2019 attended his first show case this weekend

Well you certainly aren't alone, but I wonder why you think this was worth it?  Why not just focus on improving his skills, playing competitive ball (travel, etc...) at the highest level he can under the best coach you can find, learning how to play inside a team concept with other players who are as good or better than him AND are teammates and making his HS team?

 

All of that translates to skills needed beyond HS and probably helps his development more.

 

There is a certain type of stereotype out there amongst HS and college coaches regarding 'showcase kids' vs. 'players who can get it done' with the chips are on the line.

 

No, I am NOT against showcases.  I'm just wondering why the rush?

 

 

A few weeks ago 2019Son attended a tryout for a HS travel team. It was, as I understand it, more-or-less a showcase format (note: I've never seen a baseball showcase, so I could be completely wrong about this):

(1) everyone ran 60s (which I was told were laser-timed);

(2) bullpens were thrown with velocities measured;

(3) every hitter got eight swings in BP;

(4) outfielders had their velocities measured on four throws from right field (two throws to third base and two throws home);

(5) infielders each got four grounders (one right at them, one to the right, one to their left, and one slow roller), with their velocities across the diamond measured; and

(6) catchers pop times were measured, with each of them getting four throws. 

 

It was an interesting experience to see that format -- there is an awful lot of standing around, since there were over 140 kids (across a couple classes) -- without it being a showcase, and without knowing about the format going into it. And, when 2019Son is ready to do a showcase in a couple years time, I think it will be helpful to know and have experienced the format.

 

No rush, just  an attempt to get more information and see how he  stacks up.  I give him credit for trying.  He loves the sport and wants to play in high school and he had a chance to hit against some of the best talent in the immediate area. 

Here's what's important: you've established benchmarks.

 

The next step is important, i.e., studying those benchmarks, creating achievable objectives that improve on those benchmarks, and building an off season plan that will allow your son to attain those objectives.

 

Get moving with that plan!

I did the same thing with my 2018 son the Winter before his Freshman year at our local D3 state college. I was under the impression that it was a skills camp, but come to find out it was really a HS prospect camp. Lots of local kids end up there so I figured it would be ok to go through with it anyway. Besides it was February and we were buried in snow, so it was something fun to do.

 

One great thing I think is the tryout experience. Work through the jitters, get comfortable in uncomfortable situations. I believe this will help a player in HS tryouts, travel tryouts, showcase workouts, as well as later in life with job interviews, group introductions, etc. Teaches them to walk in like they own the place.

 

Also it's great to see where you rank among the talent.It can help your player get an idea what level they think they belong at, or if they really want to play at the college level at all.

 

For my player it was a positive experience.

I did the same. I took my 2018 to a D1 SEC HS Prospect camp during his freshman year. It was an amazing eye opener for him to go through the process. It was also his first time to play vs. that kind of talent at that age level. The fact that he more than held his own on the mound (in fact, stood out) provided a level of confidence that I couldn't have bought if I wanted to. After that camp, going into high school ball as a freshman was a breeze from the confidence perspective.

I dunno - I know there's more than one way to skin a cat.  But I'm just wondering - especially since I've heard some very good coaches say that there is this emerging 'showcase kid' model - one where a group of young players seem to be all focused on that scene - and what they really wanna see is that same kid in a 'game on the line' situation.

 

BTW, PG provides both!!  Thats part of why they're so good I think.

 

Our boys got those 'how good am I?' experiences on very good travel teams.  And with the younger one, even in HS (believe it or not!?).  And then they each got a showcase (maybe 2 each) experience as juniors and seniors in HS.  So I'm certainly not against showcases - just wonder about the age.  Seems awfully early.  Do you really have anything to 'showcase' at age 14/15?  Kids change so much after that age, especially on "measurables" - at least many/most kids.  Actually not changing much after dominance at that age might be an even bigger problem!!

 

Is the 'measuring against' and 'getting comfortable' more for the kid or the dad?  Either way, its no big deal really.  I'm all for finding more than one way to get to the goal.

I think it is all driven by the early commits.  Everyone hears about the Freshman/Sophomore who has committed to some big D1.  Thus, they think you need to jump on that bandwagon.  The reality is that the kids committing that early are the 90mph pitchers and maybe one or two other complete studs.  Most of the players I see are still on the rising JR/rising SR. schedule. 

