I WAS convinced I needed to play at a Power 5 

Where are all my SEC offers?!

I got a 10 at Perfect Game.

What more do they want?! 

Yes, this is the mindset of 17 year old, Patrick Jones.

Let me tell you a story of how I almost made the biggest mistake of my life. 

Luckily, I had someone talk some sense into me. 

So I had a few offers during the summer heading into my senior year of high school. 

Xavier, Dayton, and West Virginia. 

I didn't like any of those schools. 

I wanted to go to a Power 5.

So I had this great idea....

I'm going to go JUCO.

My thought was 'well I'll go there for a year, tear it up, and then transfer to a power five school. 

I went and visited a JUCO in Tennessee, I was on the phone with the coach from the school the night before signing day.

I was going to sign there. 

I called Xavier (I narrowed it down between Xavier and this JUCO) and told them I was going to sign at this JUCO. 

That was it. I just turned down three D1 offers (all with scholarship money) and was going to go to a JUCO in the middle of nowhere. 

My phone rings, it's my Uncle. 

"What did you end up deciding?" 

"I decided to go to a JUCO so I can transfer after a year or get drafted next year"

My Uncles response:

"So let me get this straight. You have a D1 offer with scholarship money attached to it, you can WALK to their campus from the house you grew up in, great coaches that you like, but you're going to go to a JUCO?" 

"What happens if you get hurt?" 

"What happens if you don't play well?"

Uhh I didn't think about those.

Hmm. 

I suddenly realized, he was right.

I called Xavier back and asked if they would honor my scholarship and still allow me to sign tomorrow.

Luckily, they did. 

Oh the 17-year-old me wasn't as smart as he thought. 

I wanted to share that story for a few reasons. 

1. It's important for kids to make a decision, but it's important to guide them in making it. 

2. We need to be honest. I had no business even thinking I could compete at an SEC school. 

My parents had no idea how good I was.

If you can help steer someone in the right direction, do it! 

3. What's the goal?

If I grew up in today's world, I'm pretty sure I would've been one of those kids saying "blessed and honored".

I needed someone to sit me down and ask me what I was trying to do, and more importantly how to do it!  

So that's my recruiting story...

Want to know how the recruiting landscape works on a deeper level?

 Listen to this week's episode with Walter Beede.

Walter has been helping players get recruited for over thirty years.

He's in it for the right reason.

He just wants to help kids.

"Every parent and coach in the country needs to listen to this recruiting episode" - I heard that a lot when this episode came out on Monday.