Area Code Baseball Question??

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Attend the tryout. AC Games are among the best of the best...many scouts and many college coaches attend. A great opportunity.

Check with Tjro, I believe his son plays for them.

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If you go to nothing else this year, go to Area Code tryouts. We were lucky enough to have my son invited to the White Sox Area Code last year when he was a Soph. It was a great time and he learned exactly what he needed to work on to get where he wants to be. BTW, he already has his invite for this year too. Tell your son....HUSTLE HUSTLE HUSTLE....These scouts are for real and they don't like slackers!

GOOD LUCK

Which is better for a rising Senior to attend this June?? An Area Code tryout, our PG National Showcase??

As a Jr., its an easy question. But as a Sr....mmmmm....I think the Area Codes. Especially if he is a pitcher. There were probably about 100 scouts the first day for infielders and outfielders but I would say that that number doubled for the pitchers on the second day. Area Codes website is really interesting, check it out. I'm not sure if PG National Showcases have scouts in attendance....But they do run an excellent program.

IMO...Area Code 1st and then if you can swing it, PG....

A few facts as a Senior.... The MLB draft is in JUNE..

The Area Code Games are set up by and for PRO SCOUTS and occur in August (tryouts in June and July) So for a senior this years Area codes are not the best choice...IMHO (its after the draft) Athough there are college coaches/scouts there.

PG is set up as a scouting service for anyone who wants to utilize it... and IMHO cater a bit more to the colleges...

Clarification. He will be a senior next fall. And sorry to ask, but what is IMHO???? Thanks.

Used to be Area Codes now its Perfect Game that has the most high draft picks. Everyone in baseball knows it. Both are great opportunities, but Perfect Game has more and higher draft picks so better players. Area code is mostly western players Perfect Game is all the players. Cant wait until Tropicana and Perfect Game National.

That's very easy, PG is a much better choice,
PG national is one of the best events in the entire country, as a player you have to be one of the top prospects to be invited. If your son is good enough to get an invitation, take him.

The best, go to PG national and TeamOne national
most of the kids for AC are from the west. Here in Florida, they do not need to go there.
Remember, this is only my own opinion.

quote:

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Originally posted by Softhands:
The best, go to PG national and TeamOne national
most of the kids for AC are from the west. Here in Florida, they do not need to go there.
Remember, this is only my own opinion.

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I make no value judgment on any of the programs other than to say, each has its good and bad points, I'm sure of that.

Area Code for my son was an eye opening experience. It matured him a lot. The travel 15,000 mile half way around the world on his own helped him with his confidence.

When he got there he was confronted with meeting a MLB like schedule that included playing 14 games in 15 days, plus travel. It is the most grueling exercise to test the mettle of whether your young man can envision himself doing that for 162 games. And when he got back we asked him if he thought whether he could do it for a living...his answer, I loved it. Any other answer and you know it's not for your son.

Thar's what I learned and the reason I sent him on that trek, so that he could find out it in fact he was the kind of man that could deal with meeting the bell whne it rings.

I got my answer, and so did Tim...maybe you can find out too.


tjro

My son attended PG Showcase, PG Wood Bat Championship, Team One Showcase and Area Code Games in Long Beach. By far, without question, the best experience was AC Games.

Just my opinion here. My son did not attend area code last summer (invited by two teams). The timing was not good and we didn't feel the extra expense would make a difference (did not). Those of you who live in Florida, there are so many opportunities to showcase without having to even go out of state!
What I highly recommend you consider spending your money on is joining a high visible summer travel team in a good league, during senior summer.
My son's travel team plays 68 games in a 6 week period, that is an average of two a day. The scouts and college recruiters want to see these kids play as a team, remember showcases may or may not show your son's best of skills. PG, Area Code, Team One are all vehicles to get your son noticed, and if planned properly works (don't over showcase). Being in a game situation with your team mates day in and day out tells a completely different story.
Try having to fly out for a week , come back home, play for a few days, get on a bus for a 12 hour ride, play a week, travel back home playing on the road everyday, being home for a few weeks, leaving again for a 14 hour bus ride in the middle of the night, getting to your destination and not having electricity or hot shower for 4-5 days and back home again. This is a grueling schedule for a 17-18 year old, everything else is a vacation. The program is esigned that way to let the kids see how it is to be on the road and play a grueling schedule. This is very attractive to scouts and college recruiters and they were there at EVERY game!