How did he do with the hitting, and how good is the immediate area talent? 

 

I don't see my 2020 14u kid stacking up against 90+mph pitchers too well when he usually sees 70-80mph!  I could be wrong, but I'm NOT willing to pay to find out.

In your son's situation it was a good idea. For those who don't know his son entered high school 6'4" and throwing low 80s. For most kids I'm not sure there's a value. My son waited until summer after soph year. He had already started at short on varsity. He was 5'11", 135 entering high school. He was 6'1, 160 and strong after soph year.

No matter how much coaches decry the "Showcase Kid" I believe showcasing and all the emphasis on the individual skills, as opposed to team performance, is here to stay.  Obviously the ideal recruit is a Showcase Kid and a Gamer, aka "Showcase Gamer?"

 

The "measurable" data that all these recruiters want to sift through allows them to use their time efficiently.  Not all Showcase Kids are Gamers, but I'd bet a lot more Gamers do very well at showcases.

 

That being said, I don't want to get off topic from OP.  These showcases, where players must do a pro style workout and other school specific measurable activities (vertical jump, medicine ball toss, 40-yard and/or 10-yard dash),  have become essential for recruiters.  Therefore I see it a benefit to expose players to the setting early and often.  Why not?  This would be in addition to playing on a good travel team, and playing at highly competitive tournaments also?  Call it an "all of the above" approach. 

 

One caveat I do have is I'd keep the showcases for a 14-15 year old at the college camp or regional showcase level, and stay away from more national showcase outfits.  In other words, a 14year old doing a major showcase at PG for example I would not recommend.  The results are too public.  Showcases where coaches can email the player his data/measurables privately is probably the best introduction for the younger players say age 14-15.. 

 

Players need to have seasonal goals for things like their 60-time, and yes, even working on making the best of 8-BP fastballs.  It does take practice.  Whole other skill set that is not going away anytime soon.  Going to a regional scouting service showcase or a college camp setting where this data is collected holds a player accountable for his immediate goals, or "benchmarks" as Joemktg calls them.  The 60-time collected at a regional showcase, I'd bet, will always trump Mom's timing of her own son at the local ball field.  My time of my own kid was always mysteriously faster by like .1 to .2 seconds than the showcase 60-time two days later.  Hmmmmmm?

 

I had a mentor once who told me, "never pass up a tryout" opportunity.  These showcases are often like tryouts.  They give the player a report card that is objective, so he can see objectively and truthfully how he stacks up against the competition.  Showcase performance is a reality that is here to stay, like it or not.

 

I reiterate, perhaps the ideal recruit these days is a combination of BOTH:  the Showcase Kid AND the Gamer?

Full Agreement with you here, joemktg. Took 2015 to a showcase winter before his freshman year as well. Was more or less a see how you compare to others as well as to see how is a showcase run (format). By the time showcases really mattered (especially junior year and summer of sophomore year), he knew what to expect. For my son, that knowledge was key. The measurables (unbiased) also helped him set up a plan which for him was to improve his arm strength, which he was able to increase by 15 mph fall of junior year.

I will give my usual response...  live and let live.  If you want to do it go ahead if you don't...  don't.   For me it will come down to numbers.  Hoping he is pushing 80 next year as a 14u.  if he does and over the winter he can get to 80 then I will send him.  That is kind of my jumping off point.  Now if things go awry and he doesn't get to 80 til junior year...   well that is another issue.  He is already at 82mph exit velocity off tee with bbcor and composite wood bbcor.  So that will not be an issue 90 is soon to come.  So it really comes down to the arm.  I think although we are all anxious to see our sons compete against others we kind of already know how they stack up.  Just browse PG or PBR and you see the numbers.  Not like its a mystery.  But again if you want to go, go If not don't.   No big deal its a free country! (Mostly)

Ok, so I'm really not trying to be argumentative, just being a bit of a devil's advocate, but our older son's 'arm strength' improved from 75-90 (~15 mph) in the same amount of time (estimated).  When I say 'estimated' its because there wasn't any 'measurement' per se and he wasn't on a plan to increase it.

 

He just played more baseball...at a high level.  And he grew a bit.

