Anonymous wrote:My kids play soccer, but pp what you described is not limited to baseball.
Soccer is not known for being a big HS sport. If you are on a DA team you aren't even allowed to play HS soccer. BUT--everything you wrote mirrors what happens in travel soccer. Parents and kids chasing a dream. A dream sold to them by people that only care about youth sports as a business.
My sibling and I played D1 soccer. He was recruited by just about every school in the Nation (top 10 prospect). This was back in the day the college coaches came to our house. He did play professional soccer--in the US. He's the first one to tell me all of this is a complete waste of time for my kids.
It has gotten so much worse since we were kids. Youth sports has become a lucrative and legitimate business. Watch some of the Real Sports HBO documentaries on it. It's sickening. What parents and kids give up for something that is never going to materialize.
And, soccer in the US isn't even a lucrative sport. The scholarships are next to nothing with the exception of the top 10 players in the Country. Often they are to crappy schools the kid would have been better off just going on academics and be a walk-on soccer player or play University Club soccer.
I see friends that have kids in soccer that don't know what a pipe dream it is for their son to get a full-ride. They listen to their coaches and continue to fly up and down the East Coast for games and empty their pockets. The kids and family are giving up so much every single weekend. The kid becomes burned out before he even gets to college.
I agree what SJC did was sickening. It is a story playing out all around the US. SPORTS NEED TO BE GIVEN BACK TO THE KIDS. They are no longer teaching value and fun in sports---all the reason anyone should play sports in the first place.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:None of those baseball players were desperate either. The difference is the basketball and football programs put the players and their futures first while baseball puts the program and the coach’s reputation and ego first. Not to mention his pocketbook. But they do a great sales job to get the boys in there.
I think the real reason the program is successful is that they recruit more than colleges for baseball. They started recruiting my son when he was in the 5th or 6th grade. They used to come out to local travel tourneys all the time. They also run these recruiting camps in the winter every year. Kind of a joke. They would promise kids the world before attending. For example they would always tell kids they could play multiple sports before they went there, but that changed as soon as you started going there.
Before deciding which school to go to, we sat down with several WCAC coaches. All had their strengths and weaknesses, but Coach Gibbs was just odd. Not a very good communicator and very focused on his program and talked about himself a lot. Never asked much about our son. Very strange individual. The coaches from the other schools seemed to be a bit more grounded in reality and showed some level of interest in our son.
Their shameless recruiting tactics are pathetic. Here is their marketing pitch for the camp they’re holding this weekend for 12 and 13-year-olds.
Diamond Skills Baseball and Prep Baseball Report are teaming up to run the top winter camp for 7th and 8th graders on the East Coast.
The top 7th and 8th grade players from the region that are serious about playing high school baseball will work on their game inside one of the nation’s finest indoor athletic complexes, the Georgetown Preparatory School’s Center for Athletic Excellence. This enormous 54,000 sq/ft complex allows you to hit, field, throw and run in a state of the art environment.
Prep Baseball Report will be there to cover every minute of the action with evaluations, rankings and video of all players.
Yup. Rankings and evaluations for 12 and 13-year-olds. In the middle of January. In a cold-weather state. But hey kiddos, don’t bother coming unless you’re one of the TOP 7th and 8th grade players in the region, and SERIOUS about playing high school baseball.
Sorry Coach Gibbs, this latest recruiting pitch has totally lost us. Look forward to playing against you in a few years.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:None of those baseball players were desperate either. The difference is the basketball and football programs put the players and their futures first while baseball puts the program and the coach’s reputation and ego first. Not to mention his pocketbook. But they do a great sales job to get the boys in there.
I think the real reason the program is successful is that they recruit more than colleges for baseball. They started recruiting my son when he was in the 5th or 6th grade. They used to come out to local travel tourneys all the time. They also run these recruiting camps in the winter every year. Kind of a joke. They would promise kids the world before attending. For example they would always tell kids they could play multiple sports before they went there, but that changed as soon as you started going there.
Before deciding which school to go to, we sat down with several WCAC coaches. All had their strengths and weaknesses, but Coach Gibbs was just odd. Not a very good communicator and very focused on his program and talked about himself a lot. Never asked much about our son. Very strange individual. The coaches from the other schools seemed to be a bit more grounded in reality and showed some level of interest in our son.
Anonymous wrote:None of those baseball players were desperate either. The difference is the basketball and football programs put the players and their futures first while baseball puts the program and the coach’s reputation and ego first. Not to mention his pocketbook. But they do a great sales job to get the boys in there.
Anonymous wrote:None of those baseball players were desperate either. The difference is the basketball and football programs put the players and their futures first while baseball puts the program and the coach’s reputation and ego first. Not to mention his pocketbook. But they do a great sales job to get the boys in there.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Sounds like a no brainer to me. If you don’t like the way things are done, avoid the school and the program.
What if you like everything about the school other than the one corrupt program, where the coach is doing unethical and illegal things that harm kids. Seems like it would be worthwhile to see if that problem could be fixed.
If the HOS and others in the administration are complicit in “the one corrupt program,” how much about the school could you like? If the school allows corrupt behavior in one program, you should assume they allow it in others. You’re naive if you think otherwise. If they allow a coach to treat students like chattel, why would you entrust your kid to them?
Are people forgetting this thread started as a discussion about the corruption in the soccer program at SJC and has morphed into a discussion about the corruption in their baseball program? This is not corruption in one program. It's a systemic problem and the administration is happy to allow coaches to extort parents and sacrifice the well being of students if it means more trophies. Athlete or not, you shouldn't fool yourself into thinking the school will do what's in the best interest of your kid. Their priorities are elsewhere.
