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Hi folks,
I've researched this topic here, and there are a few posts, but the information is mostly older so I'm looking to gain some insight from those who might have fairly recent experience with Headfirst and/or Showball showcases. The ones we're entertaining specifically are the Headfirst West and Showball Head Coach Academic camps, both being held in late June this summer.

My son is a 2019 C, 28 ACT, 3.5 GPA and has been communicating with a few coaches/schools that will be at both of these events (D3). We're leaning toward Headfirst at this time because of a couple of reasons:

1) The ACTUAL coaches he's been emailing with are listed to be at this one.
2) There seems to be much more baseball i.e. three games instead of two & 10-12 hours per day as opposed to 4-6.

They are relatively close in price and both are a long trip for us so travel and accommodations would be very similar.

I would very much appreciate any insight anyone has to offer!

https://showballbaseball.com/c...-showcase-camp-2018/
https://www.headfirsthonorroll...l-west-ca-session-2/

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I'll start.

Not sure that travel and accomodations would be so similar. On the plus side for HF, hotels around Woodland are not too expensive.  On the minus side, it's not easy finding non-stops to the Sacramento airport, so you may find yourself flying into OAK or SFO, which could mean a 2+ hour drive to the venue.  SF State (Showball) is close to both airports, but hotels will be more expensive.

My 2017 did HF at a different Sac area venue almost 2 years ago, and it was a great experience. Very well run, lots of reps, lots of very engaged coaches. I could quibble about a few things, and I could bitch about the heat and lack of shade, but overall it was a very solid and I'm glad we went.

Looks like Showball knows what they're doing too, and at a glance their list of coaches is more interesting. But the venue only has one field.  That's a bit concerning in terms of reps. OTOH Woodland has 3 fields, and that's concerning in terms of getting eyes on your player.

As long as the coaches you want to see are there and know to look for your kid, you probably can't go wrong.

 

JCG - Thanks so much for the insight! Direct flights for us are not really an issue because they're not really an option unless we're going to Dallas, Memphis, Atlanta, St. Louis or Houston. There's a running joke where we are that to get to Heaven you'd have to go through Dallas so I'm not too concerned about getting to Sacramento without a connection. The tip about the hotels though is definitely something to consider. Also, I don't suspect the heat in Sac is going to phase us too much considering what summer baseball is like in our area :-)

The number of fields is definitely a factor so we'll just have to make sure to stay in touch with our coaches of interest and hope for the best. Again, I appreciate the input!

I'll chime in here to say my 2019 son did both HF (August in NY) and Showball Head Coaches (November in FL).  They were both fantastic, professional and well managed.  I agree with JCG, you won't go wrong.  

A few observations from my son's experience:

1) My son was noticed at both events, with follow-up from coaches (again, you can't go wrong)  

2) HF was a mix of RCs and HCs whereas Showball was ALL head coaches.  In many cases, my son was seen by the RC at HF and the HC at Showball so they both got to know him a bit.  With the four schools who seem most interested in him, the HC is the one communicating with him most (I don't know if that's good or bad).

3) Coaches seemed more accessible at HF than Showball, however and son was able to talk to more coaches at HF, whereas Showball had a session where they could go talk to coaches the first day but not as many opportunities to have time to talk

Good luck to your son!

 

At Showball you play a double header on the second day, on one adjacent field you have half the coaches watching you, then in the next game you switch fields and are playing with the other half of the coaches watching you.  All Coaches see you play in a game.  It's a faster pace, not much standing around for anyone.  Very efficient.

At Headfirst all the coaches will not necessarily see you play in a game.  They're all divided on four fields playing at the same time, they'll rotate.  Even if a coach is aware you're there, you could be playing when he's assigned on the field in another game.  They'll normally leave for a few minutes to watch you, but no guarantee you are up to bat and get a solid hit at that time, or getting a ground ball at your IF postion.  Less probability of seeing game actions being seen by the school you're really interested in.  If somehow a coach is really really interested in you, via video or being previously seen, he will make sure he sees you no matter what.

I thought coaches were equally accessable at both venues.

HF has more D3 coaches.  Showball has one summer and now, a fall event where there are all HC's attending.  

HF might have had a bit more refinement to it, and Showball sacrificing some of that in order to move everybody along efficiently. You want your game actions to be seen, my preference was Showball.