 

And he went to his first showcase as a junior (probably quite late on today's time scale admittedly) and he was the best pitcher despite never having had the experience before and only having measured himself by competition in the 2 years prior.

 

I do not see what he woulda gained by going to a showcase at age 14-15.  I just don't.

On our 2nd son, who was a better HS pitcher than his older brother (and ultimately a better college pitcher) - well he surely did NOT have good measureables.  Ever.

 

5 ft. 10 in.  Threw 83-86...as a HS junior!  With him, we intentionally stayed away from showcases the whole way through (he eventually did 2 that his travel team ran) because he would not have stood out in a positive way!  In fact, when he went to the first one, he probably threw 84/85, was effective but did NOT GET ONE nibble from a college after that.  Teammates with higher 'measureables,' some of who never got on a college field, got some love due to their measureables.

 

For our younger son to have a chance, we needed college coaches to watch him compete in game situations.  Talk to his coaches.  Get to know him at a camp (maybe).  And thats what happened and he got the opportunities he desired.

 

Maybe the best thing is to figure out what you've got.  Hatch a plan that gives your son the best opportunities and execute it.  But blindly entering events without that understanding of what your son is - seems to me to not necessarily get you what you think you're getting?

I agree here completely.  This is the key.  Know where your player is, and what your player is.  I talked my son into a PG showcase at 14 and it basically backfired.  I don't regret it, nor does he, grist for the mill at this point.  But "if we could do it all over again?" 

Know your player.  Some kids are such studs they never set foot at any showcase.  They don't need to.  All depends on the individual. 

I'm not trying to convince you of anything, but I can tell you in my son's case, he was absolutely thrilled to receive a "report card" with an eval and his hard numbers. He was nowhere near the best at anything that day, but also wasn't worst.

 

He got to see how they work at the next level. It was pretty funny to watch him do everything - pop times with the catchers, throw with the pitchers, while the more savvy HS players had already settled on their primary and secondary positions.

 

He got to speak to college coaches without his dad standing over his shoulder answering questions for him. He was able to brag to his friends that he attended a college prospect camp and didn't crash and burn.

 

He had a college coach tell him "here are a couple things you need to develop" and "keep up the good work". He was floating above the car seat all the way home. He was more excited abt the game than ever before. He entered HS Freshman preseason workouts and tryouts with confidence and determination.

 

It might not be tangible but I think my son gained something. To each their own.

Just for the record... Most every kid that has turned out to be a "stud" has in fact attended a showcase at some point.  Every year, with very few exceptions, the kids drafted in the first round out of high school have attended our showcases.  They also attended other showcases.

 

Mention any name in the Big Leagues that came from the United States or Puerto Rico or Canada over the past 10 or more years.  The best players showcase the most and they have the best reason for doing so.

^^^^

Absolutely!!

 

Please don't confuse what I am trying to convey with any kind of statement against showcases.  I have said many times above that was not my intent.  I'll say it again - I am not against showcases...at all!!

 

I only (and always have as PGStaff well knows)...I only wonder why/if its useful for all but less than 1% of HS freshmen to attend one.

 

I don't know if I'm right?  But I certainly don't see any good reason why I'd be wrong either.  There's no clear answer - just trying to get you all to think about it.  Nothing more. 

 

While some kids were out getting 'measured,' our memories with our younger son are of beating a team filled with future 1st rounders (Joe Ross, 2011, Tyler Goeddel, 2011, Alex Blandino, 2014 - who were also competing in a game that meant something) in a local tournament championship game.  All 3 of those later became teammates and friends.  Not sure that was nearly as likely at a showcase for 13/14-years olds - but maybe so?

 

BTW, all 3 of those future 1st rounders later attended showcases!  So PGStaff is absolutely 100% correct!!

 

Anyways, this is just a point of view, nothing more.  Shouldn't bother anyone.  Hopefully it gives you a chance to know the other side though.

Tryouts and showcases, and to some degree the national tournaments, are opportunities to gather data from an unbiased source. And the value? Use that data as a stake in the ground to improve.

