I have just started playing baseball at a small community college close to my home town. I made the decision to come to this school about a year ago when it was my only offer to play baseball. At the time, the only thing i was involved in at school was baseball. I lifted and practiced everyday after school. All of ( literally 100%) my friends were from the baseball team. A Lot of things changed during my senior year of high school. I started to really care about my academics, i made friends with a group of guys that had no relation to baseball, and i met a girl who i am now in a very committed relationship with. I began to realize that there was much more to life than baseball, and i realized how choosing my future college solely on baseball was a big mistake. But i went through with it anyway because it was too late to change anything. I began doing research and have chosen a college i want to transfer to next year based on the schools academics, campus, and the life and college experience i can envision myself having there.
I now have a new set of priorities: Academics, my future college experience, girlfriend, and other friends/social life. Baseball no longer fits into those priorities, or at least not anywhere ahead of those mentioned above. I decided after a week of trying college baseball i wanted to give it up so i could focus on my academics so i could transfer into my dream school as well as to free up a lot of my time to spend studying as well as spending time with my friends, girlfriend and family. I told my parents this and even talked to my coaches as well as former teammates, coaches and my girlfriend about how i felt about my priorities. Despite all of them admitting that they totally understood where i was coming from, and that college baseball probably isn’t for me, they all encouraged me to keep playing until i transfer, or at least until the first semester was over. There reasoning being “Maybe youll end up liking it” But after another week or so of trying to continue playing, i still cant convince myself that dedicating just about all of my “free time” (anytime outside of class) to a sport that i am no longer interested in making a priority is a good idea. Being on my own at a college I am unhappy with for the first time while trying to get excellent grades to ensure my plan for the future pans out seems like plenty of stress and commitment. Why would i add 10x more stress, physically and mentally, just to play a sport that isn’t nearly as important to me anymore?