I am so glad that many of you have received similar calls. Spizzelpop you were right, the next day they sound soooooo different.

He called today after practice high as kite. He went 3-3 in scrimage today including a HR that hit a car in the 3rd row behind RF.

We talked last night and it is amazing how after coaching and watching your son for so long how you can correct a swing over the phone (I would like to think it was me).

Dinner and a movie with the guys and a reprieve from practice on Sunday and he feels that he will be back in the saddle again.

Thanks all for the perspective.

quote:

He called today after practice high as kite. He went 3-3 in scrimage today including a HR that hit a car in the 3rd row behind RF.

Days like that certainly do lift their spirits!!! Glad to hear he did so well!!

That's awesome. I am amazed at the difference in the intensity between fall and spring. Into the third week and it is a grind.

In regards to his classes, not sure of the set-up at your Sons school but have him talked to his academic advisor/counselor,,,my Son's advisor was his savior in the Fall and was a great sounding board for him. She knows the peaks and Valleys for the athletes and helped guide him through.

Note to Trinity students and fans-
The parking lot beyond the right field fence will be closed for the next 4 years due to the resumption of live bombing practice.

This is one of the better threads I've seen in a while. Thus...
...I nominate this thread for consideration as a "GOLDEN THREAD."

As a college professor, this helps give me a NEW perspective to what all students go thru---and mine all have rotations thru athletics that can take up to 30 hours per week. No wonder they are stressed out...
...this thread can help me be kinder and gentler.

As a dad of a college freshman player, this helps me appreciate all my son goes thru...
...while living at home. I think I can now be able to understand his mood swings during this long pre-season time.

Nice summation JT,...you are right,..this has been a good thread!!!

It's also a great encouragement to me, the parent of a high school player who's in a new program. He was really down about his performance on Monday, then in 7th heaven later in the week when he was really "on." My emotions seem to go up and down with his, but this thread has helped me realize that for every bad day there will be a good day to follow.

JT, thank you for the "Golden" nomination! I have made a shortcut to this thread in Golden Threads, so we can still enjoy it here also.

I'll second the recommendation about helping your college freshman find a way to eat on a regular basis in spite of the long hours. Extreme hunger can multiply the feeling of exhaustion, and lead to poor performance in the classroom and on the field.

Also, if your son is taking a heavy classload, he may want to discuss with an advisor the option of dropping one class this semester. My son is also a D3 baseball player, but he's a junior this year. I think he took 15 or 16 credits in spring of freshman year, and had to drop one class in order to be able to complete his other classes successfully - ESPECIALLY after the season started, missing some classes 1 or 2 days most weeks for games and travel to games. After 2-1/2 years of college he is about halfway to his degree, but that's fine. It takes many non-athletes 4-1/2 or 5 years (or longer) to earn their degrees, too.

Best wishes to your son!

Julie

Wow a new Golden Thread in Record time.
You poster's are getting to good at this!!

Mine had a full load in the fall, and I became a little worried.
All you can do is keep encouraging them and he made it thru.
A lighter schedule in the spring, But still has a hard time getting meal's before, between, after, Classes and baseball practice.
He had a care package he took back after Christmas Break.
Im sure thats pretty well picked thru by now.

How many of your player's have access to a car?
Mine doesn't yet.
But it's on my list of thing's I think he could use. LOL
No really I think they need away to get off campus for some food??
My buddy told me when he was in college, He hated the fact that he didn't have any wheels.
Just stuck where your at, are walk.
EH

ILVBB,

Sounds like another attack of the emotional up and down baseball rollercoaster,
which we all just can't seem to get enough of & never want to get off of! ha!

So glad things are smoothing out! One less college experience wrinkle to be ironed out and one better nights sleep for the parents!

P.S. I'd still send the care package. IMO, one can never get enough special stuff from home!

It'll make a bad day, better and even a good day, brighter

This thread is just hitting me at a kind of vulnerable time, as it appears that we have had a suicide on the Stanford campus. What is so troubling (we don't know for sure yet what happened, and maybe we will never will) is that if it was suicide, it was surprising because there were no outward signs of depression apparently, and the young woman was an unbelievable superstar, but in a pressure-cooker environment with lots of expectations on her and apparently not a lot of support.

