Forum for advice for MS and early HS players wanting to play college ball?

[MNDad]

I got a kick out of Dusty. However, all the advice here is from real life experiences and its all FREE! So, take what you want and ignore the rest. My examples are from my tow older DDs.

DD#1 was a complete stud, but hated classwork. She played 1 year at D2 with a 2/3 scholarship as a SS and it didn't work out. Her next season she came home to play at our local JUCO. After that I personally took her to 4 schools and all 4 offered her a spot on their team contingent on her grades being acceptable. Her grades were awful! She ended her college career after 2 years. DW and I have had many sleepless nights worrying about her future. She is working for a living now and its heart-breaking to think about what she gave up. But, college isn't for everyone.

DD#2 is an outstanding catcher (IMHO). She watched all of the mistakes her sister made and decided to go JUCO. Her decision made me very happy. She is attending Kirkwood in Cedar Rapids. Its about an hour from our house so we can pop up and see her easily. She's needed some help this first semester with her car, and she got the flu, so it makes mama happy we can help. Her 2 room mates are friends from her TB team. One has been a best friend since 12U. I personally like Kirkwood for a few more reasons. First, she found a career that she's passionate about after her 1st semester. Also, the coaching is top notch & the level of play is very good. I believe that will open doors over the next 2 years for her. Yeah, people can say what they want about JUCOs playing D1s in the fall, but its pretty cool to see your freshman kid throw out a Big Ten runner and get a hit in the same game. Just sayin’

Here is the most important piece of advice. A lot of kids have no idea what they want to study in college or what they want to do for a career. Many parents (& kids) feel pressure to announce their kid is going D1 or whatever. The day after DD#2 announced she was going JUCO for softball, one of her friends announced she was going D1 soccer. She felt bad about her decision because a lot of athletes feel pressure that less than D1 is for losers. We live in a small town where everyone knows everyone. So, I think it’s important to remind your kid the day they leave home for college is the day they leave all that BS behind & YOU must live with your decisions, not your friends.

We play Kirkwood every fall and you guys have a great program. The scores might be meaningless, but the individual accomplishments aren’t. You’re still facing D1 pitching and hitting. Quite a few of your girls go on to play D1 so the talent is definitely there. The CF you gave us is legit and will make an immediate impact this spring.

Don’t worry what anybody else says or thinks. There will always be insecure people that feel the need to tear down others. You get JUCOS are for losers, I get non SEC or bottom of the Big 12 are losers. Just gotta brush it off. Good luck to you guys this spring and maybe we’ll see you next fall!