months is very happy at a high academic D3 on the East Coast, academically, athletically and socially.  As a result, I consider this site and the varied conversations held on it a gift.  I know my son does too and he's never been on the site!

This site is about finding the right fit, whether the fit is all about baseball or the fit is all about academics, or 50/50 or whatever one decides is important to them to find that fit.

You have to learn how to use each one of your skills (whether that be talented in the classroom or a talented in the field) to find what YOU (the player or family) are looking for and what will work best for YOU (player or family)!