2014 Catcher

I'd wait a year or two before going to a PG showcase, but you're definitely doing the right thing with the travel team. My son did his first 16U "tour" (BCS, Junior Olympics in Jupiter, East Cobb) when he was only 14 (late July birthday). It was a great experience for all of us!

A little unsolicited advice - unless your son is talking to this D1 coach (i.e. the coach tells the travel coach to tell the player to call him), then I would take any communication from the up-and-coming D1 with a grain of salt. Some of these programs have a way of sending out letters that seem very personal. They might indeed be following him; then again, they would definitely like to see him at one of their camps... Believe me. Been down that road.

He was asked to contact by his coach. They had seen him play over the summer.

quote:

Originally posted by LauraZA:
My son is a 2014 Catcher who is already being followed by an up and coming D! school. He still has several opportunities to work on such as his speed and his footwork. Pop time averages 2.02 (he doesn't turn 15 until next month) and hitting is good.

Is it too early to send him to PG showcases and camps this summer. I don't know if he should go before he is at his best. He will be playing for a major travel team and will be playing PG and USA tournaments during the summer.

Let me ask a question, with all the posts on this subject on this board what do you think?

I know colleges are recruiting earlier and earlier but I don't know how they look at underclassmen. My older son was a very late developer and will be playing at a D3 next year and we didn't let him go to a showcase until the summer after his junior year and it was still too early. He finally hit his stride by late summer and is now pitching mid to upper 80's.

This son has a lot of potential but they will still see areas he needs to work out. My guess would be to let him go if someone is already interested.

You're with a very well-established travel team. What are the coaches telling you?

quote:

Originally posted by LauraZA:
I know colleges are recruiting earlier and earlier but I don't know how they look at underclassmen. My older son was a very late developer and will be playing at a D3 next year and we didn't let him go to a showcase until the summer after his junior year and it was still too early. He finally hit his stride by late summer and is now pitching mid to upper 80's.

This son has a lot of potential but they will still see areas he needs to work out. My guess would be to let him go if someone is already interested.

If you have been down this road before you should know, I am not really sure what answer that you are looking for, why don't you just let the season and summer play out and let him get to his soph year.

You all need to chill out.

2BMom-

We haven't even thought about new summer team yet because we are concentrating on hs. I will put in a call to them and ask their opinion.

TPM-

I think your advice is good. Waiting till the end of the summer would probably be best to get a little more seasoning under his belt.

The good news is that both is hs and summer coaches were both catchers and he has never had a coach that was a catcher.

Tough to say without seeing the young man.

If he's the kind of player that's going to early commit his soph. year, then it may not be a bad idea to get him out there and go to 1 or 2 showcases.

If he is just an above average high school player then he should wait and concentrate on building arm strength, agility and power, the training aspect of the game. Get with a good summer program and play against top competition.

I see your in central florida and if he is an elite type player generally rooney/godwin at UCF will try and early commit him next year since your in their backyard.

If you don't mind me asking a few questions:

Is he playing varsity this year?
Which summer program is he involved with?

Laura ZA,

You're in good hands. The coaches will suggest when the time is right. 2013 is going on first SC this summer, as suggested by his coaches whom I respect. He'll do 1 showcase, the travel tournaments, and take a stab at the SAT and ACT. I figure that's a full summer!

Don't make the kid do it if he doesn't want to

Don't know if this will help or not but perhaps a smaller camp or clinic might be a great start. Many colleges and Universities offer great camps late in the summer. It will get him out there and have him be able to get a feel for the showcases and competition that is out there. I'm not sure I would spend a lot on the more expensive showcases right now.

www.bristolcountyeagles.org

I would say that as a 2014 he should continue to develop through the summer and fall conditioning and if he is truly getting interest from a D1 at this early stage, there is no need to rush. He can do the PG underclass in December. That will give him an additional 6 months to work. Good luck to him!!!