You often hear folks on the site refer to his "dream school".

What exactly constitutes a "dream school" for your son? Is his opinion of a dream school the same as yours? Does he attend his dream school currently? How important is that he attends that kind of a place, if your son is younger?

My son is still to young to count for your discussion because he doesn't have his bearings yet because, for him, it's more a list of "dream schools". When he was younger, he would always ask if he'd be good enough to play at LSU, Stanford, Rice, Texas, Arizona, Florida, etc., basically all of the CWS participants. So I had to educate him on just how difficult it it to play at the collegiate level, much less, one of the TOP programs in the country. Not to mention the geographic disadvantage of living in Ohio while they primarily recruit within their region and probably mostly in-state.

Now that he's maturing (hahahaha) and having seen his sister get recruited by some big name schools and the reality of it, he's starting to get somewhat more realistic and looking at schools for academics + baseball. So now, his questions are more like "Acme State Univ would be a pretty good school, wouldn't it?"

It will be interesting to see where he ends up. I would imagine that when it's time to showcase and start communicating with coaches, he'll target some big name programs for the fun of it, because those will be his dream schools. But that's SOOO far off for us to worry about now. I keep reminding him of the realities (somewhat as motivation) and that he needs to keep working hard NOW so that he can adapt to the next level.

How important is it to me? Selfishly, I'd LOVE to see him get a chance to play for a top college program. But it's HIS dream and he's the one that has to want it to make it happen.

Great question lafmom.

I think my son and I see things similarly and differently at times with respect to schools. A dream school could potentially be many things but I think many people refer to the baseball experience plus the academics offered by the school. Of course, just the attraction one feels when they walk onto a campus the first time has something to do with it. In other cases, either baseball or academics may limit or facilitate the choice of schools.

Where my son currently attends, they have a beautiful campus, fine baseball program, and great location near Myrtle Beach, SC. Although they are not known for their academics, I believe he is getting a fine education there. In some disciplines like marine sciences, his school is an academic destination of choice from all over. I have heard him telling people he is going to a dream school so I am happy with that. I think TRHit has said, the best school is the one you are attending i.e., the dream can be realized by letting your mind be open to the possibility of the dream.

Now in my own mind, there are two schools I would like to mention. Stanford is located in beautiful Palo Alto on a lovely campus. Their academics are second to none. Some would argue the same thing about their baseball program. Hard to argue that Stanford is not a dream school.

More recently, I was in Malibu and while there, stopped at Pepperdine. Oh my....talk about location and unbelievable scenic beauty....They have a very fine baseball program and academics as well. I would love to see my daughter go there...one can always dream...

Ah Pepperdine. I remember sending out stuff to them, to an address on Malibu Drive, thinking "How does anyone get any studying done there?" But I digress.

I think that "dream school" has two different levels. My son dreams of playing baseball wearing the burnt orange of the University of Texas. However, he knows that is the longest of long shots. When really settling down, he wants a school where he likes the coaching staff, he has a chance to be the starter by the time he is a junior, where he can get the kind of classes he wants to take, and where he gets good academic support. Here's hoping he finds it, we have a year!

Son has a friend playing basketball at Pepp. Says it is absolutely beautifull. He is a soph and broke his leg this season.

http://www.pepperdine.edu/virtualtour/pepinpics/malibu-campus/mc4.htm


******I think I should enroll for my Doctorate!

wow

Oh, my gosh!!! I may truly have a dream school afterall!!! How beautiful!

My dream school for my son would be a private, small Division I college/university that had high academic standards, had teachers that were at the top tier in their field and made their courses challenging for their students with a good but not necessarily great baseball program with a coach who recruited honestly and judged his talent fairly.

My son's dream school would be a place where the coaches liked him and he liked the coaches, where they badly wanted him for their shortstop of the future, where he would be seen by MLB scouts and the academic side of school was just a little bit harder than high school but once you graduated from the school you could either play MLB or great a great job because the school guarenteed a job for all of its graduates.

Somwhere in between lies "OUR DREAM SCHOOL."

TW344 - add "...tons of hot chicks and warm weather" and you'd probably have my son's "dream school". Half the time we watch college sports on TV, I think he's doing it to see the camera pans of the crowd. Inevitably, the southern schools get the most "ooohs" and "ahhhs".

Ultimately, any chance of playing D-1 baseball is a "dream school" for me.

If I had a choice of going anywhere I wanted, I would probably go to Ohio State, if I had to make the choice today.

I would love to play ball at Penn State as well.

