Where to go from here

I would not pick a HS for its baseball team. Let him go where he well have the most enjoyable experience usually where all his friends will go. I know so many parents that sent their kid to the best baseball school around ended up not playing or even making the team only to either quit baseball altogether or transfer out. 

That is our plan. I guess I'm just curious what the different classifications mean in case we come down to two schools that he likes academically but that differ athletically.  

 

Also, we're in the city. Middle school friends scatter to a variety of schools so it's likely that no matter where he goes, he'll only know a few kids if any on day one (he makes friends easily though).

As best as I can I would suggest the following.  As the kids get older, they need to work on their own.  There isnt a lot of time in school based ball.  So finding some offseason instruction is a good idea.  

 

As as for a new travel team you just have to do your research in your area.  Ask around.  If you're serious about college start looking at the college exposure type teams. You have a year or two.    

 

Id pick the high school with the best academics. In many cases they are also the strongest athletic programs.  

I don't know your area so I can not be specific.

 

Your son is young, my advice is for him to PLAY baseball. Let him play on teams where he will play, have fun, meet other kids and grow through the experience. He just started playing on a full size field; most of the kid his age have yet to grow, a lot of what you are worrying about is premature.

 

My focus would be finding a high school where he will grow. My son's went to a Catholic boys high school, it was great for them but it is not for everyone. If you look at the numbers it is about one kid out of 5-7 high schools that moves on to D1 ball. If you add all levels of college ball it is one kid out of 3-4 high schools. That is the reality, my focus would be find a school which is good for your son and your family.

 

Your son will be a person a lot longer than he will be a baseball player. My focus would be finding a school where he will get a good education, will be challenged in the classroom, where he will make friends which will challenge him as he competes and where he will be prepared when the time comes to succeed in college.

 

As to baseball, at his age, having fun, competing and developing confidence is more important than any single program.

Ok, here goes, and this is just my opinion...

At your sons age he is still learning how to play the game.  At this point I would put the whole college thing out of your mind (for the most part - I will explain when I get there).  You should be focusing on learning the fundamentals on the big field.  In order to do that I would suggest looking for the highest level team he can play on while still seeing significant on field time.  Don't worry about playing up or down unless thats the only way you can get him on the field and challenge him.  If he is playing up and does not see the field that does him no good.  If he is playing down and dominating that does him no good as well.  My son is now a JR in HS and we have not had one college coach ask us at what level did he play 14u ball.  Other then that you need to find a team he enjoys playing with and make sure he is having fun.

 

As a generality I have found that most coaches at both the travel level and the HS level do not spend a lot of time coaching individuals.  The spend most of their time working through the team aspects of the game.  Things like defensive coverage or batting situations.  Breaking it down, if you have a 2 hour practice with 15 kids on the team you only have about 8 minutes per kid to work with each one individually.  Most kids I know who are serious about developing their skills spend time outside of team practices working with individual coaches.  During the off season my son works with a hitting coach (60 min/week), a pitching coach (30 min twice a week), a strength and conditioning coach (twice a week, but puts together a program for other days) and attends specific skills (2 hours no more then 10 kids at one time) practices for his fielding positions.  Over the years we have found that the majority of individual development is achieved during the off season working with his individual coaches.  During the season he generally drops all his coaches but his hitting coach and then his time with him is hit or miss depending on schedule.    

 

I would not factor the HS into the college recruiting equation.  The majority of baseball recruiting is done through travel teams and showcases these days.  Unless your son is a total stud the majority of his recruiting time will come the summer after his junior year in HS.  

