2015 PG Underclass All American Games

joemktgson received an invite last year, and we just couldn't pull it off for a variety of reasons (incl. $$). Was it a lost experience? Yes. In retrospect, did it hurt his burgeoning baseball career? We don't think so. If we had a chance to do it again, and we were able to overcome those challenges, would we do it? Yes.

You have 2 more PG tournaments. And what caught my eye is that your son is attending one of the regional PG showcases: that's excellent. IMO, attending those 3 PG events will more than compensate for the loss of the Underclass AA.

Given your plan so far, I think you're OK. Conversely, should you have not had those three PG events scheduled, I'd be a bit more concerned.

Thanks Joemktg,

If it were not across the country AND the first week of school, it would be an easier decision.  It is hard to tell a ball player that school come first, then pull him out the first week of school.....

Dadofa17,

Please don't take this as anything except additional information.  Not trying to talk you into anything at all.

Over the next year you will be seen by pretty much every Major College in the eastern half of the country.  Based on where you're from, my guess would be your son is most interested in SEC and ACC programs.  So I think he is in a good position at this time.

I also should tell you that the event out west is very selective.  Some of the very best underclassmen in the country.  It is, in a way, similar but smaller than the PG National Showcase in that just being on a roster means your a good prospect.  Of course, performance is what separates one prospect from another.

Truth is your son is in a good position.  He can't go into hiding, but he can pick and choose what he does.  If he is someone we think is a good prospect, we don't change our mind about that because he decided not to attend an event.  

No matter what you do, best of luck to your son.

And on this note . . . 

The school start dates are hurting players in GA.  My son was also invited to this event as well as the Area Code games in Long Beach.  Both would require missing several days of school to accommodate the event (weekdays) and travel.  Because of this, we simply can't do it.  We know we're passing up a great opportunity in both cases, but what good is it if the grades take a huge hit during the important Junior academic year.  As it is, he's already missing the first few days of school for his travel team's out of state season ending tourney, so we simply have to cut our losses on missed school.

I know that it's a fairly isolated problem in that most of the country heads back after Labor Day, but it certainly does make for some tough decisions for some of us in the south.  That said, his goal is to get invited to the PG AA Classic next year.  If he is fortunate enough, that's one we'd miss school for him to attend. 

feel you,

Just had a conversation on this topic this week

Northeast kids in some states/some schools miss Junior Nationals

and possibly Nationals due to school ending in late June, finals, etc

definitely a regret

If the PG can post the list of the schools/scouts that attend the event, we'll have good idea if the event is worthwhile. I know some showcase, like Arizona Fall classic, Norcal world series all have the schools/scouts attendance info available in their website.

tao, I'm not sure how other events work.

I do know that there is no registration for scouts and college coaches at any of our events.  Also we don't pay scouts or college coaches to attend or work our events.  So there is no possible way that we could know ahead of time exactly how many colleges or who will attend any event.

We have always drawn lots of scouts and recruiters at our major events because they know they will see a lot of talent.  Any list of colleges attending would have to be fabricated and we don't want to do that.

This event being discussed here, will be run along with our All American game and it will be loaded with many of the most talented underclassmen in the country.  Scouts and college coaches know that.  

Maybe PG can have the scouts and college coaches to register with free or discounted pass, and then publish the list after the event. And PG keeps the past 3 years attendance records. This way, we can look up the past scouts attendance history, to know which schools are more likely to come for a particular event. Just a thought.

We have done that at some events.  The event discussed here has no admission charge to anyone.  In fact, all of our showcase events have no admission charge.  So basically people walk in and watch.

Events like the WWBA championship in Jupiter, FL are much easier to track.  There is a gate specifically for scouts and college coaches only.  There is also preregistration.  And we can track the golf cart rentals.  The smallest amount of scouts and college coaches we have ever had there in any year has been around 750.  Some MLB clubs send their entire scouting department.  A couple years ago the Blue Jays alone had 44 scouts there. We have had years when the number of scouts and college coaches has been over 1,000.

There is no doubt that PG events draw lots of scouts and school coaches attendance; it's the most famous and biggest showcase venues for both scouts and players. But my real question is, can PG track and publish the schools and MLB organizations that attend a particular PG event. For example, we were also in the similar situation to consider to attend the Norcal showcase past week in Oakland, CA. Since we don't know how many scouts or schools attended this event last year and beyond, it's hard to decide is it worthwhile to spend the money and time to attend this event, so we skipped it. Now we received another invitation for the "2015 West Coast Underclass Showcase". The same question in my mind again..

I know PG normally draws lot of scouts, but I hope PG can track&publish the scout attendance data so we parents/players can decide based on the real attendance data, not by the impression. Just a suggestion, as I believe this is an important piece of information for the players/parents.

tao,

I have coached the event in years past and I have seen many schools from the ACC, SEC and Pac12 there.  The Underclass AA Games are very well attended by colleges and pro teams alike.