Anyone have any experience with this company. My son gets invitations in the mail to attend tryouts and today I had a voice mail from them. They are running tryouts in our area. Just looking for some info if anyone had any experience with them.
Replies sorted oldest to newest
Yes, positive so far. It is a reasonably priced option to get a video made and a web page you can use as a link in e-mails to college coaches. Depending on what age group, the tryouts are also a good way to get a sense of other players' skills and make comparisons.
If the player scores highly on tryouts, he may be offered to play on one of their teams at the big events (USA Baseball, AZ Fall Classic, .etc.). They also have a Preseason All America team selection late each year where the player is invited to Sloan Park in Mesa (Wrigley West) and get an updated drills assessment and new video made. My son has done both of these and really had a positive experience. They aren't cheap, but at least the quality of coaches and reps are good and professional.
Like all of these services like PG, PBR and BF, it is still up to your son to do the outreach to the coaches of the schools he is interested in. The "player page" link makes it easier. Some schools use these lists to send out camp and showcase invites.
P.S. There are other prior forums on Baseball Factory/Team One you can search as well.
Based on the complaints posted above, I guess this is one of those "your mileage may vary" experiences. Parents need to research and understand where you are spending the money. Many BF-sponsored events are not showcases for colleges and pro scouts. But if you pay to play on their teams at the USA Baseball or AZ Fall Classic events, you are out there with all of the other travel ball teams hoping to get noticed. Worse case, if you go to one of their events, you get a professional video and a scout's assessment of the player's abilities. They have been around for decades and you can Google their annual UA Showcase and look at the players' names and what colleges they went to as evidence they are legitimate.
But again, be sure you know what you are spending your money on. If it is a Showcase, then they be sure the organization can list a name of the schools and coaches BEFORE you pay any non-refundable money.
There is a lot of info available on BF but let me just speak a little Latin CAVEAT EMPTOR.
We never attended or used anything from them. But they have been around for over a decade - that says something I suppose.
I've never really heard or seen much good about them over the years including from a friend who used them and didn't seem to gain any tangible benefits in terms of colleges, etc... (He did end up playing high D1 and eventually pro ball, but I think his HS program got him more visibility than BF did).
But I have wondered if their owner was a poster on here to explain why they do certain things AND to read the feedback and adjust that maybe the general perception by posters on here might be better or at least improved?
Just a thought.
2018 played against a BF team at the AZ Soph Fall Classic last October. Mercy rule invoked after 5 innings, and 2018's team was just OK. I felt bad - these players and their parents had paid thousands of dollars to fly out all the way from Florida and they got smoked in most of their games. Not one of those kids would have made 2018's team, so on the surface it certainly felt like a money grab - if these were the kids that made it through the "tryouts", I really feel bad for the players who didn't make it being led to believe they had a shot. As a previous poster noted, the players did get the same exposure to the college coaches as everyone else, so it wasn't a total waste. 2018 has several high school teammates who had wallet draining experiences with BF as well.
On paper I do think the $99 tryout / evaluation seems like valid way to have your player get exposed to the format of a showcase, and obviously our experience with them is at arms length. Hate to be negative on here, but after what we saw in AZ last October it really spoke to many of the BF comments I have read on this site over the past few years. Search "Baseball Factory" on this site and a lot of great info will come up.
I'll echo the experience of Golden that my 2012 had at the AZ Fall Classic many years ago. He was on a make shift team. Pounds the BF "national" team in 5.
We knew many (too many) families who paid their way into BF events and teams. In my experience with a 2012 and a 2016, run...don't walk away. I do not know a single player who was identified for college (or pros) based upon being a part of a BF team or tryout.
Based on numerous past threads about BF, I laughed when my son got the invites and even phone calls last year. Even our HS coach was trying to get all of his kids to go. We did have 2 kids attend. We told them exactly what would happen after the evaluation and how much it would likely cost to be a part of one of their teams. What we predicted is exactly what happened. Both kids said thanks but no thanks, so no real harm done. If you go into it knowing what to expect and you want the evaluation and video portion, it's probably an ok deal. For some parts of the country, it's hard to find those types of evaluations and showcases. BF and UA Top 96 come to our area a lot compared to PG's one regional showcase. I can see why people would choose the lower cost options, especially if they don't understand the fundamental differences.
Thx for all the input.
KANDK,
You mentioned BF and UA Top 96...
I'd highlight that BF is very different from Top 96. IMHO, BF is a waste of time and $, perhaps other than the basic player metrics / eval.
Top 96 in my experience is a multi-college showcase. I'd rank them low relative to the other showcases my boys did (e.g., PG National Academic, Headfirst Honor Roll). That said, if the schools on a player's vetted list are at a Top 96 event, then that may be very worthwhile for that player. My primary hang up with the Top 96 events was the presence (and subsequent relentless emails and calls) from MVP Baseball. MVP is more analogous to BF, IMHO.
MVP and BF: Caveat emptor.
Branson Baseball posted:KANDK,
You mentioned BF and UA Top 96...
I'd highlight that BF is very different from Top 96. IMHO, BF is a waste of time and $, perhaps other than the basic player metrics / eval.
Top 96 in my experience is a multi-college showcase. I'd rank them low relative to the other showcases my boys did (e.g., PG National Academic, Headfirst Honor Roll). That said, if the schools on a player's vetted list are at a Top 96 event, then that may be very worthwhile for that player. My primary hang up with the Top 96 events was the presence (and subsequent relentless emails and calls) from MVP Baseball. MVP is more analogous to BF, IMHO.
I agree with your points. I lumped them together because we get endless emails from them about their showcases and other things. They are much more expensive than BF, but I do appreciate that they advertise the college coaches in attendance well in advance. We already get a ton of emails from Top 96 and MVP and my son has never been to one of their events.
From a coaches stand point I am not very fond of them. I believe the up grade their players and leave them with unreasonable expectations. I have had multiple players with a grade that I knew from the day I saw it was false and was WAY to high.
I think we need a Forum category just on Baseball Factory. All responses in one place!
Results may vary depending on the area. In our area BF was seen as a money grab.