 

Now, on to the one area where you may want to factor college recruiting into your decision.  Your selection of his travel/club team.  If he is really serious about playing after HS then the right organization can make a big difference.  I keep repeating this, and Im sure others are sick of my evangelizing this, but it really helps if you are in the right organization.  There are many different levels of travel ball.  Just picking out a team that wins all the time and has a reputation as being the best around is not going to be enough.  You need to look at how the organization is structured and make sure it matches up with your goals.  For instance my son was playing on what was/is considered a very good travel team in our area.  We won lots of tourneys, league championships, state championships, etc.  The problem is our organization did not know how to get the kids in front of the right guys.  Folks thought they did, but they did not.  Yes we would play in the big regional tourney, or tourneys at the colleges, they would even send a team to PG every year.  None of it mattered as they did not have the contacts needed to really get the kids noticed.  The organization listed 5 to 10 kids every graduating class who went on to play college ball.  They didn't tell you that most those kids left for one of about 4 other organizations in our state once they hit HS.

 

Contrast this to the team we have left for. We barely play any traditional tourneys.  We play lots of round robin events against the same teams every weekend all summer long.  Winning is not the top priority (learning to play at the next level and getting the kids into college is).  Thing is this team works with a local scout organization and has a reputation for turning out college ready players.  We see recruiters at our games every weekend.  This organization lists 20 to 30 players every year who go on to play college ball.  They will not list a player unless he actually graduates while in our program.  

 

What I am getting at is this.  If you can find an organization that is more concerned about developing kids and getting them in college at the HS level and they run a lower level division for non HS age players you may want to consider that program.  Its easier to move up within an organization then try to get into once HS starts.

 

Again, please don't take my explanation of what to look for as you need to consider college now, just keep it in your mind as this is one factor in the total evaluation of a program. 

 

I am not in your area so I can't suggest any programs.  Im sure others will pipe up.  All I can suggest you do is start asking around in your area.  The baseball community, especially at the upper levels, is fairly small and you should be able to get information by asking around.  

 

 

Hi Justdey, I am the mother of a 2020 grad 8th grader who will be 13 until next August. I live in the Atlanta Area where things are a bit more clear, but I also went to high school and College in Eastern PA, so maybe I can help.

 

I assume when you say there are "certain classifications that get more recognition" you are referring to High School things that look like 4A, or 6A, is that right? Those mean how large is the school.  A 6A school may have 2500 kids, whereas a 4A school may have only 1000.  The 6A schools may get looked at more for simply having a wider selection of kids to choose from.

 

This is an ongoing debate and may be different for YOUR area, but in my area it appears 90%+ High School kids that get recruited for college are recruited based on their travel team performance as well as attending showcases and college camps.  It's rare you hear about a kid getting recruited because of someone seeing him only in a high school game.

 

Pennsylvania is funky, it really should be two states, the Philly East side and the Pittsburgh West side, so that is what baseball seems to have done there. For example you have the Bucks County Brushbacks and they claim to be in the PAE (i.e. Pennsylvania East). Or you have the Pittsburgh Outlaws Black, and they claim to be in the PAW (i.e. Pennsylvania West).

 

You can check previous brackets for USSSA games as well as Triple Crown and any other organizations that are popular up there for local teams that played in those tourneys.  Here are a couple of links to tourneys that were kind of played near you.

 

https://www.triplecrownsports....9&divisionid=282

 

https://www.triplecrownsports....8&divisionid=282

 

Also, if you do decide to seek some off season coaching I betcha they know the local travel teams!

justdey,

 

Depending on your location, there are plenty of "serious" baseball organizations that could fit your mold as a perfect fit.  Bubba baseball, tri-state arsenal, SJ Elite, Whiz Kidz, SEPA Knights, etc are just a few in the Philly/South Jersey area.  All of these organizations have winter training, so along with the Spring/Summer/Fall program, they train with both agility and baseball focus.  Good luck... 

Thanks so much for the great feedback!  

 

I'm just trying to make sure he's set up for the best opportunities and have felt so uneducated about how to do that. Most of the 'baseball' people we know are in the same boat.  

 

The problem with being uninformed is that when you Google "Philadelphia area travel baseball team", you find yourself going down a wormhole that confuses more than helps. So while I'm confused, I'm really glad that search pushed me in the direction of this board and so many helpful people. 

