Balancing summer ball with camps/showcases?

Don't know about how others handled this, but ~

son's summer team coach scheduled the month of June basically with showcase tournaments where college scouts were attending. This gave the boys the opportunity to be seen by college scouts. The month of July is then for Perfect Game and World Series tournaments. Has been a nice mix.

Hope this helps!

RobV -
We found this to be one of the difficult parts of the recruiting process, finding the right combination of events, especially for son's junior summer. The decision is more difficult for pitchers, making sure the schedule includes enough recovery time between events. Son was fortunate to have a few choices, so he decided to plan the showcase events he was going to attend first. Then, we both talked with the travel coach to see which tournaments and games he could attend with this schedule and let the coaches decided if this was acceptable and still wanted him on their roster. Even with the best planning, it was still a crazy summer. Looking back, we probably did too much, but son said he enjoyed every minute and wouldn't have changed a thing.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer for every player. Pick your priority, and work the rest around it. If it's the travel team, then pick a showcase or camp that works with their schedule. If your priority is the showcase, work with the summer team coach and let them know your plans. The worse thing a player can do is not be up front with their team about taking time off for showcases.

That sounds like some good advice.

I still have to find some decent camps to attend. I'm looking for a good advanced (showcase) type of camp around the Michigan area.

I haven't checked (extensively) into the bigger D1 schools camps (UofM, MSU, Central MI etc) enough to know how well they are attended by the coaches.

I could use some experienced help there also.

Thanks.

My son didn't have a lot of choices as his summer team is also his school team....either way, the team never attracts college scouts. So there was no option but to find the places where colleges could get a look at him. Summer team coach was "okay" about letting him attend camps and showcases..but he needed to show up for a certain amount of games. Still not sure what the penalty would have been for not making those games. As of this writing, my son has attended two camps (two more to go), three showcases and only missed two games. He's basically been playing six-seven days a week. He knew early on that he couldn't pitch and maintain this schedule...so has entered the camps and showcases as an outfielder. If he feels good, he asks to pitch. One camp wouldn't let him change his position. Brutal week. He had to come back to his summer team and pitch. Summer coach let him off easy: only three innings

Bottom line: he's pretty wiped out. Many times I look in my rear view mirror and see him staring out the window competely exhausted. He has grumbled and I've posted a few observations that this is a very difficult time to be a mom..watching him work his butt off.

If I had it to do over again: there still wouldn't have been a choice. The high school coach insists that the players play summer ball for the team. You want to play varsity, you play summer ball. It's hard on the kids. I'm truly amazed that my kid has the stamina. He's gotten his first official college coach call this week: this was a huge payoff for him!! It made the brutal summer very worthwhile. My advice is know up front what the summer team commitment will be. My son was very adamant about not letting his team down in the summer. Even though he'd be paying the price with exhaustion and a sore arm.

RHP05Parent gives great advice!
Fungo

showcases will tire your son, particularly if you have to also travel. our experience was similar to newcomer's.

Reading these posts has reminded me just how exhausting that junior season/summer was - can't believe how quickly I forgot! I can relate to all who say it was tough to see their son go through it, but hoping for the pay off at the end made it a little easier. It really was non-stop baseball, and when he wasn't playing we were traveling... eating bad food, sleeping in uncomfortable beds... or sitting around waiting for the next game to start.

I think the most important thing is to make sure you're being "seen" by schools you are really interested in. We realize now we wasted time (and money) "showcasing" at tournaments that were really only for the benefit of one or two coaches from schools that son wasn't even interested in. Now, how exactly you figure out which showcases those are - that I don't have the answer to! If you can narrow your school choices down to a few and then try to find out where those coaches will be, that would help. (If a tournament is hosted by a college, you can be pretty sure there won't be a whole lot of other coaches there.) But I know it's tough to even do that sometimes, and then you worry what opportunities you might be missing... it's a nerve wracking experience! And I still have one more to go through it with!

I think if we change any one thing with son #3, it will be to do more individual showcasing and less team showcasing - with a team you're limited by which showcases and tournaments the program director or team manager chooses. And it's definitely not a one-size-fits-all type of situation. As an individual you can attend camps or showcases that are of interest to you- maybe it will be better, maybe not. Who knows? We've learned a little more with each son - maybe if I had three more I'd end up with all the answers!

One thing I will pass along that I believe we did right - we set out with the goal of finding a team/school where son would play, and have a good chance of playing early on. His grades were excellent (4.5 GPA, 33 ACTs) so his options educationally were wide open. He wanted the best possible education at a school where the coach wanted him as a player. He achieved his goal, so we're happy.

This is a personal decsion, and I thk a lt of it depends on geographic location.
Like many others , we found summer before senior year our best experience. The team traveled throughout the country and played on college campus', coaches making sure that coaches or scouts were in attendance. Latter part of summer was left for wood bat tourney and playoffs. No showcases, summer camps, etc. I think one needs to find a balance, and a healthy one for every player.

Newcomer,
With your son's summer schedule I do hope that as a pitcher he is planning on time off. I don't mean just pitching time off ,but real time off.

[With your son's summer schedule I do hope that as a pitcher he is planning on time off. I don't mean just pitching time off ,but real time off.]

