What You're Working For

Well put Francis7!  It is common to see the limelight, thrill, adventure, and possibly money of being next level athletes but don’t realize the work and sacrifices it takes to get there. I just got back from vacation where I saw 7 games in 9 days in 3 cities and I am exhausted needing another vacation EXCLUDING baseball to relax. I asked son a few days ago if he ever got tired of living out of a suitcase, waking up in a different city every 3 days, dealing with fans, etc.?  His response was “are you serious?  I love every minute, I’m living out my dream, doing what I love, playing against my childhood idols, meeting great people”.  I thought after several years he was getting a little tired of it but I should have known better. I was basically sitting on my butt watching games, a little sightseeing, and eating out and here I am exhausted lol. Guess I don’t have what it takes to be an athlete!  Everyone enjoy your special journey.

My freshman has been on campus for a week. Between baseball and classes, he's basically required to be somewhere almost the whole day. (Again, not necessarily a bad thing.)

He was prepared for the early morning lifts. And he knew there would be group and team workouts at the field.  It's all good.

What was surprising TO ME was the amount of meetings related to baseball. I saw his schedule and, in addition to school work, time in the gym and time on the field, it seems like he has 2 to 3 hours of baseball meetings each day...at least until they start scrimmages this fall.

He's thrown himself into it and seems to like it. He's not complaining.

But when they say it's 8 hours a day for school and 8 hours a day for baseball, they ain't kidding. And, I can see where that might not be for everybody.

When kids tell others they’ve accepted an offer to ABC U everyone thinks they’re on their way to college stardom. For most players getting through the process to the college campus is just an opportunity to prove they belong on the team. Half don’t prove it.

@Francis7 Because your son is located in a cold weather state, the coaches may get field work in early before the weather changes. They may call it meetings but it could be instruction as well. Plus the coaches do team building activities.

Enjoy!

Francis

is your son a catcher add hours.

Bob

@Consultant posted:

Francis

is your son a catcher add hours.

Bob

You have to finish all those bullpens!!  My son knows it well. 

I mean, yeah, it’s a full time job, but it’s a pretty sweet full time job, especially if you actually like or love Baseball.  

And there are plenty of side benefits in terms of being a college athlete, including  favoritism from professors, favoritism in pre-reads with easier acceptance into the school, more academic scholarship money available than your grades alone would likely allow for, and being perceived as one of the big men/celebrities on campus.

Getting flown to Florida or Arizona with your bros/teammates on spring break is pretty nice, too, or for the big time guys playing in front of packed crowds in legendary venues, and on TV.

Compared to the job opportunities for those of a similar age who don’t have a college degree (digging ditches, hanging drywall, construction/roofing, driving a truck nationwide) being a College Baseball player is not exactly hard labor