How did we get here? I am certain everyone starts out seeking the right college, but somewhere a long the way we get lost. With each wrong turn we refuse to ask for help by assuring ourselves the answer, the school interested in our son, is just around the corner.
We waste money on showcases, then we waste more money on clinics at schools who have no interest in our son. Pretty soon it becomes his fault, assured the reason no one is showing interest is directly related to the fact he is not performing well enough. Blame evolves into justification – attributing his lack of interest from colleges is the result of the poor coaching he has had over the years. The tension seems to flourish to an uncontrollable level when other players on the team sign with a school.
According to Psychology Today, “stress is simply a reaction to a stimulus that disturbs our physical and mental equilibrium. In other words, it’s an omnipresent part of life. A stressful event can trigger the “fight-or-flight” response, causing hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol to surge through the body.”
Great! Not only is the college recruitment process creating a temporary Love-Hate relationship with our son, it is making us fat.
I’ll save that for another blog!
So, let’s stop for a minute and take a look at our decision-making options. The internet mentioned most use three methods to form our decision-making process; Psychological, Cognitive, and/or Normative. Whichever we seem to choose, I can assure you we overcomplicate the decision with too many steps.
This may work for regular decisions (e.g., money, house, car…) not really, but when it comes to where our son plays baseball we seem to lean towards a “Consensus” decision-making method. You know, that method which requires the majority of the families within the Lawn Chair convention to approve where he is going while we spend the rest of our time convincing the minority [e.g., those who said, “where’s that?”] our approach made sense.
Stop and simplify your world. After all he will only go to one college to play baseball. So, instead of spending your time analyzing the problem focus on the operative word, “Play” and look for a college where he will PLAY baseball.
Keep it simple. As T.V. detective Jack Webb used to say, “just the facts?”
- Do we like the coach?
- Does the Coach like us?
- Are we going to get a chance to play there?
Click on one of the following approaches that makes the most sense for Your Family and let Most Valuable Player help.
- Do it Yourself – “Most Valuable Player’s College Recruitment in a Box“
- Want Help – “Most Valuable Player’s Exclusive Program“
Now about that Lawn Chair!
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Al McCormick