 

There are lots of travel teams in the area, but not many that are convenient (i.e. most are headquartered nearly an hour away). How do I determine which ones have the "right" long term connections?  

 

CaCO3Girl - I'm originally from Atlanta (Cobb Co.) and things are done very differently in Philly. Your response about high school "levels" is exactly what I was looking for.

And since most of the replies above suggest off season training, I guess I should pursue that too.   

I was writing my reply when you posted this. Thatnks for naming names!  This helps!

 

Glad to help, I went to high school in Bucks County, PA now I live in Cherokee County, GA.  We basically just switched locations, lol!

Justdey;

do you know of the "King of Prussia" Baseball Group?

We have traveled for 15 years to Australia and Japan with players from the King of Prussia Baseball Academy. Each year Sandy places his students in Academic Colleges.

 

Let me know if you need direct contact.

Bob

<www.goodwillseries.org>

Justdey,

 

From a talent, exposure and development standpoint, in our opinion this is the #1 choice in your part of the country.

 

http://www.tristatearsenal.com/press.html

 

They have sent many to the next level.  They currently have our #1 ranked 2016 prospect on their team. He is a possible first overall pick in next years draft.  Among their alumni are many names you might recognize, like Mike Trout for one.

 

Also, if they don't fit your plans, they know all the top programs and probably will help you find the right fit.

 

 

I haven't heard of KOP Baseball and they haven't turned up in my Google search.

This is the team I keep coming across online.  Do you know if they carry multiple teams for each age group?

If you look at their Fall schedule online it looks like they have multiple teams in each age group.  From what I know of the organization (there are a few from our HS playing on teams for them) they are very competitive and are pulling the best talent from NY/NJ/PA.  

Yes, I believe they have multiple teams in most every age group.  Very big on development, development requires being on the field.  Their highest level team in most age brackets is among the best in the entire country.  In fact, their 16U team won the championship at the 300+ team WWBA in Georgia this summer. In the older age groups, they pretty much have an entire team of D1 and draft prospects.

My son has played for the Tri State Arsenal for the past couple of years. It's a 100 mIle each way trip for us, so that might explain how much he and I think of the organization. He has played for their #1 team each year, but don't underestimate the other teams at each age bracket. Some of the older #2 teams also have D1 prospects on their roster.

My suggestion, when it involves picking a HS, is to pick the best academic one your son can get into. If we picked solely because of baseball, he would be in a far lesser school. The work he does on his own and with the travel team makes up for what the HS does not do. And they are lacking quite a bit.

Thank you for the insights PGStaff and NYdad2017.  They don't have their tryout schedule posted for spring yet, but I assume it could be any time over the next couple of months. I'll check back frequently and join the mailing list.  In the meantime, I'll be looking into the Player Dev program with Hit Dr which appears to be the affiliated training facility.

 

Yesterday I had a long talk with the kid about commitment with strong messages:

 

You must be committed b/c playing more competitively:

1. Takes more money. (We can swing it but it will be challenging).

2. Takes more time for him (training, travel, etc.)

3. Takes more time for the parents (no explanation necessary)

4. Takes time away from academics and those can't slide.

5. It's going to become more work - playing the game is only part of the equation

6. May require sacrificing other sports (the kid never met a sport he didn't like - except basketball)

7. Etc. Etc.

 

After this long heartfelt talk I said to him, "I need you to think about it and tell me if this is really what you want."  His reply, with tears welling up, "I don't need to think about it. This is what I want."  He's never been overcome by emotion like that before. It surprised him - and me.  When I called him on it, he couldn't even explain why he was tearing up.  

 

It was one of the sweetest moments I've ever had as a mom.

 

Dont discount playing another sport at this point.  He still has a few more years to decide.  My son was a 3 sport athlete and excelled at all three up until his Jr. year in HS.  Lots of pressure to pick one but he stuck with all three until he felt like he started falling behind due to the lack of off season time.

