Thursday - November 2nd

Dear Bob...
I thought I would let you know that Kris decided last night to verbally commit to Arizona State. I kind of thought that is where he would choose all along. He always said he wanted to play college ball someplace warm. It was a tough decision because each of his four visits went well. He knows that some of the other coaches will be upset with him...(he found that out last night when he told one coach his decision) but it's part of the recruiting process.

1st there was the agents....then colleges....now we're getting MLB scouts (for visits and testing) and also the financial advisers are coming out of the woodwork. Thanks again for just being there and offering this sounding board for us.

When Kris was a freshman in High School, we knew he was a talented Baseball player and hoped that he would be able to earn some type of scholarship to help pay for college. After paying private tuition for four years in high school , college would be a struggle.

He worked hard, got good grades and improved on the field. He put himself in a position to be offered a choice of several colleges where he could continue his academic and baseball careers.

This fall he took trips to the University of Evansville, Creighton University, Oklahoma State, and Arizona State. Each program and school had attributes that were appealing to Kris for different reasons.

All of the visits were pretty much the same scene....Lots of good food, nice players, campus tours, watching a scrimmage, football game and talks with the coaching staff. In the final analysis it came down to where he "clicked" best with everything and everyone....Arizona State.

Pitching and playing baseball in the unpredictable Illinois weather his entire life, Kris always said that in college he wanted to play someplace WARM. It doesn't get any warmer than Tempe, Arizona.

After his visit there he talked a lot about the campus, dorm rooms, and baseball facilities. A few of the Baseball team players are from our area and they were able to give him an honest feel for what the school and program were really like.

He likes and respects the coaching staff and loves their competitive attitudes and schedule. I think what happened for Kris is that it just "felt" right for him to commit to Arizona State.

This was a very hard decision that he put a lot of thought into and he knew he had three tough phone calls to make and one very easy one.

Kris will turn 18 on November 7th and is looking forward to signing the Letter of Intent the day after his birthday.

Unfortunately, for him, he also received his Selective Service Notice in the mail....he's not as excited about signing that one.

This whole recruiting process has been very different from anything you can imagine unless you've gone through it. The phone calls, letters, and visits have been crazy at times but also very informational about this whole process. Everyone we talk to gives us a little more insight into the game.

Kris has made two important decisions now regarding his baseball dream...his advisors..SFX Sports..and college....Arizona State. He knows that he has more decisions to make but that's later....right now he's happy to be working out with his teammates, enjoying his schools post season football playoffs and looking forward to his Senior baseball season.

Thanks Bob, from all of us for everything...t-shirts, advice, information and especially this opportunity to share our experiences with the board. There were a few people who advised me not to do this because of the possibility of some people taking things the wrong way and the need for certain information to remain private. I went ahead and followed my own intuition about this board and have not been disappointed. You have gathered a wonderful following of good people who truly care. If anyone would like to email us privately... we can be contacted at ... mhonel@peotone.will.k12.il.us

Please...no financial investors need apply.....Just kidding.... ; )

Bob Note:Mary Kay and Kris have been so very great to work with all the way through this series of articles. As my mother always told me "You can't hide class." The Honel family is very classy.

To Mary Kay and Kris my most sincere thanks.
Bob

Kris Honel - Segment #1
Kris Honel - Segment #2
Kris Honel - Segment #3
Kris Honel - Segment #4
Kris Honel - Segment #5