Ultimately though, I would be plenty content with just playing competitive D-1 baseball.

quote:

Originally posted by Natedawg:
If I had a choice of going anywhere I wanted, I would probably go to Ohio State, if I had to make the choice today.

Nate - I liked you more when you were sporting the RedHawk avatar.

Beautiful photos of Pepperdine Neighborhood. Now I see why LHP Doug Simons liked it there so much. Might add, he made it to show as well.

TW344, might be a good place for a shortstop too. peace

Shep

quote:

Originally posted by Beezer:

quote:

Originally posted by Natedawg:
If I had a choice of going anywhere I wanted, I would probably go to Ohio State, if I had to make the choice today.

Nate - I liked you more when you were sporting the RedHawk avatar.

Ah, come on now. If you live in Ohio, you are usually a Bucks fan. Been a Bucks fan all my life. I like the Redhawks as well.

Penn State intrigues me a lot as well. Beautiful area, seems to be.

Like I said though, I'd love to just play competitive D-1 baseball.

lafmom, good topic. When I first heard the buzz word “dream school” I envisioned it as that school a player “dreamed” about in his high school or even pre-high school years. I thought this was the college that occupied his mind and the school’s pennant hung on his bedroom wall. But I have change my mind and realized a “dream school” can materialize in different ways. What Cleveland Dad describes is the way my son’s “dream” school materialized.

quote:

Of course, just the attraction one feels when they walk onto a campus the first time has something to do with it. In other cases, either baseball or academics may limit or facilitate the choice of schools.

My son had said for years that he wanted to play in the SEC so for him there was no dream school but a dream conference. But, that restriction eliminated 99% of the schools from even being considered. He was fortunate that he was recruited by some schools in the SEC so he had some options there. His dream school actually emerged on a visit to the campus and the surrounding area. Since lafmom started this thread I’ll share with the readers what I have already told her in person. On an unofficial visit he walked up the steps of the baseball stadium (which had obscured his view of the playing field). Once he reached the top of the steps he paused, turned to his mother and me and said “This is where I want to play baseball”. I’m not here to sell his dream school but there were many pieces that fell into place during the unofficial and official visits. If a player pre-selects a dream school, he may be placing unnecessary restrictions on himself as he starts the college selection process. Having a dream school (or even a dream conference) does eliminate options ---- and the more options a player has ----- the better.
Fungo

quote:

Originally posted by Fungo:
On an unofficial visit he walked up the steps of the baseball stadium (which had obscured his view of the playing field). Once he reached the top of the steps he paused, turned to his mother and me and said “This is where I want to play baseball”.

But since Tennessee didn't make an offer, he went to Auburn instead?

I think my son is in the "dream conference" boat a little bit as well....ACC, SEC, PAC 10, Big 10.....

Beezer:

But there are "tons of hot chicks and warm weather" in the Atlantic Sun and the Sunshine State Conferences. Better keep them in the mix.

Shepster:

Thanks for the advice. I'll check out Pepperdine's roster more closely and see what the middle infield situation for 2008 looks like. Obviously the campus is beautiful.

Fungo:

I hope it happens to my son just that way. Great post.

TW344

ASC: Mercer, UNF, Jacksonville, ETSU, Kennesaw State, Belmont, Gardner-Webb, Stetson, Lipscomb, FAU & Campbell

SSC: Tampa, Florida Tech, Lynn, Barry, Nova Southeastern, Florida Southern, Saint Leo, Rollins & Eckerd

Not too shabby TW344.

Beezer, They did offer but he declined. The recruiting coordinator hung up on him when he told them he had selected Auburn over UT.

He loved to play at UT (for Auburn)

quote:

The recruiting coordinator hung up on him...

We had the same experience with a different school. Why people choose to act this way is beyond me - regardless of the endeavor....

I agree with above posts which encourage players to keep their options open. My son's choice, and what he would now call his "dream school" was the absolute last school to contact him last fall. He had never even considered this school.

Many of our friends have questioned why my son chose this school since it isn't their idea of a desired destination. He turned down more glamorous locations, but to a baseball kid, this is top of the heap. Its SEC baseball and they're currently ranked in the top 10 nationally. Its only 4 hours from home and the campus is great. He loves the coaches and feels this is the place to grow into the baseball player he wants to become. The community/campus support for baseball is unbelievable. Its like being at a minor league ballpark every home game.

So...his "dream school" and "perfect fit" only became apparant to my son after it presented itself. Don't get too caught up in preconceived dreams.

Life can present new dreams at any moment.