 

Academics need to be number 1.  There is very little money available for scholarships playing college ball.  You will do a lot better and open up a lot more doors if you have the academics.  

http://www.tristatearsenal.com

We're definitely not discontinuing other sports, but there has to be a balance (we have another child, too.) Plus, we always leave the final decision up to him.  The last thing we want is to have him playing because he thinks it's what we want.  We want him playing b/c HE wants to. 

 

We are on the same page with academics.  They always come first. He gets good grades, but he has to work hard for them - they don't come easy.

It sounds like some things hit home.  That was pretty cool.

 

Looks like you found some great helpful direction here - welcome to the site!

 

When I was reading your list, I found myself drawn to see #1 and #3 being so high on the list and the way they were worded.  It can be a fine line.  Those are things that these young boys certainly need to be aware of and to appreciate.  They should appreciate and not take for granted the spend that may be involved and, in many cases, should have to share in the investment.  That said, we need to be careful we don't express that their interests are any kind of burden we don't want to bare.  I was fortunate enough to spend a lot of time with my kids and their interests, whether the interests were very interesting to me or not.  It was not easy to make that time happen and I always wished I had even more.  But I would never want them to think something they wanted to do was something that couldn't happen because it took too much of my time.  There was a funny thread posted here not too long ago that expresses this thought in an over-the-top sort of way but it definitely has an underlying message...

 

http://community.hsbaseballweb...g-catch-with-dad-lol

 

I know you are not that parent and I'm nitpicking your wording.  We just have to be careful when we walk that fine line trying to convey our messages to our kids.   

Actually, you should realize that as he gets into High School things change.  It becomes easier on the parent.  They get into the HS routine -- in season work, off season work, doing their thing, etc.  And the HS provides transportation to and from games.  Sports become cheaper.  Our summer baseball costs went down as half the season is HS.  He doesn't to other travel sports -- just sticks with the HS programs. 

 

And he should definitely do multiple sports until those sports tell him its time to quit.  Don't loose the HS experience simply because of some "dream" of the next level.  If that next level doesn't happen, what would he have missed in HS.  My kid actually enjoyed his HS basketball experience more than baseball (even though both teams lost a lot) because he had more close friends on the basketball team. 

@CabbageDad, that video is beyond ridiculous!  My list was more stream of consciousness typing on my part and not so much the order in which we discussed the commitments or the words I used with him. The order was more like 5, 4, 6, 2, 1, 3.

 

And while the "parents time" point might have seemed like a complaint, it isn't at all. I love all the running around and spending time with him.  But there are consequences -- the family gets split into two camps often, complicated work schedules have to be juggled by both parents, little sibling has less opportunities, we have less family time, fewer family dinners, etc. 

 

I get what you're saying, however I needed him to understand the realities of what it means for our family -- not just him -- to play at that level. He's always talked about big dreams and we always support that, but he is still a kid and interests can wane.  

 

I really want to be sure he's doing this b/c HE wants to and not b/c he thinks WE want him to. I also wanted to be sure I wasn't making assumptions about what he wants for himself.  It wouldn't have been right to take the next step without making sure I wasn't pushing him in a direction he didn't want to go anymore.  And yet, he's at an age where he does need a little pushing at times.  

 

The kid clearly understands and appreciates the lengths we'll go thru to support him. I won't go into details,but I'm confident in that.  

joes87,

 

I agree with what you said except for one thing that kind of bothers me and I see it mentioned a lot. I know it is meant to show the importance of academics which is very important, but here is what bothers me...    "There is very little money available for scholarships playing college ball"

 

Whenever I hear or read that, I always wonder, who are we talking to?  I know it is a little thing, but for "some" players there is a "lot" of baseball money available!  And for many that are academically challenged, but excellent players, there are JC programs that cover everything.  Then there are the few that get drafted early and sign for millions.

 

Point is... Education is the most important thing for most, but people are different.  Not everyone is capable of earning a baseball scholarship and not everyone is capable of earning an academic scholarship, no matter how serious they take academics or baseball.

Then again, some are capable of both!