Edit: Yale's Frawley only goes to Headfirst. Amherst's Hamm prefers Showball.

corrected Frawley goes to HF

Last edited by Gov

Tequila - is your son taking the ACT again?  The D3’s offer support through admissions, it will be helpful with the higher academic ones for his ACT  to be near the middle 50 % of accepted ACT scores.  Ex:  Johns Hopkins is 32-34, coaches make it clear they need a min 32 to get their support (there are exceptions in certain years). Not sure what level D3 your son is thinking about.  

 

Gov posted:

At Showball you play a double header on the second day, on one adjacent field you have half the coaches watching you, then in the next game you switch fields and are playing with the other half of the coaches watching you.  All Coaches see you play in a game.  It's a faster pace, not much standing around for anyone.  Very efficient.

At Headfirst all the coaches will not necessarily see you play in a game.  They're all divided on four fields playing at the same time, they'll rotate.  Even if a coach is aware you're there, you could be playing when he's assigned on the field in another game.  They'll normally leave for a few minutes to watch you, but no guarantee you are up to bat and get a solid hit at that time, or getting a ground ball at your IF postion.  Less probability of seeing game actions being seen by the school you're really interested in.  If somehow a coach is really really interested in you, via video or being previously seen, he will make sure he sees you no matter what.

I thought coaches were equally accessable at both venues.

HF has more D3 coaches.  Showball has one summer and now, a fall event where there are all HC's attending.  

HF might have had a bit more refinement to it, and Showball sacrificing some of that in order to move everybody along efficiently. You want your game actions to be seen, my preference was Showball.

Edit: Yale's Frawley only goes to Showball.  Amherst's Hamm prefers Showball.

Gov my 2019 was at Headfirst in New York last August and Coach Frawley was there - I attended a recruiting info session were he led the discussion.  I remember him b/c he is very outgoing and has a dynamic personality.  Not sure about any other session of HF, but he was there for our session.

Gov posted:

Tequila - is your son taking the ACT again?  The D3’s offer support through admissions, it will be helpful with the higher academic ones for his ACT  to be near the middle 50 % of accepted ACT scores.  Ex:  Johns Hopkins is 32-34, coaches make it clear they need a min 32 to get their support (there are exceptions in certain years). Not sure what level D3 your son is thinking about.  

 

Hi Gov, he took the ACT again a couple of weeks ago, will take it in April, and probably one other time based on what those results turn out to be. D3 programs of immediate interest for him right now include Pomona-Pitzer, Chapman, and Trinity (CT). He's got some D2s (and a couple of mid-low D1s) he's looking at, and even had coach communications with, as well but it seems the overall fit keeps coming back to higher academic D3. We've got his requirements/preferences pretty locked in, from an overall desired experience perspective, but suffice it to say that high ranked liberal arts schools in, or near, a metropolitan area are very high on the list. Thanks for all your insight!

Qhead posted:
Gov posted:

At Showball you play a double header on the second day, on one adjacent field you have half the coaches watching you, then in the next game you switch fields and are playing with the other half of the coaches watching you.  All Coaches see you play in a game.  It's a faster pace, not much standing around for anyone.  Very efficient.

At Headfirst all the coaches will not necessarily see you play in a game.  They're all divided on four fields playing at the same time, they'll rotate.  Even if a coach is aware you're there, you could be playing when he's assigned on the field in another game.  They'll normally leave for a few minutes to watch you, but no guarantee you are up to bat and get a solid hit at that time, or getting a ground ball at your IF postion.  Less probability of seeing game actions being seen by the school you're really interested in.  If somehow a coach is really really interested in you, via video or being previously seen, he will make sure he sees you no matter what.

I thought coaches were equally accessable at both venues.

HF has more D3 coaches.  Showball has one summer and now, a fall event where there are all HC's attending.  

HF might have had a bit more refinement to it, and Showball sacrificing some of that in order to move everybody along efficiently. You want your game actions to be seen, my preference was Showball.

Edit: Yale's Frawley only goes to Showball.  Amherst's Hamm prefers Showball.

Gov my 2019 was at Headfirst in New York last August and Coach Frawley was there - I attended a recruiting info session were he led the discussion.  I remember him b/c he is very outgoing and has a dynamic personality.  Not sure about any other session of HF, but he was there for our session.

Oops - typo and apologize!!  Frawley goes to HF, Hamm goes to Showball.

