RHP,
Great post! As mature as my son was coming out of HS, even working part time job in HS, I could not see him joining the work force at 18.

As a parent there were some other issues to contend with. For the round he might fall into, and the possible MAX on the signing bonus, did we want him coming home and living with us out of necesity to save him money? He would be returning home in the fall when all of his friends went off to college. We would need for him to work with a trainer to physically develop properly,eat properly, possibly pitching instruction, someone to throw to, someone to catch pens , etc. These were some of the things that concerned us and were factored in to his decision.

I have been quiet for a while, mainly reading the posts and enjoying the different opinions and good advice given by the posters...well, I thought I would share our experience with the decision making of our son's college vs. pro...

Last June our son was drafted in the 20th round, fell to that round because of signability issues...mom and dad looking out for son's best interest...so we played the game...back and forth with scouts...and so on....when the first day of the draft came and went we could vissibly see how dissapointed son was(even though we had discussed how he was in a win-win situation)it was clear to see where his heart was ...he was not drafted on that first day...after talking to the scouts and re-considering signing bonuses his name was called within the first two rounds on the second day...smiles all over again.

Our son was very young only seventeen and this concerned us as parents...letting him go to live his dream at such a young age..here we are eight months later and there has been no regrets in any way...he is living a dream ...the fact that he is young has been a plus...he has his college paid by MLB to start using a he wishes in his off time....received a very generous signing bonus that has been invested fo his future....you can talk about getting hurt in college or arm giving out in the the mimor league process...however no one mentions the fact that there are no guarantees in life...you could fall and break your back and there goes everything...so I feel you can't base your decision on what if...it all comes down to the fact whether in college or pro that our boys love the game of baseball...which route you take to reach the ultimate prize..the major leagues, really does not matter as long as you get there and we know how difficult that is....

TPM as far as coming home on his time off..it's really not that bad...works out at the gym...part time job for a few hours just to stay real...is now the Head Coach for his High School's JV baseball team and will be the Grand Marshall of the parade for the Little League's opening day...this is all very special to me as a parent, for these are memories he will have for a lifetime.

RHP05Parent...how are you??? Hope all is well with Eric.

Catcher41...son felt like you do...sometimes we know what we want..even at an early age..GOOD LUCK!!!

PINCHMETWICE,
Thanks for sharing your story because in the end, it all comes down to a personal decision, players take different paths for different reasons. Many things to take into consideration.

It is obvious I am a strong proponent for college vs pro out of HS. The most important thing is for a player to make the decision for the RIGHT reasons for him.

Hi to your player!

PINCHMETWICE -
Doesn't spring training start in a couple of weeks? How can he be JV baseball coach this spring? Or was he injured last year?

Spring training is at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter..less than thirty minutes from home...he will be done most days by 4pm...his JV team starts practices at 6:30...I feel that this is such a great thing for him to do...he will learn so much from this...he has matured so much in the past eight months, handling so many responsabilities on his own and becoming such a confident young man...that I am most proud of!!!!

Pinchme,
You obviously have a great situation, a team that drafted him that is close to home for spring training. Obviously it worked out for son.

But what about the young player that does not have the opportunity to be so close to home for support? Doesn't know anyone when he gets to rookie camp. Are the decisions our sons make based upon just "I want to go play", or serious consideration of ALL the parts of the equation?

TPM,

It is a very nice situation...however this is only for a couple of months...the club will then decide if he is to go back to Tennessee or hopefully Low A ball in Iowa, I believe... remember he went straight to Rookie ball in June to Tennessee for three months...every situation was considered...then again you know your son's strengths and weaknesses...in our case his wings were ready to fly and he handled his months away better than what we expected...really not much different than going away to college for the first time....both our son's have so much in common...I look at it this way...they are both playing the same game.....just in different stadiums...say hello to son and wish him from all of us "the very best" for the coming season...

Pinchme,
Guess we should tell the story as it is a great one about choices, if you don't mind.

Pinchmetwices' son was a year behind mine. Both played for a great summer team, senior summer for mine, so he was very much in the spotlight,while the younger guys sometimes took a back seat, only because of, well you know, that's how it happens sometimes.

One went to college, one went pro, both have same long term goals, just different paths!