Bobble we used to field a rising jr team and a rising sr team. Now we field a rising fr and soph team as well. I coach one of the teams and move around at times filling in for other coaches. I evaluate and scout for players as well.
I am not a big fan of showcase for these younger guys. I think they would be much better served getting more instruction at an earlier age and play some. Vs getting tons of games and very little instruction time. But thats just me.
There are two things I think are critical for young baseball players. Throwing mechanics and hitting mechanics. I have seen kids that I believe could have been very good but they were taught some things that they could not unlearn. They just never could recover from it. I have also seen some kids that got good solid coaching in hitting and throwing mechanics at a young age and it really helped them down the road. I would much rather have a kid that was never taught one thing about hitting or throwing coming into hs than get a kid that was taught very well how to do it very wrong.
There is no doubt that a kid that gets good coaching and instruction at a young age and plays against good competition at young age has a big advantage over their competition when they get in HS. But I have seen travel coaches that were clowns. All they did was pick the best players at 10 and roll out the bats and balls and kick the s@it out of everyone. Then every year they "upgraded" by picking up the next stud and dropping the guys that didnt improve. By the time the kids go to HS none of them were at an advantage.
Your right in my opinion that good coaching and competition at a younger age helps a great deal. But there are many that over come poor baseball situations when they get to HS. And there are many that find themselves in a bad HS situation and are doomed.
Parents that take a role when they see their kid loves the game at a young age and help guide them in the right direction and situation help their kids alot. But in the end they still have to develop , work hard , develop a work ethic and have talent.
I have always been one that believed I could take a poor player and help him become average. An average player and help him become good. A good player and help him become very good. And a great player was just a great player. I do all I can not to mess that kid up.