A Word to the Wise

outstanding post

 

Sooo..then...we agree?

 

Yep

I never heard of anyone that worked hard not really doing well anyway.

 

by no means am i downplaying the importance of getting an education. the kids will be better off in LIFE if they make good grades. i meant simply that they will be better off in being recruited by colleges in baseball if they are a phenominal player.

as strong as conferences like the ACC and SEC are, coaches can't afford to recruit players who are strictly 'good character' guys or really smart kids, even if they are good players. they want unbelievable players. i'm not saying this is the right way to go about it, i'm not saying that i agree or disagree. i'm just telling you what my observations are. if a program like UNC or NC State or someone of that calliber can get the 10th best player in North Carolina and the kid makes B's and C's, they will definitely go for this kid before they go for the kid who's the....50th best player in North Carolina, and make straight A's.

in summary, these colleges don't really look for academic excellence. they just look at the academic side of things enough to where they get kids who they won't have to worry about failing out of school once they get to college.

grades only come in to play when the baseball ability is equal. they care way more about baseball ability than classroom success though. grades can come in to play if both players are equal on the field and are in the range of being maybe the 50th best player in the state, and one guy makes A's and the other one make F's. otherwise, the whole thing about good grades being involved in the recruiting process is somewhat overrated.

 

Doctor.......

I do see your point. But, as a parent who's son has visited several of the fine schools in the state from D-1 to CC. I would have to say that he is looking at the school just a much as the team. He has talked with coaches and assistances. They ask how are his GPA, what classes he is taking and other infomation. They express that they want players that know how to keep up with their studies. They also, have said how they have team tutors and study times that if missed you will make up before pracitce or playing. The team tutors have been mostly at the D-1 & D-2 schools. They even travel with some teams. So, the resources are there for the bigger and front runner programs. As far as what some of the kids are majoring. Very few docs, lawyers and engineers. Not say that some cannot meet the challenge of such studies. Just that many are there to play. And if they feel that they are being over looked they transfer to another school. I have heard this from some one who is just as wise as "Braves". (I will pay for this) Let's look at players that go to college after two years how many still playing or have transfered or failed out. Sometimes the player as good as he is in HS play and grades. Can loss control of new found freedom.

 

Shoot...You were going good until this. Even Haskell, down at Cagles Drop Inn lounge, knows more than this Braves' guy and Haskell hates baseball

 

This just in

Wake Forest will no long look at the SAT or ACT scores. Just your GPA, Academics, EC Activities and Interview. Guess they thought this how we get better players.

 

True, they will get better players. For 2 months of the season anyways, until they fail out...

 

People aren't going to fail out of school if they have a good GPA, are involved in the community, and have good interviewing skills and things of that nature. Especially not when they are provided tutors and such. I gotta agree with Plate Dad on this one. It's another example of schools doing what I've been talking about. They're not going to bring in kids who are just horrific students and bad people, but they will bring in players who would not be smart enough to get admitted in to the school if there were no baseball involved. There are plenty of players who will be going to Wake Forest and UNC and lots of other schools who would never be accepted in to these schools if they didn't throw 90 MPH or hit the ball 400 feet. Again, I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with it, I personally think that an outstanding baseball player SHOULD be rewarded with a chance to use baseball as a venue to get themselves a great education. I just dont want people to pretend these schools are ALWAYS looking for STUDENT-ATHLETES rather than ATHLETE-STUDENTS like they try and make you believe.

 

Great observation on that last sentence, was sitting here thinking the same thing as I read your post. Good call