College Coaches Showcase Camp

I have attended many showcases that are similar to the one you referenced. I’m going to assume that my comments will apply, as almost all these camps are virtually the same. The schools that are listed will have a representative at the camp. It will most likely be a Volunteer Assistant Coach who is there to assist in running the camp and evaluating players for the primary purpose of making money. These coaches are usually the lowest man on the totem pole and have limited authority and minimal influence. If a player impresses them they probably don’t have a green light to start recruiting that player. They will have to go back to their campus and convince the RC and the HC that they found a prospect. This is less true with Jr Colleges than 4 yr schools but Im assuming your interest is in 4 year schools, although it probably shouldn’t be limited to those unless your son is a draft prospect. Point being, the most you should hope for is get get on the radar of a school of interest. Anything beyond that resulting from this kind of camp is highly unusual. But it does happen occasionally.

The short answer is only have your son got to THIS camp if he's been in serious contact with a coach who will be there AND really wants him to attend.  If that's not the case, don't do it.

My son has probably done about 15 showcase type camps and he did a CCSC one - ONCE.  Of the 15ish my son did, I only regret doing this one and it's the only one where my son said it was a complete waste of time.  And he said it the moment we started walking back to the car.  I was there the entire time.  It was a true outlier in that there was zero value in it.  To add insult to injury, it was easily the most expensive one we ever did.  My son did "2 positions" and I think I paid about $350 for it.

@adbono is almost always right and that's the case here. The schools sent their absolute bottom rung coach to this. A dad buddy sat through the whole thing with me and we watched BP being thrown.  I was sitting in the stands and was absolutely embarrassed for one the coaches (D2 asst) that they had throwing BP. I can't even describe how awkward it was just watching this guy throw BP, but I can tell you I've never seen anything like it.  Yes, truly that bad. The event was easily the worst organized of the 15ish camps my son has done.  What every other camp has accomplished in 2-3 hours tops, these guys couldn't accomplish in 6.  Yes, we were there for 6+ hours and did all the same things you do at all of them. My son has done two showcases that cost a whopping $50 and they were significantly better in every way.  I couldn't believe it.

This might be the best argument against this thing.  My son had some previous email exchanges with 3 RC's of the schools that were committed to attending.  Light interest at that point, but sincere interest with 3 D1s. 2 of the 3 got very close to offering my son 8 months later. So we were on the fence as to whether or not my son should do that camp, so he emailed all 3 coaches he had already been in contact with. He told them that we needed to be strategic with money/which showcases to attend and wanted to ask them if they thought it would be worth doing.  None of the 3 emails ever got a response. Nothing. Crickets. That was their way of saying no, but without actually saying no because they didn't want to risk sabotaging their unpaid assistant's ability to make a few bucks. If they had no interest in my son, I would have expected them to come back with something boilerplate like "camps can be a great opportunity to learn and get exposure" and leave it at that. But I suspect they knew it was a waste of his time and didn't want to see him waste money considering they had interest in him. Unfortunately, we didn't take the hint and signed my son up for it.  I looked high and low and only saw one asst coach there from one of those 3 schools. So I think two of them actually pulled their commitment to the showcase beforehand but CCSC didn't bother to reflect that on their website.  There were 3-4 teams advertised as being there that I never saw a coach for and another 3-4 schools that weren't advertised but were present that day of.

Lastly, the kids were told that their metrics would be emailed to them in the next week. After 2 weeks I sent an email asking when they'd be sending my son's numbers out.  No response so I sent another email 2 weeks later. A week or so later, I got a reply.  While I don't remember the numbers, this is exactly what I got back:

60 6.75

if 84

of 87

ev 88

No salutation, no name, no apology, no spreadsheet, no video, no web content, no closing, no nothing other than this. Just some guy quickly typing 4 numbers into an email that could have been anybody's numbers.  My buddy's son never got his numbers, but my buddy also never emailed asking for them.  I've said a lot here, but this one really got to me.  And I fully understand the money grab piece that is by far the #1 driver of these things. Even the so-so showcases my son did never bothered me in the slightest. This one was truly exceptional.  Send your kid to 2-3 other showcases for the price of this one. And never attend any showcase with coaches present unless your son has had legitimate contact with them prior.  That's always a good rule of thumb. If they don't actually say they'll be there to look at you, then they're not looking at you.  If you already run a 6.50 60, throw 90 across the diamond and have a 100 mph exit velo, then take a chance and show up.  But if you can do all of those things, you've already been in contact with coaches.