Area Code try outs do not cost anything, at least here in IL...of course we are lucky enough to live half an hour away from where try outs are being held, so there is no travel or hotel expense. If selected for the Area Code games in California, there is the expense of travel and hotel there, but the scouts in attendance at these GAMES that are played would well be worth the cost. IMO

2ndbase,
Correct tryouts cost nothing (sometimes you don't even have to try out), but it does cost $$$ from where we live. Point is, if a parent has a budget, use it wisely. There is a possiblility of not making the team, becomes costly to go pitch a few innings, run or field.
Here we have showcases for MLB, if you get an invite, it's certainly worth tolls and a tank of gas! PG, TeamOne, others all have all sorts of showcases here and there is Woodbat in Jupiter, well worth the expense.
Pincemetwice,
You may want to become familiar with what goes on here in the state of Florida.

You don't have to make the Area Code team to benefit from the tryout. There are a lot of pro scouts and college coaches at the tryouts. My son didn't get invited onto the team but recieved numerous letters from University's and it only cost us a drive to Fresno.

Let me clarify that we attended the tryout for the Long Beach Area Code tryouts that were held in Frenso last year (Sacramento this year for the west coast). We haven't been to any of the tyouts for any of the other Area Code teams, so I don't know what happens at the other team tryouts.

scorekeep03

AS an 05... Both are very high visability showcases... If you have the funding and time to do both go for it... but the WEST coast tryouts are late June, I think only 2 days after the PG event.... I'll have to check the calendar....

Remember you want your son in best possible condition and traveling cross-country takes a lot out of a person... especially if they haven't done it much before.

SDBB - Last year the AC tryouts were only 1 day after PG-National. We did both. We worked with PG to have him pitch on Friday night, and then he came back and threw on Monday at AC tryouts. Wasn't a big deal as bother were 2-inning outings.

Point is, if you want to do both, I think PG will work with you to make it happen.

________________
"The only people I ever felt intimdated by in my whole life were Bob Gibson and my daddy," Dusty Baker.

Thanks to everyone for all of the great advice. I guess our dilemma is that AC and PG showcase are on the same weekend June 19 and 20 here on the east coast. Thanks for all the info.

Scorekeeper 03:

It is most unfortunate that the June 20 tryout for the Expos Area Code Team was in conflict with schedule. The Expos scouts invited you to attend.

My personal schedule for the "Invitational" tryouts; June 13 in Sacramento, June 16 at the U of Miami, June 20 at the U of Virginia and June 22 at Long Beach and June 28-29 Texas Rangers predicted this June 20 schedule.

It is important to coordinate all "Invitational" tryouts and to evaluate the athletic tools of the players and meet the players and parents.

If you have a schedule conflict, you can attend the Expos Area Code™ Team Tryout at the U of Miami on June 16.

Please confirm. There is no fee to attend the "Invitational" Tryouts. We anticipate 80 pro scouts or college coaches at each tryout.

Bob Williams

RCW are there any openings for U Of Virginia June19-20,2004 Expos try outs

Yes, we have roster positions for candidates.
You will need to complete the profile on our web site and I will submit the profile for approval to the Montreal Expos Scouting Department and advise you by letter.

Nike will be involved at all Area Code Team tryouts. There is no cost to the players.

Bob Williams

For Mid-Atlantic area, what event would a prospect attend?

You may apply for the June 16 at the U of Miami or June 20 Expos Area Code Team Tryout at the U of Virginia.

Bob