 

No doubt, it is true, people need to know how important it is to take academics seriously. I know that is what you were getting at.

 

 

 

PGStaff

I hear what your are saying. One thing that really irritates me is hearing over and over again how every kid going to play in college is getting a full ride.  The reality of the situation is unless your a football or basketball player in one of the top programs in the country you can not relay on athletics to pay for your college.  Can it help with the costs, yes but, with a few exceptions, your not going to finance everything on a baseball scholarship.

 

Maybe the phrase little money is an exaggeration...

 

When the baseball team is covered for full scholarships like the basketball and football teams you can stop saying there is little money available. It is pretty simple and straight forward...when 63rd player in football is on a full ride at Florida (or pick a school) but the 7th kid on the roster for baseball is at 50% if he is lucky.....the math is pretty simple really

Justdey,

 

You sure seem like one outstanding mother.  One suggestion TIFWIW find someone in your area that can give you an honest assessment of your won't current ability and future potential.  Read between the lines when they tell you, because most people will want to be polite and tell you what they think you want to hear.  It's not that hard to decipher what they are saying.  Just listen hard, don't just hear what you want.

 

Only reason I say this is it might really help out in your planning.  And it might tell you how to best spend your money and time on baseball over the next few years.  Maybe you have already heard from enough people.

 

A quick story... Many years ago I got an unusual phone call.  A man in his 30s called and said he wanted us to see him pitch.  Said he had hired an agent and he was throwing something like 98 mph.  We used to charge $100 for players to come in and get an assessment.  He said that is fine and scheduled a time.  I told him if he threw 98 I would like to see it and we would make sure all 30 MLB clubs knew about it.

 

He flew into town along with a friend of his, got a hotel and showed up on time.  I liked him immediately, seemed like a great guy.  He got on the mound and his very first warm up pitch was really all I needed to see.  After he got loose, I told him we would gun him.  I can't remember the exact velocity, but I think it was in the 50 to 60 mph range and looked ugly.  Actually this would have been very funny except it was very sad.

 

So we sat down to talk... I asked him how all of this took place.  He said his agent told him he had what it takes to pitch in the Big Leagues. His agent said he could get everything done, but it would take some work.  This guy, not knowing much about baseball actually paid the agent $10,000 to work with him and get him a Major League contract.  It was the agent that told him he was throwing that 98mph.  

 

I know it sounds impossible, but very sadly true.  I told him, listen we can't charge you and you need to see an attorney because you have been scammed.  After telling him he has absolutely no chance and that we have 12 year old kids that throw harder, he broke down.  I said, I feel terrible telling you all this, but you need to know.  After awhile he settled down, he and his friend took off. I did get the name of that fake agent, before they left.

 

A couple months later, he called me.  This time he was upbeat and couldn't thank me enough.  Said he was sorry for getting us involved and he did talk to a lawyer.

 

I know this is an unbelievable story, but all very true.  He could of went to any baseball person where he lives and found out before spending any money. I found it nearly impossible that he didn't know, but he didn't. We had a few of our people there, after all, everyone wanted to see the 98 mph.  Not one person that was there will ever forget that day.  Our guys thought it was hilarious, but that changed when they later heard what happened.

 

What does this have to do with your son...  actually nothing!  But it is an example, maybe an extreme example, of how it sure can be helpful to get honest opinions before going all in.

old_school,

 

I understand!  Then again, I don't consider 50% to be a little money.  There are many kids playing college baseball that are getting between 50% to 100%. And yes, there are many getting 25% and some getting nothing. My point is, it isn't the same for everyone. I understand the 11.7 scholarship limit is an issue.

 

No it's not the same as football or even basketball. But if you take 11.7 x cost of full ride, that is more than a little money.  And to each individual it is a different amount ranging from none to a lot to, in some cases, everything. My point was, it is not a "little" to everyone across the board. So claiming it is a little amount isn't really true in every case.

