Area Code Tryouts at Bentley College this Weekend

Cattle call format.  60 yard dash first, about 10 hits during BP, 5-8 grounders from SS for MIF'ers w/throw to 1st...standard, no work at 2nd. Our son is a position player and he pitched later in the afternoon. Threw 15-20...called back for a few more on request. Radar guns and stop watches all day. Moves pretty quick...in-and-out, nothing too cosmic.

Bring snacks and drinks. There's nothing overly easy to get to.  

My son will be there as well.  Sounds like BK knows what he is talking about.  It is a new experience for us as well.

Its a hurry up and wait day.  Good experience for the players.  But you be in the top 1% or forget it.  When my son went it seem pretty obvious that the people running the show had most of the team already picked.  They were very friendly to them and cold shoulder to the rest.  Some of the parents already knew who was going an who wasn't.

There was on kid warming up in the ball pen who told the pitchers his elbow was sore, but this was big showcase and going to let it all out.  When he got called to the mound he threw two or three pitches on the next his elbow snapped, sounds little it got hit with a bat, ball when over the back stop, compound brake, they carried him off the field screaming and continued like nothing happened.  It was crazy.

Any thoughts on the event after going?

I'd say your original response was pretty accurate.  A good but very very long day as mine is a catcher.  Impressive group of kids on the field.  I was very proud of mine but am sure it wasn't enough to get a callback.  That's ok, it was worthwhile.  Lots of scouts and colleges.  If I had a criticism, it would be that there were too many kids present to get a decent look at any of them.  

9and 7;

have you ever sat with a pro scout and watched the players through his eyes.

They can see the tools from their experience.

It is interesting and educational.

Bob

Bob, 

i think I have read every area code related thread on this site through the search function, so I was pretty well prepared going into this as far as what to expect.  No I am not a pro scout and cannot see talent through their eyes, but without going into detail it would be safe to assume my son has had meaningful time with multiple pro scouts over the past couple of years.  My amateur observation was that as the day wore on, the drills and number of reps got shorter, especially for the hitters.  Perhaps the reputations of players preceeded them and that was sufficient.  I would estimate that there were somewhere in the range of 120 to 125 kids there, which strikes me as a lot to look at in one day.  For the Record, I in no way feel my son was short changed at all, I was very pleased with his opportunity and performance, and I have not talked to anyone who felt cheated.  I was simply asked my opinion on the day and gave the most honest answer I could. Perhaps I didnt articulate it carefully or put quite enough thought into it.  It was an honor just to be invited, and a memory my son will likely have his entire life.

Hello,

My son is 15 and likely was the youngest there.   He was happy he showed well and that he belonged.

Despite 3 confirmation letters, right at the start

the computer system 'lost' his file and he ended up with a Sharpie shirt instead, am proud he did not let that cloud his head.

Yes, there was a lot of waiting, at one point an hour between catching pitchers.

Many kids clearly stiffened up

His 1st pitcher was solid and he looked good receiving,

the 2nd was very wild (pitches bouncing into the righty batters box, etc)- he blocked most, missed 2.

The Scout threw pretty hard vs. lobbing it in on "throws down", Many catchers threw bouncers to 2nd or high to the outfield so he was pretty happy on his accuracy around 2b, though he has thrown harder.

Would have liked to see each catcher get 3 or 4 'practice' throws, am sure most would have done better.

Most infielders had 3-4 grounders and many were of course trying (too) hard to impress.

Outfielders also.

Am sure many are far better than they showed in such a brief chance.

Seemed many/most colleges left after the pitchers finished,

which was unfortunate as my son hit after that

and 

5 of his 6 allotted swings were line drives/fly drives ranging from LCF to RCF, (doubles in the gap type hits)

the MLB scouts behind the backstop told him he hit well, way to hit, etc....

Many dads on the bleachers felt similarly to the above comment that 99% of the team was picked beforehand, perhaps so

.....will say some who did not shine Sunday but were selected may have had an off-day and surely had done amazing when their respective scout 1st saw them,

some were clearly really good ballplayers, no question.

Our takeaway was that the overall caliber was better than the USA 16 NTIS last year in Cary

{my son was 14u then (late bday but cut-off birth date moved so he could not accept invite to 14u Stars) & the 3rd youngest there so no expectations to make the final team, happy he made it to the 3rd round in Cary}.

There were a slew of college coaches there so it was good exposure, if you went for exposure purposes you were probably happy about that, however wished your son had more opportunity to show his prowess.

Obviously, a really good 17 year old is going to be better than a really good 15 year old and the 3 finalist catchers were the best Sunday.

He held his own

and

IMHO was in the upper tier (4-7) of the 23 (?) catchers present,

so felt it was a worthwhile day.

The scout who recommended him sent a message that he did well and to keep working hard towards next year.   

thankfully my son is a pitcher, or it would have been a very long day in the hot sun.  I felt bad for the fielders who had to wait so long for the individual pitching to finish up as we headed to the parking lot at noon.  I am actually confused over what teams were being selected, as we were there for the "rivalry team" (boston vs. NY) and a slot to play at Yankee Stadium this summer.  He did not get a callback for the Area Code Northeast Yankees, not sure if there is opportunity beyond that somehow.  Regardless I thought the college scout turnout was very good for New England and was surprised to see so many southern schools represented.  As for the comment that many colleges left after the pitching, when it comes to big programs, they are only looking for pitching up here because our season is so short and there is a lot less wear and tear on the New England arms.  Southern schools generally don't need to look far for positional players with a good bat.  My son was really happy with his bullpen and many of the schools he is talking to were in attendance so mission accomplished for the day.

Given the price and the colleges in attendance, the event was clearly worth going to, but, there were definitely too many kids involved that really didn't belong there, which made for a very long day.  Some of the selections for additional looks at the end of the fielding seemed puzzling, but, it is what it is and very much worth attending.  My son was grateful for the opportunity.