My question...I was told that a young player can "show" too much. All of the showcases etc. the scouts will find all your flaws. Each time they see a player they build upon the list and every detail that is wrong.
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They will find your flaws, showcase or not.
quote:Originally posted by baseballfam4:
My question...I was told that a young player can "show" too much. All of the showcases etc. the scouts will find all your flaws. Each time they see a player they build upon the list and every detail that is wrong.
I think there are both sides to every story. There are a lot of things you can show, your weaknesses as well as your strengths and improvement. The game of baseball is about ups and downs, scouts and college recruiters expect most players not to always have their best stuff every time they are watching.
Everyone is different, some may benefit more from the experience, others may not. Some will improve, some will remain the same. It's up to you to decide when enough is enough, either because of your finances, or your player is tired, never a good time for that.
Funny thing is, the scouting never stops, you get scouted in HS, college and even in pro ball. Once you think no one willo be watching, they are. One has to learn to become comfortable with this situation.
JMO.
quote:One has to learn to become comfortable with this situation.
I think a player can. And what I mean by that is when you are playing showcase baseball or attending showcase events you should make sure you are prepared to show your best. I know your not going to have your best game everytime out. But you should be physically and mentally prepared to show your best. I do believe that some kids get worn down by all the travel and playing and need some down time at times. So yes I think a player can showcase too much just as they can do and we can do alot of things too much.
Will coaches begin to nick pick a player if they see him too often? Of course they will. Just as some players if seen enough times will begin to grow on some coaches. So just play the game because you love to play the game. Bring it everytime you come to the ball park. Dont think of it as a showcase. Think of it as an opportunity to show what you can do while your doing what you love to do. And dont worry about the coaches in the stands. They are there to see you. You should not be there to worry about them.
Will coaches begin to nick pick a player if they see him too often? Of course they will. Just as some players if seen enough times will begin to grow on some coaches. So just play the game because you love to play the game. Bring it everytime you come to the ball park. Dont think of it as a showcase. Think of it as an opportunity to show what you can do while your doing what you love to do. And dont worry about the coaches in the stands. They are there to see you. You should not be there to worry about them.
I have a feeling that overexposure might not be a good thing especially if a player is on a showcase team that doesn't gel or play well together. Even if a player does some good things, isn't it kind of held against him if the team is losing miserably?
Just wondering....
Just wondering....
He will probaby be asked to play with a better team! lol
No its not held against the player. Its not his fault if his team is not very good. Coaches are looking for players to recruit not teams. Again players should just play the game. Play as hard as you can and play for the love of the game and the love of competition. Everything else will take care of itself.
No its not held against the player. Its not his fault if his team is not very good. Coaches are looking for players to recruit not teams. Again players should just play the game. Play as hard as you can and play for the love of the game and the love of competition. Everything else will take care of itself.
Can a player play too much? Yes, some definitely do.
Can a player show too much? Never
The very best players are the ones who are scrutinized the most.
Maybe the biggest mistake some players make is avoiding the best competition. We have heard many times in the past… “Since I did so well the last time, I don’t want to hurt my stock” Whenever I hear something similar to that, automatically the Red Flags come out.
Is the goal to “fool” someone into thinking you are better than what you really are. Why not let the people who make decisions see everything you have to offer. In the end, the truth is beneficial for everyone, even the player. After all, sooner or later, there is no place to hide in baseball. You can only fool someone for so long.
The true prospect, is not afraid to fail. He doesn’t worry about trying to hide anything. The very best players are almost always the ones who are scouted the most often in the most competitive environment.
Think about it… A college recruiter or MLB scout asks why you didn’t attend a certain event that they were at.
How would you answer if the truth is simply you don’t want to showcase too much and allow people to see some weaknesses or pick you apart? That you are concerned that they might see you too much.
Would your answer be the truth? Or would you give an answer that wasn’t true, like one of the many legitimate reasons? If you were the recruiter or scout and you heard the true answer… What would you think? If you were the recruiter or scout and you found out the player told a false answer… What would you think? Talk about exposing weakness!
As others have mentioned, there are always good reasons for not attending every event. Rest… Injuries… Academics… Family… Finances… Scheduling Conflicts… and many other very good reasons… But trying to fool the very people you need to impress is the absolute worst reason! You won’t fool them forever, the truth will surface. Your biggest weakness really involves something beyond the weakness they might see at a showcase.
So YES, a player can showcase too much or play too much. There are many good reasons to avoid that. Being seen too much is NOT one of those good reasons! Every baseball player is going to be overexposed at some point.
Can a player show too much? Never
The very best players are the ones who are scrutinized the most.
Maybe the biggest mistake some players make is avoiding the best competition. We have heard many times in the past… “Since I did so well the last time, I don’t want to hurt my stock” Whenever I hear something similar to that, automatically the Red Flags come out.
Is the goal to “fool” someone into thinking you are better than what you really are. Why not let the people who make decisions see everything you have to offer. In the end, the truth is beneficial for everyone, even the player. After all, sooner or later, there is no place to hide in baseball. You can only fool someone for so long.
The true prospect, is not afraid to fail. He doesn’t worry about trying to hide anything. The very best players are almost always the ones who are scouted the most often in the most competitive environment.
Think about it… A college recruiter or MLB scout asks why you didn’t attend a certain event that they were at.
How would you answer if the truth is simply you don’t want to showcase too much and allow people to see some weaknesses or pick you apart? That you are concerned that they might see you too much.
Would your answer be the truth? Or would you give an answer that wasn’t true, like one of the many legitimate reasons? If you were the recruiter or scout and you heard the true answer… What would you think? If you were the recruiter or scout and you found out the player told a false answer… What would you think? Talk about exposing weakness!
