College Recruiting/Teen Motivation
I have a ‘29 who has been playing since 4th grade- super talented kid with size and strength. He always wanted to play D1, but now that recruiting is around the corner he’s pulling back, and I can sense he may not be as into it as he once was. We’ve always been careful to not put too much pressure on him, so I don’t know the exact cause of his current attitude, but it’s definitely a bummer. I’d like to put together a list of schools this week and we have some showcases this winter, but I don’t want to push too hard if he ultimately doesn’t know what he wants to do.
For any parents reading this, has anyone dealt with this before? Any tips or strategies for keeping their teen motivated? I feel like there is a fine line to walk here, and I don’t want to back off so much that he loses out on a great opportunity; I also don’t want to lean too hard into the recruiting pipeline and have him crash and burn. Any thoughts would be super appreciated.
EDIT: I just want to say thanks to everyone who took the time to offer advice and insight- there’s some peace of mind in knowing I’m not the only one who has gone through this! To clarify, my son gets a load of playing time on a travel team and as a freshman started varsity for his high school, so I think high level college LAX is definitely an option if he works at it. Thanks again everyone.