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Message: [QUOTE="Bambrewer, post: 1072642, member: 4728"] Thank you for that. I tell you i have met a lot of kids going thru this. There was a kid from South Carolina that committed to BC. He had traveled up by himself to see the school and meet the coaches. He was being recruited by a few big southern schools and he told me he wanted to come to BC because he wanted to be a business major. I asked him why he didn't want to play for some of the big names recruiting him. And he said none of them cared about him as a player. They didn't care if he got a degree. I asked him where his parents were and he told me they don't go with him they aren't interested in where he plays. That kid changed the whole experience for me. At the same visit was a kid on an offical. His parents were with him and they were loud. They were yelling all the time about how great the kid was. I believe they may have signed him to this years squad but I'm not sure. The parents were dressed like they had just won the lottery. I asked the kid a couple questions and he kinda blew me off like he was too good to talk to me. That kid changed this process for me and how I look at shy when he speaks to coaches parents and other athletes. Then we went to rivals and I got to meet the hype of recruiting. There was about 30 + of the 4 and 5 star kids. The self entitlement that half of these kids put out is mind blowing. The entourage like they already made it was disturbing to see in a kid their age. The parents mugging to the coaches media and scouts was incredible.They made me realize what Shy and our family would not look like. Then we visited UNH and we ran into a kid who Shy played against. A great player. I had expected him to be at a big time school and was surprised when he said he had signed with UNH. He was there with his coach and said his parents did have anything to do with his process and told Shy he was lucky I was helping him. I asked him if he had any big offers and he started rattling off a bunch of big schools. I said how did you end up here? He says they have a great program for my major one of the best in the country. Then he says I hope they red shirt me freshman year so I can egt an extra year for my degree. I was blown away. I couldnt believe this kid who I thought would be playing to make it to the next level really couldnt care about ever playing he was just happy to get his degree for free. He change my perception of this game. I guess what I am trying to say is everyone has a different experience going thru this. I want to make sure Shy has the best of all worlds. Shy has been thru so much and has struggled so much. He deserves more than we could ever afford to give him. He is a great kid...I dont think you could ever understand the person he is. We live in a city that it is very easy for a kid to get caught up in the wrong thing..hell last night 5 kids were shot at a birthday party right down the street. 2 nights ago Shy asked if he could go to a friends house after a work out him and nick put together for the team at UMASS Lowell. My wife said sure. I asked her what time she told him to come home and she said she didnt. I was concerned he would be out late and had to be up early for team workouts and work with the Lowell police. But 9 oclock came and he walked in the door to say good night. I said how was the night and he said awesome all the graduted seniors had come over to the kids house b ecause they knew Shy would be there and wanted to congratulate him. I said really and the party broke up at 9? he said no the guys were all giving him a hard time about bailing but he had workouts the next morning and wanted to get to sleep. Then he told all the kids at the house that are playing next year he knows who is there and if any of them are late he will make sure their workout is one they never forget. He beats to his own drum. He doesnt care if people think he isnt cool for something he does. When coach asked him and he told him he wanted to commit. It was incredible. It was a reward for all the crap, all the work Shy has been though and done. It made all the time all the money worth every second every penney. To see a kid that had points in life he wasnt expected to live thru come to this moment was like watching a movie. Things like that dont happen to real people but Shy deserves every bit of it. He is a self made man and is who he is through nothing but hard work. That said he has a long hard fight coming to reach the goal. But he was on the phone with Syracuse staff emailing 3 times a day to make sure he is doing what needs to be done for eligibility. He has been to guidance at school 3 days in a row making sure they are getting all his classes right. He will spend his senior year working harder for grades than he ever has. At times I feel like I have failed him by not getting his testing done much earlier but I can only kick myself in the ass so many times before realizing doing so isnt getting anything done for him. I know he can do it. He wants this more than anything. A couple months ago a kid heard Shy was being looked at by BC and the kid said to him "you cant go to BC you need good grades to go there...football isnt going to cover up for that" Shy was pretty upset by that and qoutes it all the time. He is determined to show that kid he can not only graduate on time and be eligible on time but he will move on from college to work or the NFL and make the most of everything he has been given the opportunity to have. [/QUOTE]

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