How to Evaluate Your Son Honestly

As a parent, the most important thing you can do is look at where he stands next to the level he says he wants. That is hard. It’s your kid.

“He’s got a strong arm” doesn’t mean anything. 76 exit velo and “he can really hit” don’t go together if the goal is D1 pitching. Numbers don’t tell the whole boy. They stop the lying.

Test the three things coaches can measure: 60, arm from his position, exit velo off a tee with wood. Write the numbers down. Compare them to the level he’s chasing, not to the kid who raked in his 13U league.

If he wants D1 and the tools are D3, you have a development year — not a bigger showcase calendar.

Get a second set of eyes who doesn’t share your last name. One honest evaluation is worth more than ten people telling you what you want to hear.

Your job after that is not to crush him. It’s to match the work to the goal he actually has. If the goal is college, the plan is years. One Saturday doesn’t make or break him.

If you can’t say the truth out loud in the car, the recruiting process will say it for you later. That’s worse.