Adjusting to life after HS / travel STARDOM

Here's some juice.

What's it like for the young people when they go to a college sports team and not get the PT they have grown accustomed to in HS & other youth ball? Has to be a new dynamic. And hopefully a learning , maturing, and growing experience.

experiences? good / bad?

 

little pond to the big pond

almost every player on a college roster was the "team stud" at his high school. For pitchers, they were probably also one of their HS team's best hitters and position players, when they weren't on the bump.

Travel/showcase ball, at the top level, gives a kid a taste of what college will be like. These teams are mostly made up of "next level" caliber players and the player's role on these teams is much more defined than back at the high school.

My son's experience has evolved somewhat. His freshman year had the double adjustment of being just a pitcher and primarily being a pitcher coming out of the pen. It was kinds funny... he carried a bat in his batbag all through fall practice. I asked him why and he said it just felt weird not to have a bat in there. He did have to fight some boredom just being a pitcher. He missed the involvement in the hitting/fielding aspects of practice. All he really had to do was throw... bullpens, long toss etc. By the time the season started, he had thrown so much he developed some tendonitis in his elbow. It kept him out a couple of weeks and made him realize, and think about, what his role was.

This year was different. He had the opportunity to get on the field defensively, both in the infield and the outfield, during fall practice. They even let him hit during their intersquad series and he actually did rather well. Well enough that he's in the BP rotation and has gotten a couple of at bats in games. His role is still being a pitcher, primarily in relief, and he has accepted it. They know he wants to start and he's confident that that will come down the road.

The whole process will "mature" a player fairly quickly. They learn that the team comes before the individual and his desires. The sooner they get that the better they will adjust to being a player at the "next level".

 

diff between night and day as just said...welcome to the real world...just gotta suck it up be confident and work your ass off..yet it still has no guarantees sooooooo therefore remember why you are there and do the same in the classs even moreso jmho been there and done that like all or most college athletes willl tell you....be POsitive and be READY when and or IF your number is called and don
't let the oppty be missed!