Similar question for my son's summer schedule. He is a 2019 P/corner IF. 6'2", 195. Low 80's FB, w/good control and secondary stuff. Pop in bat (86 exit velo). 1560 SAT 4.0 GPA, 1520 PSAT (perfect score). He is late getting on the recruiting scene due to an arm injury last year. He had surgery last Sept and went to the Harvard camp a few weeks ago and is back to form playing HS ball this spring. We are in PA but booked for HF in CA June 26-27. It will be part baseball, part college visits, part family vacation. Looking to fill out the rest of the summer with showcases/camps and not currently playing on a team other than potentially Legion to stay in shape and sharp. Thoughts on that approach?

Considering the following showcases/camps:

- Showball, ASBA Academic in July, Perfect Game Academic in FL, Duke's Camp in August, Baseball America (Top 96), maybe HF again on Long Island in Aug

Appreciate any thoughts from those who have been there before. 

2019&21 Dad posted:

Similar question for my son's summer schedule. He is a 2019 P/corner IF. 6'2", 195. Low 80's FB, w/good control and secondary stuff. Pop in bat (86 exit velo). 1560 SAT 4.0 GPA, 1520 PSAT (perfect score). He is late getting on the recruiting scene due to an arm injury last year. He had surgery last Sept and went to the Harvard camp a few weeks ago and is back to form playing HS ball this spring. We are in PA but booked for HF in CA June 26-27. It will be part baseball, part college visits, part family vacation. Looking to fill out the rest of the summer with showcases/camps and not currently playing on a team other than potentially Legion to stay in shape and sharp. Thoughts on that approach?

Considering the following showcases/camps:

- Showball, ASBA Academic in July, Perfect Game Academic in FL, Duke's Camp in August, Baseball America (Top 96), maybe HF again on Long Island in Aug

Appreciate any thoughts from those who have been there before. 

Based on my 2017's experience, he would have had plenty of good D3 options had he done just one event, so yes, I think your approach can work fine. (And obviously even Roy Hobbs can have a bad weekend so scheduling more than one event is wise.)

2019&21 Dad posted:

Similar question for my son's summer schedule. He is a 2019 P/corner IF. 6'2", 195. Low 80's FB, w/good control and secondary stuff. Pop in bat (86 exit velo). 1560 SAT 4.0 GPA, 1520 PSAT (perfect score). He is late getting on the recruiting scene due to an arm injury last year. He had surgery last Sept and went to the Harvard camp a few weeks ago and is back to form playing HS ball this spring. We are in PA but booked for HF in CA June 26-27. It will be part baseball, part college visits, part family vacation. Looking to fill out the rest of the summer with showcases/camps and not currently playing on a team other than potentially Legion to stay in shape and sharp. Thoughts on that approach?

Considering the following showcases/camps:

- Showball, ASBA Academic in July, Perfect Game Academic in FL, Duke's Camp in August, Baseball America (Top 96), maybe HF again on Long Island in Aug

Appreciate any thoughts from those who have been there before. 

How is his baseball skill?  Any PG grade, or accolades via PBR?  He's got the grades, and nice size for being a P or corner IF, how's the glove?  How's the speed?  Keep getting the exit velo stronger and becoming a better hitter.  Spring HS ball should get him good reps, but the downtime between that and showcases could be concerning due to not seeing decent pitching to hit against.  The showcases will have Pitchers of all levels - 80-92FB, he has to make sure he's timed up so that he gives himself a chance while in front of the college coaches. 

 Has he been on a competitive summer club team?  While grades are great, don't forget these are baseball coaches trying to recruit the best possible players for their college.  Whether it's Harvard or Amherst, they want players, that happen to have the grades and scores.

Does he work with a throwing guy?  With his size and weight along with refined mechanics should make him more projectable.  There's time for him to continue to refine.

I think multiple HF camps (June and July) could be good, giving himself repeated chances in front of the same coaches.  Duke Camp in August as an incoming senior is very late for a power conf college, unless he's RHP throwing 90+ with command, or a great glove corner launching bombs out of the park.  Duke picks up their last cherry picks at the PG WWBA and similar tournaments where the prospects are high level late bloomer pitchers, or high level hitters hitting advanced pitching. Same for other high academic D1's.  Georgetown and Columbia were still looking for two power hitting corner players at the PG WWBA and the Showball HC event the past July.  Harvard held off making some formal offers until their early August Camp.  The Ivy camps always have 4-6 other college coaches attending (normally D3's and Patriot D1's).  Princeton HC feeds some players he likes but has no room for to GTown HC.  

You need to find a way to stay in top baseball shape in between showcases.  Def more thoughts on this, but gotta run, hopefully no typos here.... 

