Which School Should My Son Choose?

Leave him the AAAAA school. He has alot of advantages being a LHP if he possesses certain skills.

1) Velocity - 85 mph and above consistently
2) Can locate all pitches
3) At least three pitches
4) Can field his position
5) Good mechanics

If he has all of the above he can go to the next level. Yes some look at size of school but talent and skills usually win out.

I don't know what's involved in transferring. Are there issues about travel time, friends, etc.? Casting all that aside, my first answer would be for him to be where he can play the most. However you also have to factor in the level of competition. Your son benefits by playing AND playing with and against the best competition possible. If your son is as good as you think he is, then I would think he'd get plenty of opportunity at his present school. Good lefties don't come along everyday. Does he play summer ball? Summer ball, camps, and showcases will likely generate more exposure for him than his high school team. Remember, high schools are playing ball at the same time colleges are. So college coaches don't get that many opportunities to scout high school games in person.

Being from North Alabama myself, I wouldn't worry about the high school part. Where he attends and how many starts he gets doesn't matter a lot. If you have a choice between schools (or are considering moving), I would try and find out which high school coach has the better reputation for working with pitchers and helping them get better. (Bama Bomber here on this board would be a good source for that information).

You need to get him on a travel team for the summer and fall where he can get some quality playing time with good teams and good exposure. That's what college coaches are interested in, seeing your player in good situations playing well.

Changing schools has such an impact on a young man in many areas, not just baseball. So, IMO, I would not leave the great academic bird-in-the-hand for a possible baseball bird-in-the-bush.

College scouting usually takes place in the summer months, at major tournaments & showcases or at their own school camps. What is more important is playing on a competitive team against strong competition in an environment that is scouted. That's NOT the typical HS game. A player is usually "discovered" during a HS season only if a scout happens to be there watching another player they've seen during the previous summer.

You state that the present school is one of the best in the state--that is KEY--- do not transfer just for baseball--JMHO

By the way___ is the question posed by your son or you as the parent?

Academics first ... and last ...

Baseball is a luxury. It's great, it's fun ... but for all but 0.5% of the current crop of HS grads, it ain't going to happen professionally, and that's just the minors.

An education lasts forever ... an arm can blow out tomorrow. Finally, more players are seen/scouted during the Summer/Fall than during the HS season anyway. It's much more important to play on the best showcase teams you can instead of worrying about being at the "right" high school.

Just to clarify.
1. My question not my sons.
2. Current School is Alabama 6A New school would be 4A.
3. Academic - no comparison. My son is an honor student with very high standardized test scores.
4. Distance is the same.
5. This is the real issue. The New school is the school I attended and one of the coaches was a classmate of mine and asked me to send my son to their school, they do not have any LHPs. He was also a coach where my son attends now but changed jobs. (By the way my Grandfather he was there in 1902, my mother 1958, myself 1979 and my siblings attended the same school.)

I guess it is really about me and not him but I just thought I would ask.

College Coaches very rarely get to HS games until the college season is over and even then it is not a "given"--they see players in the summer and during the fall season

If my son was in this situation I would be reminding myself that if he can't rise to the top of his current high school team then it probably isn't that likely he is going to get a lot of looks from college coaches anyway. I would be more inclined to keep him where he is at....since it's one of the best schools in the state it sounds like he'll get the opportunity to be challenged in the classroom & baseball diamond!!!

Talk to your son, sharing what you've been told here.

With all the family history at that school...I'm just curious why you didn't send him to that school in the first place?

It's funny you should ask, over the last year I have asked myself that same question. I live in the same neighbor I did growing up. Very near my parents, my kids have had an opportunity to be with their grandparents more than most. My family is very close knit with a very large extended family at the school I attended (for 12 years by the way.
My first reason was the larger school provided much more opportunity. Secondly while the distances are the same they are in the opposite direction. So my old school took me away from town where the new school is toward town. But now that I've had almost 16 years to think about it. I'm not really sure about my decision. As you get older I guess your priorities change. And seeing my classmates teaching class, I guess I want my kids to have what I had. They have lots of friends and lots of opportunities but they seem to be missing something. Or maybe it's me that is missing something and they don't know the difference. That's all.

dad4boys,
As parents we all want to make the best choices for our kids. So, it shows you care by taking time to post and get other opinions. As you can see, you have many posts to ponder. IMO, I say don't start doubting your decisions of why you selected this school in the first place. You never know, there may be many baseball players being "recruited" to transfer and the situation would be the same at the new school, but without the friendships your son has made at his current school. It is too much of a gamble with the rest of his world just for baseball.

blackheart,
"85 mph and above consistently" etc, etc, LHP is a recipe for D1 not just the next level.

One otherthing, my old friend left the 6A school for the 4A school. And my sister decided to send her son to the IMG academy in Fla. He is in his first year there and my sister seems to go down everyother weekend so it has just made me think about schools. By the way my nephew is doing great at IMG and getting bigger, stronger, faster and better at baseball every time I see him. I guess it's worth the money.

dad4boys,
Since college and high school regular season game schedules run parallel (Early Feb thru April), college coaches are committed to their team and don't have time to visit high school games. For college head & asst coaches who's teams didn't make their conference tournament or regional tournament, they have time to travel and watch the high school playoff games. The high school that offers the highest visibility by qualifying for your state playoffs could prove valuable.

Get an un-biased opinion (other than a high school coach) of your son's skill level. Have him attend an evaluation camp. For a player seeing limited playing, has supportive parents & the player has patience & a committment to further develop, I would highly recommend summer select teams, fall league games and attend a showcase or two. Use these to build your son's resume. If he has talent or potential, no matter whether the high school coach uses him or not, don't do your son a dis-service and leave his future to only the high school coach. Whichever high school and/or high school coach you choose for your son, as long as your son wants to compete and work hard at it, as a parent, you play a huge, active role in his visibility. As a parent, you help create the opportunities. Your son matures by accepting the responsibility to be ready when & if the opportunity arises.

With a freshman LHP son entering his varsity spring season at a NCAA DIII school, and having discussed some of these very issues during our son's end-of-sophomore high school year, I offer the above.

Good luck!

Sounds like the old is the grass always greener..........
I am assuming that the transfer would be for next year????
If it was my son, I wouldn't do it, I would concentrate on finding a good summer team for him to play on, tournament teams and showcases.
I guess they grow a lot of lefties in your state!

All,

Thanks for all the input.

I'll just join the crowd.

I would not leave the school because I'm guessing your son is happy there and doing well academically and baseball-wise. So why leave?

Just find a summer team where he can play and get seen. That is the key to exposure. I'd also consider going to a Perfect Game Showcase like the Sunshine State event in June.