 

We started the joemktgson data gathering effort during the jump to 50/70 to 60.5/90, going to as many local team tryouts as possible to qualitatively measure performance vs. local peers. Not too long thereafter, he started to attend tryouts with the more well-known travel/showcase organizations, where he received both quantitative and qualitative feedback. In both instances, our job was to create a path for him to take to improve, should he desire to do so.

 

Through early HS (Spring, Summer, Fall), the challenges were ratchet-up a bit, primarily via PG events. Those PG tourney evals and national ranking motivated the crap out of him, and it came to a head post Jr Nationals where the feedback made him work harder than ever. Even today, he's motivated by the national rankings and strives to be at the highest level possible.

 

THE POINT: the earlier local/regional tryouts allowed us to build a skill improvement plan, and the PG events were catalysts for a higher level of planning and motivation. All 3rd party sources of feedback that were a critical part of the plan.

 

 

My point regarding some players being such "studs" that they never set foot at a showcase was in reference to kids who commit at say 15, and up until that point they'd never attended a national showcase, or even a regional one. Obviously they had to be seen somewhere to commit at that young of an age.  There's plenty of kids who commit as freshman or sophs who've never even played a PG event, showcase or tournament. 

Junior and Senior year?  I bet most if not all do.  Agreed.  At 16, 17, 18 they most definitely are at showcases.  OP was talking about what sounds to me like a 14 year old freshman (if he hasn't made his HS team yet?). 

My 2018 went to his first showcase the weekend before last. It was a PG showcase. He was young and is not 6'4" and doesnt pitch but he runs very well and he is a gamer which he showed by hitting everything. He played Freshman baseball at a very good private school this past Spring and at the showcase most of the kids were varsity players. Yet he performed in all phases, plus the experience he gained will help him next year when it becomes more important. 

The idea of setting a benchmark for yourself and testing yourself really drove my son to insist upon attending. I agree that you shouldnt go to a showcase unless you have something to show but there is something to say about wanting to test yourself to see where you are as it relates to others.

I would not let my son go last year because he was just too small. He runs very well but we felt that he needed to develop more , get a stronger, bigger , faster and gain velocity. As it was we waited until the end of the summer to showcase before fall baseball began. 

As a whole I would discourage most Freshman from doing any showcases that early but I understand the pull. Remember he will be competing alongside much older more mature players. That can be a little intimidating when you try to measure up to a more mature boy who is two or three years older. 

 

I took my 2019 to a regional PG underclass showcase recently.  One reason was that he wasn't ready to hang it up for the summer.  His 14u travel team decided not to play the one big out-of-state event scheduled for the end of the summer due to injuries, so we already had funds budgeted.  We realized it was early to showcase, and a little weird that he'd not even started his freshman year, but we also thought about the things several others have posted - let him see what's to come.  Compete with the older kids, participate in the showcase format, see where he stands and where he needs to improve, etc.  We reasoned it might help to get the jitters out at a showcase where no one is really paying too much attention to him because he IS young - plenty of time later to improve on this early showcase. He's not super fast, or big for his age, or throwing 90, so none of us had big expectations, but he is good enough that we knew he'd not come away overly discouraged.  Also, we know our son's makeup - even with a poor showing, he'd just look at it as "now I know what I have to do to get better."  So, all in all, we didn't expect anything more for him than a good experience.

 

And it was.  It was a very well-run event.  He did some things poorly (started off by booting a couple balls in the infield workout), but then pulled it together and performed well in the games.  He got a good evaluation, and he's that much more pumped to improve.  It gave him more confidence because he knows now that he can compete with older kids, and kids from other (bigger) states.  We got to see a lot of really good players (a couple of the juniors on his team have D1 offers to some great baseball programs).  And he got another weekend of baseball in before football and school started.    

 

Also, a couple of out-of-state coaches who saw how he did at the showcase invited him to play with their programs this fall/next summer.  We are in a smaller state, and there's not a lot of focus on going to the big national tourneys.  So his performance at the showcase has opened up some possibilities for him that might not have been available otherwise.      

 

I hope my 2019 isn't labeled a "showcase" kid, and I hope no parent or player is discouraged from going to a showcase before their freshman year.  Just think it through first.  Don't break the bank to do it.  Know your kid - make sure he recognizes that, at this age, this really should be treated as a learning experience. As almost everyone else has stated above, it can definitely be a positive experience.