 

 

tequila posted:
Gov posted:

Tequila - is your son taking the ACT again?  The D3’s offer support through admissions, it will be helpful with the higher academic ones for his ACT  to be near the middle 50 % of accepted ACT scores.  Ex:  Johns Hopkins is 32-34, coaches make it clear they need a min 32 to get their support (there are exceptions in certain years). Not sure what level D3 your son is thinking about.  

 

Hi Gov, he took the ACT again a couple of weeks ago, will take it in April, and probably one other time based on what those results turn out to be. D3 programs of immediate interest for him right now include Pomona-Pitzer, Chapman, and Trinity (CT). He's got some D2s (and a couple of mid-low D1s) he's looking at, and even had coach communications with, as well but it seems the overall fit keeps coming back to higher academic D3. We've got his requirements/preferences pretty locked in, from an overall desired experience perspective, but suffice it to say that high ranked liberal arts schools in, or near, a metropolitan area are very high on the list. Thanks for all your insight!

Have your son find out directly from Pomona HC what showcases or camps he'll be attending, same with Trinity (HC is awesome).  Pomona coach very direct with his academic requirements.  With Trinity your son is good now.

Gov posted:
2019&21 Dad posted:

Similar question for my son's summer schedule. He is a 2019 P/corner IF. 6'2", 195. Low 80's FB, w/good control and secondary stuff. Pop in bat (86 exit velo). 1560 SAT 4.0 GPA, 1520 PSAT (perfect score). He is late getting on the recruiting scene due to an arm injury last year. He had surgery last Sept and went to the Harvard camp a few weeks ago and is back to form playing HS ball this spring. We are in PA but booked for HF in CA June 26-27. It will be part baseball, part college visits, part family vacation. Looking to fill out the rest of the summer with showcases/camps and not currently playing on a team other than potentially Legion to stay in shape and sharp. Thoughts on that approach?

Considering the following showcases/camps:

- Showball, ASBA Academic in July, Perfect Game Academic in FL, Duke's Camp in August, Baseball America (Top 96), maybe HF again on Long Island in Aug

Appreciate any thoughts from those who have been there before. 

How is his baseball skill?  Any PG grade, or accolades via PBR?  He's got the grades, and nice size for being a P or corner IF, how's the glove?  How's the speed?  Keep getting the exit velo stronger and becoming a better hitter.  Spring HS ball should get him good reps, but the downtime between that and showcases could be concerning due to not seeing decent pitching to hit against.  The showcases will have Pitchers of all levels - 80-92FB, he has to make sure he's timed up so that he gives himself a chance while in front of the college coaches. 

 Has he been on a competitive summer club team?  While grades are great, don't forget these are baseball coaches trying to recruit the best possible players for their college.  Whether it's Harvard or Amherst, they want players, that happen to have the grades and scores.

Does he work with a throwing guy?  With his size and weight along with refined mechanics should make him more projectable.  There's time for him to continue to refine.

I think multiple HF camps (June and July) could be good, giving himself repeated chances in front of the same coaches.  Duke Camp in August as an incoming senior is very late for a power conf college, unless he's RHP throwing 90+ with command, or a great glove corner launching bombs out of the park.  Duke picks up their last cherry picks at the PG WWBA and similar tournaments where the prospects are high level late bloomer pitchers, or high level hitters hitting advanced pitching. Same for other high academic D1's.  Georgetown and Columbia were still looking for two power hitting corner players at the PG WWBA and the Showball HC event the past July.  Harvard held off making some formal offers until their early August Camp.  The Ivy camps always have 4-6 other college coaches attending (normally D3's and Patriot D1's).  Princeton HC feeds some players he likes but has no room for to GTown HC.  

You need to find a way to stay in top baseball shape in between showcases.  Def more thoughts on this, but gotta run, hopefully no typos here.... 

 

 

Thanks for your well thought out reply Gov. To answer your questions, he has played on several high quality travel teams and had success so I think the baseball talent is there for a D3/Patriot (maybe Ivy). But his playing time and showcasing has been significantly hampered by injury. He did a PBR event last Jan '16, where he got his exit velo, but the injury hurt his arm velo #'s. He is a good fielder and getting faster although not fast (7.6 60). He has worked with a pitching coach and has very good mechanics according to one nationally known pitching guy. We were thinking Legion could be a relatively inexpensive way to help him stay ready between showcases, but you raise a good point as to the quality of pitching he may see there. 