I disagree, the basketball and football programs which are the money makers for the school do not operate like this.
This is an odd concept. The sports that make money for the school are clean but a sport that does not is corrupt and used by the coach for personal gain. Why would the school take on the risk of supporting a sport/coach that doesn’t really benefit the school?
I doubt football and basketball are clean - it has more to do with where the opportunities to make money are. For football and basketball, the real money is from the shoe companies, boosters, etc. In the non-money sports, the opportunity to make money is from parents. You don't hear about football and basketball because the very nature of those transactions is against NCAA rules. Google "adidas recruiting scandal" and you'll see what goes on in basketball.
I read this post different. If the SJC basketball or football coach was extorting players and their parents for his personal financial gain, you might understand the school allowing it because of the exposure and other benefits those sports bring to the school. Not saying that would be right but understandable. Doesn’t make sense for a sport like baseball that doesn’t do much for the school. Lots of risk without much upside.
That won’t happen because the football and basketball players aren’t desperate. Plenty other schools are trying to get them and they just won’t attend SJC.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Sounds like a no brainer to me. If you don’t like the way things are done, avoid the school and the program.
What if you like everything about the school other than the one corrupt program, where the coach is doing unethical and illegal things that harm kids. Seems like it would be worthwhile to see if that problem could be fixed.
If the HOS and others in the administration are complicit in “the one corrupt program,” how much about the school could you like? If the school allows corrupt behavior in one program, you should assume they allow it in others. You’re naive if you think otherwise. If they allow a coach to treat students like chattel, why would you entrust your kid to them?
Are people forgetting this thread started as a discussion about the corruption in the soccer program at SJC and has morphed into a discussion about the corruption in their baseball program? This is not corruption in one program. It's a systemic problem and the administration is happy to allow coaches to extort parents and sacrifice the well being of students if it means more trophies. Athlete or not, you shouldn't fool yourself into thinking the school will do what's in the best interest of your kid. Their priorities are elsewhere.
I disagree, the basketball and football programs which are the money makers for the school do not operate like this.
This is an odd concept. The sports that make money for the school are clean but a sport that does not is corrupt and used by the coach for personal gain. Why would the school take on the risk of supporting a sport/coach that doesn’t really benefit the school?
I doubt football and basketball are clean - it has more to do with where the opportunities to make money are. For football and basketball, the real money is from the shoe companies, boosters, etc. In the non-money sports, the opportunity to make money is from parents. You don't hear about football and basketball because the very nature of those transactions is against NCAA rules. Google "adidas recruiting scandal" and you'll see what goes on in basketball.
I read this post different. If the SJC basketball or football coach was extorting players and their parents for his personal financial gain, you might understand the school allowing it because of the exposure and other benefits those sports bring to the school. Not saying that would be right but understandable. Doesn’t make sense for a sport like baseball that doesn’t do much for the school. Lots of risk without much upside.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Sounds like a no brainer to me. If you don’t like the way things are done, avoid the school and the program.
What if you like everything about the school other than the one corrupt program, where the coach is doing unethical and illegal things that harm kids. Seems like it would be worthwhile to see if that problem could be fixed.
If the HOS and others in the administration are complicit in “the one corrupt program,” how much about the school could you like? If the school allows corrupt behavior in one program, you should assume they allow it in others. You’re naive if you think otherwise. If they allow a coach to treat students like chattel, why would you entrust your kid to them?
Are people forgetting this thread started as a discussion about the corruption in the soccer program at SJC and has morphed into a discussion about the corruption in their baseball program? This is not corruption in one program. It's a systemic problem and the administration is happy to allow coaches to extort parents and sacrifice the well being of students if it means more trophies. Athlete or not, you shouldn't fool yourself into thinking the school will do what's in the best interest of your kid. Their priorities are elsewhere.
I disagree, the basketball and football programs which are the money makers for the school do not operate like this.
This is an odd concept. The sports that make money for the school are clean but a sport that does not is corrupt and used by the coach for personal gain. Why would the school take on the risk of supporting a sport/coach that doesn’t really benefit the school?
I doubt football and basketball are clean - it has more to do with where the opportunities to make money are. For football and basketball, the real money is from the shoe companies, boosters, etc. In the non-money sports, the opportunity to make money is from parents. You don't hear about football and basketball because the very nature of those transactions is against NCAA rules. Google "adidas recruiting scandal" and you'll see what goes on in basketball.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Sounds like a no brainer to me. If you don’t like the way things are done, avoid the school and the program.
What if you like everything about the school other than the one corrupt program, where the coach is doing unethical and illegal things that harm kids. Seems like it would be worthwhile to see if that problem could be fixed.
If the HOS and others in the administration are complicit in “the one corrupt program,” how much about the school could you like? If the school allows corrupt behavior in one program, you should assume they allow it in others. You’re naive if you think otherwise. If they allow a coach to treat students like chattel, why would you entrust your kid to them?
Are people forgetting this thread started as a discussion about the corruption in the soccer program at SJC and has morphed into a discussion about the corruption in their baseball program? This is not corruption in one program. It's a systemic problem and the administration is happy to allow coaches to extort parents and sacrifice the well being of students if it means more trophies. Athlete or not, you shouldn't fool yourself into thinking the school will do what's in the best interest of your kid. Their priorities are elsewhere.
I disagree, the basketball and football programs which are the money makers for the school do not operate like this.
This is an odd concept. The sports that make money for the school are clean but a sport that does not is corrupt and used by the coach for personal gain. Why would the school take on the risk of supporting a sport/coach that doesn’t really benefit the school?