My Choice: Picking the Right School

Guest Blogger: Bryan Hoffman

When I stepped onto campus at the University of Maryland in 2005 I was determined to make the best of my four years as a member of the Terrapin baseball team. I had a good high school and American Legion career and was fortunate enough to earn the opportunity to play baseball in the ACC. This was it, college baseball, I had finally arrived at the end of the enduring journey that is college recruiting.

It was the first day of fall workouts and the first day to make an impression on the coaching staff. My bullpen session was going well until about 15 pitches in. I had just placed a 2-seam fastball on the inner half of the plate, but when I went to throw the next pitch something felt wrong. My next 10 pitches were considerably slower and my control had just disappeared – I knew something was wrong. I met with my trainer and we thought I had a little tendinitis, but a few weeks later we came to find I had a torn rotator cuff.

On December 29, 2005 I underwent surgery on my left shoulder to repair the tear and hopefully get back to full health in time for 2006. As the months passed I regained arm strength, improved my conditioning, but the life on my fastball just simply did not return.

This led to extremely tough times for me mentally as my hopes of one day being a big leaguer faded with each passing day. I went on to be a member of the team for two more seasons, finally seeing my first game action as a red-shirt sophomore in 2008 (my first collegiate pitch was a fastball high and away to the second overall pick in the 2009 draft, Dustin Ackley). As I recorded the final out in what proved to be a much longer inning than I had hoped, I expected myself to be embarrassed and angered, but as my abilities changed, so too had my mentality. For as poor as a showing as that inning was, it was definitely one of the high points of my life. Not only had I refused to listen to my peers telling me to just give it up for the past three years, but I also got to pitch against a top five team in the nation!

I ended up “retiring” after that season to turn my complete attention to academics. The NCAA is not lying when it says most athletes do go pro in something other than sports. My experience at the University of Maryland is irreplaceable in my mind, and at one point was something that may have never happened.

As I was going through the recruiting process my parents would continue to remind me to choose a school that not only offered the right baseball program, but also the academic and social atmosphere that I would enjoy if somehow baseball did not work out. I remember questioning them at the time and repeatedly telling them that baseball was my primary focus because it was going to be my job one day, and as long as I found a program with good competition and the opportunity to succeed, that was all that mattered.

Now as I look back I realize how important those words of wisdom truly were. As a young student athlete the college recruiting process can force you into pressured decisions that are going to impact your life in the long run. We all remember our mindset as teenagers and the focus was not always on the future and planning. So families, as you go through this process I urge you to assess each and every opportunity as much more than a baseball decision, but a life decision.



Bryan Hoffman is a Signature College Recruiting and Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout Representative for Baseball Factory. Bryan joined the Baseball Factory in September 2009. He played his collegiate ball at the University of Maryland for three years before focusing on academics. He currently resides in Severna Park, MD.