As others have mentioned, there are always good reasons for not attending every event. Rest… Injuries… Academics… Family… Finances… Scheduling Conflicts… and many other very good reasons… But trying to fool the very people you need to impress is the absolute worst reason! You won’t fool them forever, the truth will surface. Your biggest weakness really involves something beyond the weakness they might see at a showcase.
So YES, a player can showcase too much or play too much. There are many good reasons to avoid that. Being seen too much is NOT one of those good reasons! Every baseball player is going to be overexposed at some point.
Another thing to remember is where you showcase.
That's why it's important to pick out the right venues, who is running them and who will give credible scouting reports, how many scouts and college recruiters will be there, competition, etc., a few good ones are much better than 10 bad ones.
This all comes down to a personal decision, do your homework, spend your hard earned dollars wisely and everything will work out.
That's why it's important to pick out the right venues, who is running them and who will give credible scouting reports, how many scouts and college recruiters will be there, competition, etc., a few good ones are much better than 10 bad ones.
This all comes down to a personal decision, do your homework, spend your hard earned dollars wisely and everything will work out.
One other thing, for me, there is a difference in showcasing ones tools and skill for evaluation vs. playing in competitive tournaments.
Keep that in mind when deciding what is best for your player.
Keep that in mind when deciding what is best for your player.
Insightful posts.
This is absolutely true. I've seen it happen on both the negative and positive sides. The important thing is to make sure you don't "fool" anyone, as explained by PGSTaff:
I know of a player who attended a showcase camp at a big-name school, performed really well, and was offered a scholarship immediately afterwards. The problem is, the player was seen only one weekend by the college staff before they offered the scholly. After he signed his NLI, word got back to the staff that this player perhaps wasn't all he appeared to be at the showcase. A few months later, one of the college coaches came to see him play at his high school and afterwards asked him to decommit. The player was devastated, but agreed to do so and signed with a JUCO. After his freshman year he played for a moderately-competitive college woodbat team and hit below .175, which proved to me that he probably would have been in over his head had he stayed at the big name school.
Now, I'm not saying that this player aimed to "fool" anyone. However, if he had been seen multiple times by the college, he probably would never have been offered the scholarship in the first place and would have avoided a hurtful situation down the road. "Fit" can refer to a lot of things, but one crucial aspect is ensuring that you're not dishearteningly buried beneath a truckload of teammates who are more talented than you.
quote:Originally posted by Coach May:
Will coaches begin to nick pick a player if they see him too often? Of course they will. Just as some players if seen enough times will begin to grow on some coaches.
This is absolutely true. I've seen it happen on both the negative and positive sides. The important thing is to make sure you don't "fool" anyone, as explained by PGSTaff:
quote:Maybe the biggest mistake some players make is avoiding the best competition. We have heard many times in the past… “Since I did so well the last time, I don’t want to hurt my stock” Whenever I hear something similar to that, automatically the Red Flags come out.
Is the goal to “fool” someone into thinking you are better than what you really are. Why not let the people who make decisions see everything you have to offer. In the end, the truth is beneficial for everyone, even the player. After all, sooner or later, there is no place to hide in baseball. You can only fool someone for so long.
I know of a player who attended a showcase camp at a big-name school, performed really well, and was offered a scholarship immediately afterwards. The problem is, the player was seen only one weekend by the college staff before they offered the scholly. After he signed his NLI, word got back to the staff that this player perhaps wasn't all he appeared to be at the showcase. A few months later, one of the college coaches came to see him play at his high school and afterwards asked him to decommit. The player was devastated, but agreed to do so and signed with a JUCO. After his freshman year he played for a moderately-competitive college woodbat team and hit below .175, which proved to me that he probably would have been in over his head had he stayed at the big name school.
Now, I'm not saying that this player aimed to "fool" anyone. However, if he had been seen multiple times by the college, he probably would never have been offered the scholarship in the first place and would have avoided a hurtful situation down the road. "Fit" can refer to a lot of things, but one crucial aspect is ensuring that you're not dishearteningly buried beneath a truckload of teammates who are more talented than you.
I do think you can showcase too much, in that you can become an object of ridicule if you're not careful.
And a cash-poor one at that.
It's one thing to attend a few PG events and maybe a local event or two. Then to focus on schools of interest.
It's another to go to so many showcases that you're never at any games for a team. In my observation, this is a common issue with the extended helicopter parenting that is epidemic these days. We all have encountered the dad who thinks, "People just don't seem to appreciate my son's talent!" So they run from event to event looking for love and then carping because they didn't get the PG rating or ranking they thought they deserved or whatever.
I guess it's not the showcasing itself, it's that it is sometimes a sign of a larger problem. And you don't want to get flagged as a potential problem.
And a cash-poor one at that.
It's one thing to attend a few PG events and maybe a local event or two. Then to focus on schools of interest.
It's another to go to so many showcases that you're never at any games for a team. In my observation, this is a common issue with the extended helicopter parenting that is epidemic these days. We all have encountered the dad who thinks, "People just don't seem to appreciate my son's talent!" So they run from event to event looking for love and then carping because they didn't get the PG rating or ranking they thought they deserved or whatever.
I guess it's not the showcasing itself, it's that it is sometimes a sign of a larger problem. And you don't want to get flagged as a potential problem.
Midlo Dad is spot on. 1-2 showcase events, then play baseball for a team that will enter the right tournamnets for son to be evaluated. Saw a really talented kid do nothing but showcases summer before last and nearly miss out on an offer. He got one in the end, but was always asked why he wasn't playing for a team.