Thinking once he is in top form in May we do a recruiting video and send it out to targeted schools with email telling them where he will be in the summer. Meantime keep training/refining/prepping and playing somewhere ahead of HF in June. Then do at least one or two more high academic showcases after that in the summer.  Does it make sense to do the PG Academic the week before the HF CA? Seems like PG's value is more in getting the numbers than about coach exposure. Just not sure that warrants spending $2k to go down there. 

As for schools of interest, he seems to favor technical schools (MIT, CalTech, Pomona/Mudd, U. Chicago) over Ivy's, and definitely wants the academic side to drive the process. 

2019&21 Dad posted:
Gov posted:
2019&21 Dad posted:

Similar question for my son's summer schedule. He is a 2019 P/corner IF. 6'2", 195. Low 80's FB, w/good control and secondary stuff. Pop in bat (86 exit velo). 1560 SAT 4.0 GPA, 1520 PSAT (perfect score). He is late getting on the recruiting scene due to an arm injury last year. He had surgery last Sept and went to the Harvard camp a few weeks ago and is back to form playing HS ball this spring. We are in PA but booked for HF in CA June 26-27. It will be part baseball, part college visits, part family vacation. Looking to fill out the rest of the summer with showcases/camps and not currently playing on a team other than potentially Legion to stay in shape and sharp. Thoughts on that approach?

Considering the following showcases/camps:

- Showball, ASBA Academic in July, Perfect Game Academic in FL, Duke's Camp in August, Baseball America (Top 96), maybe HF again on Long Island in Aug

Appreciate any thoughts from those who have been there before. 

How is his baseball skill?  Any PG grade, or accolades via PBR?  He's got the grades, and nice size for being a P or corner IF, how's the glove?  How's the speed?  Keep getting the exit velo stronger and becoming a better hitter.  Spring HS ball should get him good reps, but the downtime between that and showcases could be concerning due to not seeing decent pitching to hit against.  The showcases will have Pitchers of all levels - 80-92FB, he has to make sure he's timed up so that he gives himself a chance while in front of the college coaches. 

 Has he been on a competitive summer club team?  While grades are great, don't forget these are baseball coaches trying to recruit the best possible players for their college.  Whether it's Harvard or Amherst, they want players, that happen to have the grades and scores.

Does he work with a throwing guy?  With his size and weight along with refined mechanics should make him more projectable.  There's time for him to continue to refine.

I think multiple HF camps (June and July) could be good, giving himself repeated chances in front of the same coaches.  Duke Camp in August as an incoming senior is very late for a power conf college, unless he's RHP throwing 90+ with command, or a great glove corner launching bombs out of the park.  Duke picks up their last cherry picks at the PG WWBA and similar tournaments where the prospects are high level late bloomer pitchers, or high level hitters hitting advanced pitching. Same for other high academic D1's.  Georgetown and Columbia were still looking for two power hitting corner players at the PG WWBA and the Showball HC event the past July.  Harvard held off making some formal offers until their early August Camp.  The Ivy camps always have 4-6 other college coaches attending (normally D3's and Patriot D1's).  Princeton HC feeds some players he likes but has no room for to GTown HC.  

You need to find a way to stay in top baseball shape in between showcases.  Def more thoughts on this, but gotta run, hopefully no typos here.... 

 

 

Thanks for your well thought out reply Gov. To answer your questions, he has played on several high quality travel teams and had success so I think the baseball talent is there for a D3/Patriot (maybe Ivy). But his playing time and showcasing has been significantly hampered by injury. He did a PBR event last Jan '16, where he got his exit velo, but the injury hurt his arm velo #'s. He is a good fielder and getting faster although not fast (7.6 60). He has worked with a pitching coach and has very good mechanics according to one nationally known pitching guy. We were thinking Legion could be a relatively inexpensive way to help him stay ready between showcases, but you raise a good point as to the quality of pitching he may see there. 

Thinking once he is in top form in May we do a recruiting video and send it out to targeted schools with email telling them where he will be in the summer. Meantime keep training/refining/prepping and playing somewhere ahead of HF in June. Then do at least one or two more high academic showcases after that in the summer.  Does it make sense to do the PG Academic the week before the HF CA? Seems like PG's value is more in getting the numbers than about coach exposure. Just not sure that warrants spending $2k to go down there. 

As for schools of interest, he seems to favor technical schools (MIT, CalTech, Pomona/Mudd, U. Chicago) over Ivy's, and definitely wants the academic side to drive the process. 

If he is targeting the schools you listed, if given the chance and supported by the coach should really consider going ED. My son verbally committed to CMS (Mudd) but did not get accepted. His scores were higher than your sons so just a heads up.   

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