Charlie Steiner
Footballguy
***DISCLAIMER: THIS MAY BE "TL
R"***
I'm taking the occasion of the 4-year 'anniversary' of my son's trip to Cooperstown Dreams Park, the event that his travel team at the time had been building towards for the previous 4 years, to reflect back on that time and share a few points I believe could help those still going through or will soon go through the ups and downs of travel/high level sports from early ages through high school. I'm not here to reminisce too much, only to touch on a couple of points that could help those who know less than I do.
First-and this should go without saying-enjoy the ride no matter how low it gets. In the end, what you're really doing is creating memories. It wasn't until the Cooperstown trip was upon us that I got that, because I was looking more at the here and now and not getting the bigger picture. In the end, their sports 'career' goes by so fast that before you know it, you only have a handful of games left and you realize your kid is not your little boy/girl any more, and if you're like me, you risk missing out on enjoying a great ride because you're worrying about individual bumps in the road.
Second-when it comes to your kid looking toward the chance to play their sport in college, I learned a little too late that you can save yourself some money and time by ON YOUR OWN going to camps offered by the school(s) your child may be interested in, and going to those, on your own if necessary, in order to get in front of that coach. I'm not saying don't continue to play on a team, but what I am saying is that no matter what a team promises, nothing replaces getting a chance to impress a coach on as small a level as possible. For example, last week, my son's team competed in one of the largest showcase/tournaments, Perfect_Game, which included at least 128 teams mostly there for the sole purpose of playing in front of college scouts/coaches/recruiters. I saw a decent number of schools represented, but with so many kids to look at and so many games, it would be difficult to really stand out. A lot of kids there were actually already committed to a school, mostly D1. While it was a great chance to gague themselves against top-notch competition and they played well, there didn't appear to be any over-the-top performances that would earn a second look. It's still a little early to have received any feedback, so maybe many of the kids that got to play will get some attention because of these games. On that note, I will share one story about my son from these games: In their last game, a handful of scouts showed up to watch the opposing pitcher (their #3 starter, FWIW). I was sitting close enough to a couple of them to hear most of their conversations, and when they talked about the game, it was about that team, with no mention of anyone on my son's team. In about the 4th inning or so, one of their hitters drove one deep, and my son was able to track it down and make a home run-robbing catch against the fence. One of the the scouts there said "sign him up" but in an obviously joking way just before he left. After that play, however, when they came in to bat, a guy wearing a shirt with a Dartmouth logo on it did approach the coach and talked to him through the fence. I wasn't close enough to hear anything and I'm no good at reading lips, but I do think I hear the coach say 'center fielder', which is where my son was playing. The right fielder also plays center on his HS team and has an absolute cannon of an arm, so maybe the coach was referring to him instead. So, while it's doubtful he'll attract much attention, there's that little chance. Ironically, the most interest he's gotten at this point is from a school that attended a camp he went to that's held on a yearly basis for rising seniors. Granted, he went because his 'club' coach recommended it to the entire team, so while it was good he was on that team, if he ends up at that school, it won't be because of anything he did on his team.
I'm not sure how much sense any of that really made, but it felt good to put it out there. Thanks for listening, and good luck with your own kid(s).
R"***I'm taking the occasion of the 4-year 'anniversary' of my son's trip to Cooperstown Dreams Park, the event that his travel team at the time had been building towards for the previous 4 years, to reflect back on that time and share a few points I believe could help those still going through or will soon go through the ups and downs of travel/high level sports from early ages through high school. I'm not here to reminisce too much, only to touch on a couple of points that could help those who know less than I do.
First-and this should go without saying-enjoy the ride no matter how low it gets. In the end, what you're really doing is creating memories. It wasn't until the Cooperstown trip was upon us that I got that, because I was looking more at the here and now and not getting the bigger picture. In the end, their sports 'career' goes by so fast that before you know it, you only have a handful of games left and you realize your kid is not your little boy/girl any more, and if you're like me, you risk missing out on enjoying a great ride because you're worrying about individual bumps in the road.
Second-when it comes to your kid looking toward the chance to play their sport in college, I learned a little too late that you can save yourself some money and time by ON YOUR OWN going to camps offered by the school(s) your child may be interested in, and going to those, on your own if necessary, in order to get in front of that coach. I'm not saying don't continue to play on a team, but what I am saying is that no matter what a team promises, nothing replaces getting a chance to impress a coach on as small a level as possible. For example, last week, my son's team competed in one of the largest showcase/tournaments, Perfect_Game, which included at least 128 teams mostly there for the sole purpose of playing in front of college scouts/coaches/recruiters. I saw a decent number of schools represented, but with so many kids to look at and so many games, it would be difficult to really stand out. A lot of kids there were actually already committed to a school, mostly D1. While it was a great chance to gague themselves against top-notch competition and they played well, there didn't appear to be any over-the-top performances that would earn a second look. It's still a little early to have received any feedback, so maybe many of the kids that got to play will get some attention because of these games. On that note, I will share one story about my son from these games: In their last game, a handful of scouts showed up to watch the opposing pitcher (their #3 starter, FWIW). I was sitting close enough to a couple of them to hear most of their conversations, and when they talked about the game, it was about that team, with no mention of anyone on my son's team. In about the 4th inning or so, one of their hitters drove one deep, and my son was able to track it down and make a home run-robbing catch against the fence. One of the the scouts there said "sign him up" but in an obviously joking way just before he left. After that play, however, when they came in to bat, a guy wearing a shirt with a Dartmouth logo on it did approach the coach and talked to him through the fence. I wasn't close enough to hear anything and I'm no good at reading lips, but I do think I hear the coach say 'center fielder', which is where my son was playing. The right fielder also plays center on his HS team and has an absolute cannon of an arm, so maybe the coach was referring to him instead. So, while it's doubtful he'll attract much attention, there's that little chance. Ironically, the most interest he's gotten at this point is from a school that attended a camp he went to that's held on a yearly basis for rising seniors. Granted, he went because his 'club' coach recommended it to the entire team, so while it was good he was on that team, if he ends up at that school, it won't be because of anything he did on his team.
I'm not sure how much sense any of that really made, but it felt good to put it out there. Thanks for listening, and good luck with your own kid(s).
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