why you need good grades!!!

not only do you need to keep your grades up but don't forget to apply for ACADEMIC scholarships in case the baseball ones don't come through - which I'm finding out is very common

A great reminder for this time of year. There are a number of items that HS players need to be on top of.

• Know what the minimum NCAA requirements are for course work. DO NOT rely solely on your HS adviser, check the NCAA Eligibility site.
• Know what the minimum requirements are for the schools you are interested in. THEY CAN BE DIFFERENT!
• Check individual school websites for their required entrance testing (SAT, ACT, SAT II's). Take the tests early & often to get the highest grades possible.
• Apply early and to more than just your top choice!
• KEEP YOUR GRADES UP, gives you many more opportunities!

I know there are more reminders, so please add to the post. We know a player that had the grades, met the NCAA eligibility, had the test scores, got recruited by his dream school.... and ended up having to select a JC at the last minute because he DID NOT have the minimum courses his recruited college required! So players, do your homework early and research not just the baseball program but all the academic requirements as well.

RHP - All good points.

But I'm a little confused about 1 point. Why did the player you know not have the minimum requirements for his college? Seems like that would have been discovered during the admissions process and shouldn't be a surprise at the last minute.

Just confused.

Yes, you would think these are basic things to have verified in advance. But it was not discovered until during the admissions process. But this was in the FALL, after the player gave a verbal commitment, turned down other offers, and announced to friends and family where he was going to college! It was very unusual and a major OOPS on everyone's part, but academic qualifications were not verified in advance of the offer. Embarrassing for the player to have announced his D1 school offer and then not be able to attend.

Sometimes the ducks are thought to be in a row but are not--- I knew a player who was wanted at his #1 school for baseball but he had been poor in language in HS--his guidance counselor told him to not take a second year of language so as to keep his GPA up--his school of choice required two years of language ,thus he could not get accepted

That is an example of how one can graduate from HS, meet the Clearinghouse requirments and still not meet the college requirements for a particular college

Strange things happen !!!!

I am confused as well, most college coaches will make sure that the recruit is eligible for NCAA as well as school entrance requirements before the offer is made, he did not do his homework. If a coach sees that the student may not be able to keep up academically, he is not going to waste any of his coveted 11.7.
My son had to be accepted to the University before he could play based on his academic grades, which he was in April. I know that I was a little stressed because one of the requirements was three years of language (our state schools only reguire two), but because he had more than required in science and math, they waived the language requirement. Also know that if a student is way over the qualifications for NCAA certification (not just the bare minimum) exceptions are made.
I think there is more to the story than you might know.
Your post has validity though, parents, do your homework, before your son signs that NLI make sure you have familiarized yourself with school admission policies, despite the ok from the coach. Ask questions if you have them, if not find questions to ask, not just the coach, but academic advisors as well.
I don't think you will find this at the top D1 level, these coaches are not just paid to coach, but also to make sure their recruits get accepted and maintain their GPA.

It does seem strange to me. One coach told my son before making him the offer, admissions had to review and "sign off" on the player. (Actually more than one person in admissions). So maybe this is a school issue? IF we're talking about requirements, not grades.
Of course, there are instances too where I student will plan on taking "x" courses in the Spring, and then drop it because of senioritis...

I also wonder why taking a summer class wouldn't be an option. Like in TR's example of it being a language credit missing.

This brings up a questions in my mind, and may need to be addressed in the Pre HS section.
But at what time grade wise in HS should we makeing sure that our players are on the right tract to meet the requirements of the college they may be attending. I don't think you would wait untill their senior year would you?

Slider - Great question.

I would say as a freshman, maybe earlier. Most of us want our kids to get the best education they can, independent of baseball. Your child should have the type of college in mind that they want to attend early in HS. From that, I think you can lay out a plan of courses to take in HS and grades you need to achieve to get there.

In California, getting into the top state-sponsored universities (Univ. of California system) requires VERY good grades from the start and very specific requirements for HS classes. A late bloomer may be out of luck unless they bring something else significant to the table.

Our son's HS valedictorian was denied admission to UCLA and Cal. Thats tough!

slider

This is from my own experience;

We met with the AD, Principal and Guidance Counselor in the first weeks of our sons frosh year--- we made sure we were all on the same page--it worked becasue my son became the first player from his HS to get a scholarship to a MAJOR D-1 program---

My thoughts-- do not worry about beginning the process too early as it is never too early--others may tell you that but in the long run it is worth it--- start the ball rolling in his freshman year

Circumstances come up that you might never have thought of. Why not get the best HS education possible, including clubs, community service, etc? I fully understand that not all have the same capabilities, but what happens when you to do just good enough to get into school A, but not school B which comes along and might be a better fit?

Also, I’ve found is that there is a lot more to the admission process besides grades. Community involvement, SAT’s, ACT’s, referrals, essays, etc… can all come into play. A year or so ago I watched a program about the admissions process to a CA school (forgot which one, wasn’t Stanford). The committee brought everything into play in making their choices and a lot of 4.0 students, valedictorians, etc. were left out because they didn’t have the other intangibles that went with it. They were looking not necessarily for the smartest students, but the most well rounded individuals possible. Unfortunately, race was a factor, but that’s for another forum.

What I am trying to say is for everyone to do their best. Then let the chips fall where they may.

As the saying goes “If you aim at nothing, you will probably hit it!”

Hope this helps.
Frank

All good points.
Frank, they ARE looking for the well-rounded student, not necessarily the book-worm.
But bringing this back around to baseball, one coach told us he receives about 200-300 emails/week from parents or players. When we asked how he begins to weed out, he told us, "it's pretty easy. Grades!".
If you're a top tier player, then grades probably don't matter so much. But if you're a mid-level player, they can make a huge difference.

And TR's right again. It's NEVER too early.

05 Parents,
Now is a good time to make sure that you have available your son's most recent transcript. After the initial call, a week or two later they are going to ask you to send it to them. They might also ask for class ranking and PSAT/SAT/ACT scores. Depending on the school grades will matter.
Be prepared!

I would like to add that you should not rely entirely on the HS guidance counselor. Check college requirements yourself.

Let me give you an example. My son took Spanish I in Junior High (8th grade) and Spanish II and III as a freshman and sophomore in HS. His guidance counselor told him colleges would view that as having three years of a language. While that is true for our state university, it is not for many others. They will only count this as 2 years and if they have a 3 year requirement he is short. I didn’t figure that out until I called a few admissions offices myself to clarify it.

rjb,
Very good as I stated above, however, it is not a requirement of the NCAA and there fore in some cases can be waived. However, if one has concerns, discusss it with the coach ot teh admissions office.

Another reason why you need good grades...It makes quite a different=ce in the amount of money that is offered you and you are drafted to play fpro ball if you have an option of college after high school.

Poor grades usually means no real option to put on the table when the scout is sitting across the table from you. Take their deal or leave it or go to a juco as a draft and follow and hope.

Amen to the above, and one more thing:

Take as many AP classes as you can in High School that are college level (normally they follow you to college); it's pretty nice when those credits transfer and you start off with credits "in the bank". Normally only the credits transfer in , not the grades, but my son's academically abysmal first semester was less damaging because he came in with college credits. He pulled the GPA up second semester, but without 4 credits transferring from high school, it would have been a lot lot tougher.