 

Anyway, it doesn't change the fact that academics is very important. Then again if we look at the total financial picture maybe football is most important. Our college football coach makes around $4 million a year.  He is the highest paid person at the college and highest on the state's payroll.  So what are they telling us? What is more important? Academics or Football?

I can agree with this for the most part...it just pisses me off!!! 

 

Oh my.  That is a sad story.  Thank you for the sage advice. We'll definitely keep it in mind as we progress.  IKWYM about only hearing what you want to hear. It's easy to fall into that trap.  I don't know what the future holds for him but he has such a love for playing that I want him to do it as long as he can and will continue seek out opportunities to make it possible.

 

P.S.As far as being an outstanding mom... I wish!  I'm just doing the best I can.

Just a follow-up. I spent last week scheduling him for tryouts with various teams.  He had one yesterday where he and I met one-on-one with the coach.  They did a few drills and whatnot. Then coach spent some time going over his philosophy,  

 

Background: He started his program two years ago with a 17U team (we got a referral from one of the players).  Now he's adding a 14U and he's looking for the boys to advance as they age.  His first question to my kid was "what kind of grades do you get?" - which this mom liked.  He stressed the importance of academics in playing for a college team.  He's not interested in stacking up wins. He's interested in developing players.  B/c we got a referral from the mom of an older kid, I've been assured this isn't just public relations and he truly does operate this way.

 

His goal is player development and appropriate college placement (IF the kid has the abilities). He works to align baseball interests with academic pursuits. He doesn't sugarcoat anything. If the kid isn't good enough for college, he'll tell us.  If he's a D3 player, he won't spend time pushing him on D1 scouts and he won't let the kid think that's realistic.  He won't recommend a college if it doesn't have the right combo of academics the kid wants and baseball the kid can play.  

 

It sounded like a very good fit to me. Even though the kid's focus right now is on being a better player and my focus is helping him play as long as he can, I did appreciate this coach's approach to developing his high school kids. He wanted the kid for the team. 

 

Another tryout next week with a different team. We'll see how it goes.  

This all sounds good, but being involved at this for so long and knowing how easy it is to make a mistake....   Not sure I would ever allow one person to dictate the level of play someone is capable of. That is always determined by the player and the real decision makers.

 

Quick true story.  A State DI coach that I knew really liked a young player and was planning on recruiting him.  The player was on a team coached by a legendary guy with a great reputation.  In fact, he was a former long time scout. The players coach insisted his player was nowhere near a DI level player and at best should play at a small DIII college. or go to the local junior college.  The college recruiter, respecting the legendary coach lost interest in the kid and quit thinking about recruiting him.   In fact, he told the kid he should consider going to a Junior College. If he did well there they would have a spot for him.

 

5 years later, after a great JC year (at a better JC program), that young kid was in the Major Leagues. That kid had committed to a major power program, but was drafted and signed.

 

Never allow one person to dictate the future.

Good advice and just to be clear I don't intend to let that happen.

 

This guy wasn't about "owning" my kid's baseball future.  He was about developing skills, being realistic his opportunities, and helping him go as far as he can.  No egos. No drama.  Complete sincerity that has been verified by a parent in the program.  

 

And there are still more tryouts so only time will tell where we land.  

 

NTGson looked like a ballplayer at age 5. His Mom and I enjoyed watching him in T-Ball, then Coach-Pitch. Then Kid-Pitch. All rec leagues, regular practices, at least two games a week. Our only rule was that head coach could not be a player's dad. That ruffled some feathers. But we stuck to our guns and prevailed. At 7 we were asked to let him play on a "travel team". We said no, "travel for 7 year olds-are you kidding me?"

 

At age 8, we relented; he joined a team whose coach had no kids on the team and the travel was limited to one hour's drive time. He continued to play with his school and neighborhood buddies in the rec leagues. The travel coach suggested that we meet a revered pitching coach, (15 year major leaguer, MLB pitching coach, etc.) to have NTGson assessed for potential. We did.