Danj - Thanks for sharing.   We've all been through something terrible like this with college baseball recruiting.  This is a great idea for a new thread...."What is your worst college baseball recruiting experience EVER"?   Quick, before Francis beats us to it......

Seriously, that is a classic tale.   I'm glad it didn't set you back too much.  I'm awestruck that your son went to 15--ish camps.   My son took a very different path.  His recruiting exposure was through PG team tourneys which led to a few opportunities and offers through his travel coach.  His travel team drew a lot of attention.   Then, he changed recruiting direction.  He attended 1 individual showcase which led to an elite prospect camp (on campus) which led to his eventual school which was a perfect fit.

There you go Momball11.  Great advice from Danj, and a great story to go with it!

@fenwaysouth you got me thinking, so I reflected back on what the exact number. While it's possible I am forgetting 1 or 2, I could only remember 13, so not 15.  But I can still appreciate how that could come off as a lot, so I'll provide some context.

First off, we're in Omaha, NE. While home of 2 D1 programs (and another one 45 minutes west of here), the KC Royals AAA affiliate and the College World Series, there are not a ton of options like you'd find in baseball hotbeds. But to be recruited, you still need to be seen somehow.  My son only played travel ball at the high school level once during his 4 years of high school.  Even then, his team never got on a plane to make places like Florida, Georgia, California, etc possible. While the state does have one travel org that puts players on planes to Atlanta, Fort Myers, etc, that wasn't a financial possibility for us, so about a 6-hour driving radius largely governed my son's recruiting path.  Also, and it's continually embarrassing to admit, the state still maintains a death grip on playing legion ball in the summer right after the spring high school season. The one HS travel org we have is absolutely despised by every high school coach here because they also coach legion ball, and many threaten to bench players in the spring if they don't play legion in the summer.  But that's a whole different thread.

So here are all the showcases/camps that my son did (that I can remember):

2018

Strike Zone showcase – late August at the beginning of his sophomore year, $50, small deal put on by a local hitting facility

2019

PBR – mid August at the beginning of his junior year, about $200

Strike Zone showcase – late August, $50, small deal put on by a local hitting facility

Iowa Western CC showcase – September, Juco powerhouse 15 minutes away that my son was targeting, $75

CCSC (Grrr, see my previous post) – early October, $350

PBR – late October, $200

Creighton University camp – November, a target of my son, $175

Juco Route showcase – late December, $150

2020

University of Nebraska camp – January, a target of my son and was invited, $250 two days long

Wichita State hitting camp - January, a target of my son and was invited, $125

PBR – February, $200

Travel ball began in June and my son got 2 Juco offers their first weekend out including the program he committed to

Committed to Fort Scott CC in July

Fort Scott CC camp – August, $60, just a fun excuse to get back to the school/coaches he committed to the month prior

2021

Wichita State camp – July after HS graduation, right before heading off to college, $125, was invited, WSU committed to following his Juco career, so this was an opportunity for them to see his growth/progress live over the 18 months it had been since they last saw him live.

So his 13 showcases spanned 3 full years and the rationale behind each showcase/camp was different. So it's not the case that we simply signed up for every one we could find and just threw mud at the wall.  There was some random mud throwing, but most had specific intents/objectives. I recommend that anyone who can afford to, to do as many of the super cheap ones ($100 or less) as they can get their hands on.  Simply because for the "practice"/increase to comfort levels.  Most kids start out (many always do so) conservative in showcases and my son certainly started that way.  Wasn't so much trying to stand out as he was trying not to make mistakes.  I know kids and dads that feel a showcase was successful simply because they cleanly fielded all 8 balls they fielded at SS and didn't swing and miss at all during BP.  I think that attitude is poison.  If you're not ready to dazzle at a showcase, don't go.  You're not ready yet. The upside to my son doing so many of these, is that he got rid of his conservative approach quickly.  He made peace with the fact that every camp/showcase is 95%+ the same. Each one is a test that you already have all the questions to ahead of time. My son was able to embrace that line of thinking, so he got to a place where he had zero nerves going into them. It was old hat - again and again.  And it was great for me because I then was able to never be nervous that he wouldn't do well.  Looking back at my timeline above, my son went almost a year between his 12th and 13th showcase. A year is a long time, but neither my son nor myself were at all nervous for the 13th one. Even though it was in front a D1 coach who maintains an interest in him. We both knew ahead of time how my son would perform. And that's exactly what happened.  He went in and delivered the performance we knew he would.  I can't begin to describe how freeing that is and it's why I recommend the approach to showcases that I do.

