1st showcase. To catch or not to catch?

If I were you I would list your son as a MIF (middle infielder) first. Outfielder second and catcher third.

If he is listed as a MIF/OF that is where he will workout. If he doesn't have good arm strength and doesn't hyave good pop times there is no sense in having him do these. However, if he is a good receiver that will show up in the game more than the workout.

Also, I would recommend that any second baseman list himself as a MIF. It simply creates more interest han being listed as a 2B

Thank you for the response. I really don't have any idea what his pop time would be. Never checked. As far as arm strength goes, he is not weak. Just when I see some of the older boys compared to him... It has been improving as he gets bigger. He can throw from outfield to home, but not on line.

Thanks again for your insight. I assume from your name you are with Perfect Game??

PGStaff,

You have a PM, thanks!

DavidW, at the two Perfect Game events my oldest son has attended, they were very good about moving guys around in the field while everyone bats. They play two 10 inning games and my son being a centerfielder normally, also rotated through left and right while probably sitting about three of the twenty innings. There were between 14 and 16 guys on his teams but one or two pitched only. At this time it might be good to focus on your son's best positions since there is some very good talent at thes events and I think it will help his confidence playing where he feels he,s best at right now. That being said, putting down catcher for a third position might get him an few innings of game action there depending on how big the turnout is.

My son will be attending his 1st showcase (Perfect Game) in December. He plays JV and is a sophomore.

Just out of curiosity, What prompted you to think he needs to showcase as a high school junior varsity player? Most wait until they have made the high school varsity team.
Fungo

DavidW,

I was thinking... in December is when we do the National Underclass Showcase in Florida. If this is the event you are referring to... There are always a lot of extremely talented kids in attendance. Actually, many who have been to that event, later became first round picks.

By your brief description, and if that is the event we are talking about, I might recommend that your son attend a smaller first time event to get evaluated. We hold lots of those type events and so do other people.

Please don't take this the wrong way. I just hate to see a situation that is not any fun for young kids. It will not hurt him if he does not attend. It always amazes me when I see how some kids can improve dramatically in a years time.

IMO, your money would be spent better by getting an "honest" evaluation before jumping right to the top. I'm only saying this because as hard as it might be to understand... I actually like young kids, no matter whether they are extremely talented or not. I hate it when a young kid has a bad experience at one of the events, but I've seen it happen.

I would rather you not be there than to be there and be unhappy about everything.

If you want... Feel free to contact Jim Arp in our office and ask him questions. Tell him a guy named Jerry with PG told you to contact him. I think he might be able to give you some good honest advice. jarp@perfectgame.org

Best of luck

DavidW,
I tend to agree with PGStaff in that it is a good idea to work your way "up" the showcase ladder. While my 17 year old is ready for anything, we have sent our 15 year old to two inexpensive college camps and one small evaluation camp. He was 14 at the first two. We did it more to relax him and just let him get a feel for what to expect before he jumps to one of the lower level underclass Perfect Game events next summer. We did this even though he made the varsity as a 14 year old freshman and saw lots of playing time. We just didn't want to get him in over his head right away. His older brother was at everything he attended. He does play for a very good 16u travel team and this has been a big factor in his growth as a player and a person. At a very young age such as your son is, it is probably more improtant to play on a good summer and fall team than it is to attend showcases. Build his game--then display it.

Fungo

I don't think he "needs to" showcase at this point. He wants to attend this showcase and so do some other JV kids from his school.

He as well as I know he will be on the HS Varsity team when he becomes a junior and there is a good chance he will be filling in some this coming season on the Varsity. He plays MIF, OF, 3B and catcher.

Is there any reason you feel he should not attend?

quote:

Originally posted by Fungo:
My son will be attending his 1st showcase (Perfect Game) in December. He plays JV and is a sophomore.

Just out of curiosity, What prompted you to think he needs to showcase as a high school junior varsity player? Most wait until they have made the high school varsity team.
Fungo

PG Staff & 3bagger

Thank you for your honest opinions as to this situation. I shall discuss it with my son, research a little more and then come to a final decision. You make a good point. He really is very talented defensively and fairly good with the bat (0.467 Last yr with a 0.5?? on base). The question is, dopes he have confidence to get out there with these other talented guys as a first showcase.

Thanks again
David

The reason for attending would be exposure and because you've been invited.

Reason for not attending would be You will save money when he is too young to be drafted or sign with college, and he doesn't need the exposure (because he was invited to a national showcase)

It is not about the money.

I think what the point is exposure is good if you are able to do well and bad if you don’t do well. If the National Showcase has primary top players, it may possibly over shadow a player who might be nervous or just not quit the skill level being his first event and not having the experience competing against some of the best players in that age group.

If he cut his teeth on another level showcase, he can get used to the process and possibly shine against other players closer to his skill set and take a shot when he is used to the process and has a better understanding of his skill set.

Several on our travel team had attended of showcases at a pretty high level, when we went to the Perfect Game National Showcase and virtually all the pitchers throw over 90 mph and one close to 100 mph, and over half were drafted, some first round and virtually all the other players attended very good baseball schools, it was very impressive and we were at awe even with the background of playing and winning very high level National tournaments.

For some people it is very much about the money, budgeting and planning have to be part of the decision.
A showcase is a snapshot in time and baseball has a long memory so you want to be at your best when you attend.
You can always attend open MLB tryouts for experience

quote:

Thanks again for your insight. I assume from your name you are with Perfect Game??

DavidW,

Just to help you in weighing the opinions posted, the member named "PGStaff" who called himself "a guy named Jerry" is the president of Perfect Game. We are very fortunate to have him as a regular poster in our forums, and he gives good, honest advice. I don't think that he is necessarily telling you that your son should not attend, but that if you call or e-mail Jim Arp and give him more specifics about your son's playing experience and the competition he has played against, Jim will be able to give you appropriate advice on whether or not the National would be a good match as a first showcase for your son.

I will mention this from personal experience, though. My son who is now 22 attended a small regional Perfect Game showcase (much smaller scope than the National) when he was 16. It was his first showcase of any kind, and if all the players had been ranked for current ability, my son would have been near the bottom of the list. One pitcher he batted against (even at a small regional PG showcase) was drafted a few months later in the 2nd round. However, my son loved the showcase experience and was glad he went. He was excited and impressed to be around some of the best players in the country, and it motivated him to keep working hard. It also gave us a better idea as a family of what level of colleges he should target - he ended up playing for a DIII college. So some of the "fit" of a showcase might depend on what you hope to get out of it, and how your son reacts to difficult challenges.

Best wishes!

Julie