 

That coach was a godsend. He gave NTGson 90 minutes of his time gratis, talked with him, threw with him, coached him and then was honest with us in assessing his athleticism, arm action, response to minor coaching instruction and potential. Major factor was, of course, his projected size and desire to improve to chase a dream. That short time has led to 10 years of gentle guidance for our son.

 

We have followed his advice, NTGson has grown over the years to 6'. As he went through Middle School, he wrestled, ran middle distance track, played cornerback in a high level youth football program, but stayed with baseball as his main sport to love and under the tutelage of the same pitching coach. As he improved in his skills he became a commodity. Invitations to play on this team or that team came at us regularly. But we liked the multi-team organization of his local travel team, its culture and its coaches' low-key but effective and thorough instruction. Lots of wins, lots of learning, little drama.

 

The thread that has run through that first pitching coach and NTGson's first travel organization and into today is the importance of doing well in the classroom. When he was 12, after a very successful year culminating in significant success at Cooperstown, we again sat down with the pitching coach, discussed where NTGson was now and where he could be in a few short years. That led to his accepting an invitation to join a very high profile, local team to compete on more of a regional basis. Truly a blessing for him, great young coach with college and pro experience, tremendous talent throughout the roster (of 14 kids, 9 thus far have committed to play D-1 baseball) and that led, within the next year to an invitation to join a nationally-renowned organization for which he has played ever since.

 

The thread of academic success, stressed by his coaches and his Mom, remained the key component around which everything else revolved.

 

Along the way we supported him, and exposed our boy to as many different experiences as possible, including at age 16 four weeks as an exchange student in Europe.

 

All the while, he was a regular at the gym where that first assessment of him was given, discussing his plans for college and his career. Never did he mention a burning desire to play college baseball, much less the pros. He just loved to play the game.

 

When NTGson was a freshman in high school and a starter on varsity, we asked him where he might want to go to college and what he wanted to do when he grew up. His answers were not "a college where I can play baseball and a major leaguer" but much more slanted to one of the professions and schools which were geared to preparing him for that kind of career.

 

I was disappointed, shocked, dismayed and ever so slightly angry.

 

All this time and all this effort and all this travel and money and he didn't dream of playing in Yankee Stadium? I wouldn't be able to watch him on TV someday and do favors for friends by getting them tickets to big games and autographed balls and jerseys.

 

Thank you, God, for allowing me to meet, marry and share a life with NTGson's Mom. She set me straight quickly. "He's a bright kid", she said, "and he'll do well in life. If he doesn't have dreams of college and professional baseball you can't create them for him".

 

After I choked back a sob, she and I reached an agreement. If he wanted to play, we supported him in every way, as long as the A's keep showing up on the transcript. If he wanted to travel and we could afford it, we traveled. And we subsequently sat down with the staff of the organization for another key assessment of his size, athleticism, talent, skills and projectability. They were honest, thorough and accurate.

 

I've bored you with this story, but I can tell you the ending. Now a high school senior, NTGson has committed to a wonderful D1 school, to play baseball and to pursue his career. His grades and test scores, after all the gentle monitoring of his academic progress by his enlightened mother, make him a great recruit for his school and the academic scholarship dwarfs any baseball money.

 

Will I see him on TV? Maybe. Playing in the Bigs? Maybe. But whatever paths he takes, baseball has been the very best of times for him and for us. It's crushing to realize that after this year we no longer will be sharing the long rides with him to games, or getting the firsthand low-down on what happened in this inning or that one, or seeing the change in demeanor that he goes through the day of a big game or enjoying the joyful glow left by a timely hit or well-pitched game.

 

Thats what we'll miss most, not the accolades and awards, but the sharing of special moments with our son through this sport. 

Great story. Congratulations! Odd how things turn out sometimes. 

Notthatguy,

 

great story not boring at all, thats the way it should be done! 

 

Hope your next four years are as enjoyable, you will still get a lot of special moments with your son in college. They are just more condensed. 

Not understanding looking at HS now? Go where his friends will be, why would anyone do anything different?