Thanks for asking. He's off for three weeks at the end of July.

Our son is a pitcher - so here goes with advice. Most important thing you can do is Area Codes - way more scouts than showcases. Most showcases are about pitchers. Next might be Team One.

Showcase tournaments are OK if your team is good and your son is a starter. Otherwise, they are good to develop skills, not get recruited. Sitting on the bench does not help if you are paying a hefty fee to a travel team.

If your travel team coach does not let you out for at least one showcase, then change travel teams. Next thing to focus on is college camps. Target two which match his gpa and baseball skills to attend - don't forget that many colleges have one day camps too. Hope this helps.

Thanks all.

I don't think the Area Code games are feasable for us since we live in Michigan. My son is a Pitcher, and also plays SS/OF. We will definately look at atleast one maybe 2 showcases next year and a couple camps hopefully that are more showcase/advanced oriented.

Finding one with his skill level and GPA could be a little challenging though.

RobV - A lot of schools run prospect camps in the fall/winter and it would be a good time to be able to visit the school when students are also around. This would not conflict with your summer team schedule and also prepare for the upcoming spring season.

Some schools also are starting their recruiting timeframes earlier and that would help.

RobV:

My son was a 06 senior so we just got off this wild ride that you are about to take off on. We learned so much from this message board to help us but as others have said, there is no standard mold that fits all. In my son's case, he was a pitcher so how to handle the showcases and summer ball was a major factor last year. He was very particular on what showcases he attended and only pitched minimally with the summer team so his arm was not overused. Again, with position players this may be different, but after a long high school season and a Fall team in Sept. / Oct. in 2006, he tried to be pick and choose his summer activities.

In hind site, I think he made the right decision at that time but experience now would definitely made us do something different. My son was blessed with good size and a darn good fastball. We did the showcase route last summer (3 or 4) and had as many as 25-30 D1 and D2 schools calling him but the school that he really wanted to attend never called. It wasn't until after a MLB showcase in late Aug. that he was invited to attend that they saw him and talked. We visited that school and we discussed showcases during the visit. It was then when the coach said that since there are so many showcases sometimes its luck on who they see at it. In other words, you go to showcase "A", they go to showcase "B" that weekend. Next weekend it repeats, you go to showcase "C", they go to "D".
Many will say you can call the coach or email him if they will be attending, but sometimes that does not work. They are busy, zillions of kids want to know that same question, etc...

If I had a recommendation for an 07 or 08 senior, I would now say have my son pick out 2 or 3 schools that he definitely is interested in. Bite the bullet, pay the money and go to their college camp (this is of course after you verify they will be in attendance at the camp). The advantage is the "shell game" is over. Your son is there and they will see him. They will see if he is "coachable", has talent, talk to him, etc... Your son will also know if he fits into their plans after he attends, no calls equals no interest and then everyone moves on.

Again, nothing is in stone but I know we would have done the college camps (of interest) and only a few showcases if we would have to do it again.

It worked out for my son and he will be attending the college of his dreams but he may have been lucky. The key to my story is whether showcase or camp, if your son has a "school of interest" then make sure the coach is there before spending the money and time. If your son has no school of interest and is "wide open" in his selection, then showcases may be the best route.

Youreout - Great post! Thank you for that. I will definately take this into consideration. Makes a lot of sense.

Need to sit down with my son to actually find out if he even HAS a dream school. I guess we never really talked about that part.

Going to the winter camps sounds like another very good option if they are available.

We started travel ball for all three at 13 years old... in house LL/All Stars before that. With oldest son we never even heard the word "showcase". He just played with his high school team, had a dream to keep playing in college, got lucky and found a perfect fit at a small DIII school (gasp... great education, actually got to PLAY, not sit, and two teammates got drafted from his team).

Second son, we had learned a little, found him a tournament team to play on during freshman year. It was an OK experience - realized too late that he was showcasing to a limited crowd - kind of a closed circuit of the same coaches everywhere we went - and none were schools that he was even interested in. He attended a local junior showcase ($75 for two days, by invitation only, over 100 colleges and scouts in attendance) which lead to the coach of the school he will attend in the fall finding him. In retrospect, we could have spent only that $75 and he would have had the same result - but that's hindsight.

Son #3, playing on a tournament team now... I've already told him he needs to pick three schools to focus on. He reminded me "Mom, I'm only 14!"

Good advice by all. I think it's also important to focus on where your son realistically projects. For example, if he's looking to go to a smaller school (DIII, DII, or NAIA) then he may be wasting his time at high profile events that feature high D-1 prospects and potential draftees. While you should never sell yourself short, it is important to have an honest idea of where you stand the best chance for playing time.

I realize it is different in some parts of the country, but my son was fortunate in the sense that the purpose of his summer team was geared toward attracting the attention of scouts. During the summer players would drop in and drop out if they had showcases they wanted to attend. For the players that are "required" to play on a summer high school team, I think it's a disservice if the high school coach is not helping to facilitate your son's recruiting process. IMO summer teams should have allowances for players that want to attend showcases or camps.

At any rate it is important that you plan out the summer and make sure you allow for sufficient recovery time. You want to be able to put your best foot forward when you are showcasing your skills.