[Mick]

BC,
I put the blame squarely on the shoulders of the parents for this.  While coaching my kids in youth sports (both boys and girls), I was shocked at the number of parents here who swore little johnny or susie were going to earn a D1 scholarship in hoops, baseball or volleyball.   In the end, it may have helped a few get into a good school (Claremont, little ivies/ivies), and I can count on one hand the kids that made it to a D1 team mostly as recruited walk-ons.   My kids all loved playing sports, but Family and School first was the mantra in our house.    That worked out pretty well for our kids...so far!

To your point, the transfer portal is bad enough in college, but for high school it's a joke.

Couldn't agree more. I told both my sons, I literally don't care if you ever appear in a game or on a college roster...once you're in college, you're working for your future. One son played all four years, one son retired after his frosh year, both are doing quite well post-college because they focused on their academics.

I was friendly with a pitcher at SCU. His chief highlight was beating Mike Witt 1-0 in a SoCal regional high school playoff game (must have been interesting, Witt was 6'7" and my friend was 6'10"). My friend had rotator cuff surgery as a college freshman and could never make it back. His son was highly talented, but my friend ensured that he focused on his studies.

[Mick]

BC,
I put the blame squarely on the shoulders of the parents for this.  While coaching my kids in youth sports (both boys and girls), I was shocked at the number of parents here who swore little johnny or susie were going to earn a D1 scholarship in hoops, baseball or volleyball.   In the end, it may have helped a few get into a good school (Claremont, little ivies/ivies), and I can count on one hand the kids that made it to a D1 team mostly as recruited walk-ons.   My kids all loved playing sports, but Family and School first was the mantra in our house.    That worked out pretty well for our kids...so far!

To your point, the transfer portal is bad enough in college, but for high school it's a joke.

Couldn't agree more. I told both my sons, I literally don't care if you ever appear in a game or on a college roster...once you're in college, you're working for your future. One son played all four years, one son retired after his frosh year, both are doing quite well post-college because they focused on their academics.

I was friendly with a pitcher at SCU. His chief highlight was beating Mike Witt 1-0 in a SoCal regional high school playoff game (must have been interesting, Witt was 6'7" and my friend was 6'10"). My friend had rotator cuff surgery as a college freshman and could never make it back. His son was highly talented, but my friend ensured that he focused on his studies.