TxMom,

This is a great story and congrats to your son!

I am curious about what the agreement was going in. Did your son call up Texas Tech out of the blue and ask to try out? Had they seen him play before and were aware of his reputation? Did they contact his JUCO coaches or did they rely on his assertions? Exactly what did they promise him if anything? Merely a chance to tryout? Or was it more like "If you are the player we think you are, there is a good chance you can make our team."

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AP...

Apologize if I did not make this clear...

I am going to overstate this at the risk of being criticized to make my observation....but in my twisted way of there are two types of stories..."Blue chips" who are getting multiple offers July 1, have a wide choice of rectuiting trips, and many choices on signing day. This is great. All the more power to these. I had an early sign. I mean no disrespect.

But I am on the recruting trail weekly talking to the large # of the "Non Blues" who are wondering why they are not getting all that attention and wondering why they are struggling so hard when they are hearing all these stories of instant success.

IMO...We hear many blue chip stories, IMO not so many, or enough of those "NonBlues" who struggle thought the process, past November, into April and the second signing period and then into walk-on status.

My post was intended to celebrate a young man who went far beyond the norm to reach his goal.

SO...you and I are in complete agreement.

Sorry if I appeared to hard on anyone, rather my intention was to remind that this story offers another viewpoint, one that we often overlook.

In the end I am not yet sold that most will take the tride and true methods. While I am in complete agreement that most will try and want to take that path, it may not be open to them.

Just looked at a listing of the '05 class at one of CA's best showcases. Of those 90 players 3 got drafted, perhaps 30 went to NCAA schools. DI, DII, DII. The rest will be taking non-traditional methods.

ClevelandDad...
His JUCO coach called first (at our son's request) and then our son followed up with a call. One coach had seen him pitch before his surgery. They made him feel welcome, but promised nothing. Our son knew it would be hard from the onset, but still wanted to try. The truth is that his parents are more afraid of the odds than he is.

The one thing I’ve learned about baseball at the higher levels is that success is never easy…for anyone. Even the Blue Chip player faces a huge set of challenges. As much as we want to protect our sons from struggle, the simple truth is that we can’t. The older I get the more I realize that’s a good thing.

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TxMom...bravo.

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observer44

Based on your description of blue chippers I would have to think the vast majority of the folks who come to this site for advise fall into that category.

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AP...

Based on what I am seeing on the recruitng trail, there are large numbers of hungry non-blues crying for information. I would hope that they feel free and encouraged to participate as well.

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I too hope that all HS Baseball players who hope to play past high school (and their parents) will find this a useful place to visit. I have no idea if my 08 will end up a blue chipper or not - but am findng this a great place to come and get smarter about baseball in HS and beyond.

I would actually argue that the non blue chippers need this site more than the blue chippers. Players who make the baseball america lists have lots of choices - and lots of people who are happy to help them make those choices. Other players may still want to continue on - and sites like this may help them to do so.

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08...agreed. In my experience the Blues most often know the system the non-blues are less sure and need more help. I hope we here can offer that help.

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Sorry, after I reread my post I realize I made a mistake. What I meant to say was"

based on your description of blue chippers I would have to think the vast majority of the folks who come to this site for advise DO NOT fall into that category.

Sorry for the confusion.

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AP....No problem....respected your opinion either way.

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I personally think the blue chippers need this site every bit as much as the non-blue chippers.

The non-blue chippers need the site to help them find a place to play. They need help learning about the tried and true methods that have worked for others. They also need help finding not so tried and true options available as well.

The blue chippers may have more options available to them, but that in itself can be massively confusing. It might sound like a great situation to be in (and yes, it is) but it has it's own set of pitfalls. Learning about selecting agents may seem more prestigious, but it is every bit as much stressful.

That is why I have always enjoyed this site so much. There is advise for kids at all levels of talent.

APARENT

I agree--in many cases the more offers a kid has the more confused he can get--regardless of a players talent levels the road remains the same-- somewhat confusing with a bump every now and then

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Agreed. Every rose has it's thorns....

On the other hand...as our high school coach said last year when I commented on how much talent he had on the team and how difficult it might be to decide on starting roles..."Heck this is easy. I'm much rather have too many talented players and not enough positions than the other way around."

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My son was what Observer44 might term as a "blue". I thought he was referring to umpires.
Don't ever think for a "blue chipper" the process is any less difficult or frustrating. Actually, it was quite stressful.
TR is correct recruiting has it's ups and downs and bumps, no matter who you are.
TxMom,
Congratulations to you and your son.

First, this has been an excellent website to learn about life after high school baseball.

My son who is an 06 outfielder is not a "blue chip" recruit but has had many phone contacts with DIII schools and a few D1 schools.

One of the D1 schools has referred to both the "invited walk-on" and "guaranteed roster spot". The difference as explained by the coach is that an invited walk-on means that you will be evaluated during the fall period to see if they want to keep you but a guaranteed roster spot means that you have made the team without scholarship money your first year.

My son most likely will not be an early signee and will have sometime yet to make a decision. I have streessed to him the importance of getting the best education possible (playing baseball ends for everyone at one time or another) and making sure that if you suffered a career ending injury would you be happy at the school you are at?

If he can focus on these first and baseball second I think he will make a good decision no matter where he ends up.

Roundingthird....you said it right.....academics first.....good luck to your '06......

quote:

My son most likely will not be an early signee and will have sometime yet to make a decision. I have streessed to him the importance of getting the best education possible (playing baseball ends for everyone at one time or another) and making sure that if you suffered a career ending injury would you be happy at the school you are at?

I think most every parent will agree this is the ideal focus. I will admit, in retrospect, however, that once my son identified schools with strong academics, he clearly made his decision based on baseball. Those factors included the interest of the coach and strong committments about playing time. He ended up getting the best of both in large part due to a college coach who followed through/exceeded every committment he made and a university who's academics/faculty are as advertised. While my son may have been lucky, I make this post solely to reinforce that if your son has a "passion" about baseball, I think it is perfectly fine to have that be an important factor to consider in the choice of schools.

We really struggled with our oldest in the college selection process. As teachers, we felt academics should be the first consideration. About half way into his senior year, however, we realized that was not his first consideration. He made his college selection based solely on baseball. Despite our reservations, we felt it was his choice to make and baseball has turned out to a great career for him so far.

Our second son made his selection out of high school based on the baseball program, too. He went the JUCO route and transferred upon graduation to a D1 based on a degree plan first and then baseball. Had he made his selection based on academics out of high school he would not have been able to pursue his current degree plan at any of the D1's that recruited him.

I guess my point is that every kid has to be allowed to follow their hearts when making their college selection. For some it may be baseball...at least out of high school... for others it may be a certain degree plan, and for others it will be both. The biggest mistake we made with our first was putting pressure on him to make a selection that would last 4 years. When you throw baseball into the mix, that's hard ...too hard IMHO for most 18 year olds.

quote:

my point is that every kid has to be allowed to follow their hearts when making their college selection. For some it may be baseball...at least out of high school, for others it may be a certain degree plan, and for others it will be both. The biggest mistake we made with our first was putting pressure on him to make a decision that would need to last 4 years. When you throw baseball into the mix, that's hard ...too hard IMHO

Nice post, TxMom.