What's the connection? Last year, a freshman pitcher in Nevada committed suicide.

Maybe I'm overreacting, but please just be sure, when the kids call home, that you let them know how much you love them, that you understand that this is really hard, and let them know that you are there for them no matter what. I think the care packages especially with things they need, nutritious snacks are good, also notes and emails, and, if you get really concerned, letting a resident advisor or someone else close to them know of your concerns, is not over-doing it.

Athletes for the most part, I think, aren't going to go off to the counseling office on campus and in any case apparently some of those are not really that good.

Just hug your kids and let them know you love them for who they are.

I'm sorry to hear what you and the Stanford community are going through Bordeaux...that really is a sad situation.

You are not over-reacting by my judgment.

Your recommendations are right on the mark...I suppose it is impossible to know if some of the little things that one can do for another really can make a difference, but these are all things that decent and caring people should be doing anyway.

We should do them regardless if we feel they are urgently needed or not. I've been around a few incidents as you described and it always results in some amount of self doubting...your suggestions can help both the troubled soul and their friends and loved ones.

quote:

Originally posted by Fungo:

quote:

He has class from 9am to 2pm, with breaks between classes which he uses to study. Then baseball from 2:30 to 7:30 each evening.

Lets see --- that's a whopping 10 1/2 hours a day!!!

Not much pity from me. Take the usual workplace job of eight hours --- let's say 8 to 5 with an hour off for lunch. Tack on 1 hour of commute in the AM and one hour in the PM and you're talking about dedicating 11 hours of your life each day to a job. Now if you're a parent of a baseball player then you have to allot some time for baseball too. --- That's just the average day of the parent with one child ---
Fungo

Very good post. The only difference in my son's experience is perhaps his teams 5:30 AM conditioning, but the rest sounds familiar. That's the program and perhaps another reason some schools sign 15 or 20 every fall.

quote:

Lets see --- that's a whopping 10 1/2 hours a day!!!
Not much pity from me. Take the usual workplace job of eight hours ---

Perhaps listening,
supporting,
and guiding

.............instead of comparing,
is the more helpful answer. (?)

Paleeeeeeeeeeease,..I beg ya,.... do not get me started with comparing the hardhships of middle aged 40-50+ year old men sittin' behind their desk in the work place for 8+ hours ( God love ya!) & the pressures of young, just starting out, student athletes.

Ya just dont want shortstopmomma ta' go there!

quote:

Just hug your kids and let them know you love them for who they are.

Exactly! These kids need to know that they're loved and that has nothing to do with their baseball (or other athletic) endeavors.

My daughter exhibits the same intensity in regard to academics. You can see such tremendous pressure she feels sometimes if she doesn't meet her own expections in that area. I've always tried to explain that I'm proud and very pleased that she does well in the classroom, but she's much so more than a GPA to me. She doesn't have to have a 4.0 to be loved and respected by me.

To disregard any loved ones word that they're upset, scared, tired, or frustrated isn't a very caring thing to do. We all need a shoulder from time to time and it's sure good to know that those that care about ya are there when you need them.

This just refers in general to the original post, not the young lady from Stanford. Of course, we have no idea what the issues for the young Stanford athelete were and she hopefully had a lot of support. My prayers for her family and friends in a difficult time.

quote:

Originally posted by shortstopmom:
Paleeeeeeeeeeease,..I beg ya,.... do not get me started with comparing the hardhships of middle aged 40-50+ year old men sittin' behind their desk in the work place for 8 hours ( God love ya!) & the pressures of young, just starting out, student athletes.

Ya just dont want shortstopmomma ta' go there!

8 hours is part time work anymore. Um, I'll trade our stress level for theirs.....eight days a week.

SSMom,

Do you have any idea how stressful it is for a middle aged man to continually have to provide new recipes - mostly moose based - to a website full of ravenous baseball Moms and Dads.

Upon further review perhaps neither demographic requires intervention for stress management.