This fall - as a sophomore at his Juco - he'll do 2-3 showcases to help land a 4-year spot to finish at.  When those happen, 15ish months will have elapsed since my son's last showcase.  But neither he nor I will sweat them at all.  Again, he has the questions and answers NOW to every test he'll see in the fall.  If you can't come close to acing that test, that's on you. You either pissed away all the time you had to "study" or you weren't good enough to be take the test in the first place. 

Danj,

Another great post.   Love the strategy and thought process given where you live.    I've often posted here that: Recruited = skill + passion + exposure + persistence + luck.   Your son had all of those elements and leveraged them.   In the equation, you can only control exposure and persistence which is why I've always thought the "exposure strategy"  (how the recruit selects how he is going to be seen by his target market)  is the key to all of this.   My son's exposure strategy would not have worked for your son and your son's exposure strategy would not have worked for my son mostly due to location.   Yet, both persevered and got their desired outcome.

100% agree that attending showcases, camps, tournaments is only going to "make the steel harder".   My son pitched in some very well known national tournaments.   I watched my son pitch at his only individual showcase and prospect camp two weeks apart.   In both cases, he was extremely relaxed on the mound, throwing hard like he had nothing to lose.   I knew he was going to be offered at that moment.

I can't recall all the tournaments, and such he played in.  It was 12-13 years ago.   But I will share with you his worst college baseball recruiting experience.   I've shared this before, but here it goes.   He had committed to an Official Visit with a Patriot League school.  He had a couple offers already but we were doing our due diligence.  So we drive to the campus 5 hours away, and we're introduced to the Head Coach by the RC.  We exchange pleasantries and the HC introduces my son to his baseball team chaperone whom my son is supposed to shadow.   The last thing the HC tells the chaperone is "do not take him to any parties, especially at the "baseball house".   The chaperone nods his head in agreement and they leave.   We're supposed to pick him up the next morning.  So we leave for the Financial Aid office (we had a scheduled meeting) and eventually our hotel.   Apparently, my son and the chaperone leave the HCs office and head directly to the baseball house (off-campus) where there is a party in full swing going on in the middle of the day.   My son doesn't drink or smoke weed, so he's trying his best to carry on conversations with the baseball players and some engineering students.  Fast forward a few hours later as the party got louder and the local police arrived.   My son had left about 2-3 mins before the cops arrived but all the other (underage) recruits and their chaperones were dealt with by the cops.   The HC was called at his house that night by the asst HC as his brother was the Chief of Police.  They let him know exactly what happened.   The HC was extremely pissed and took it out (harshly) on the chaperones the next morning with the recruits in attendance.   After all of this, my son met with the HC in his office and was offered support through admission and a roster spot.  My son was very diplomatic with the HC, and requested some time to think about it.   We get in the car.   We close the car  doors, and my son immediately says we can check that school off the list.   He couldn't wait to leave.  Due diligence is way underrated.

Thank you all for your input.  We have some time to decide and research as he's just a sophomore. 

"If you already run a 6.50 60, throw 90 across the diamond and have a 100 mph exit velo, then take a chance and show up." -@DanJ   He's close, to breaking 7.0, but not quite there.  Not a pitcher, but we're needing to get a number on his throwing velo. As for hitting, he hasn't broken 100mph, but he's close...and potentially would if hitting against live pitching.  We just know he's mid 90s off soft toss.  I know some people can shine with measurables, but not be great ball players.  I feel that watching his in game performances would be more impressive than his measurables.  He takes great angles and can beat faster 60 runners to a ball.  He has an extremely high contact rate when hitting and consistently hits gaps.  I just have only so much money to pay for him to go to each school's camp he's interested in.  Would it be a better strategy to continue to push as much video to the coaches, then wait to be asked to attend a camp?

It’s always a good idea to be selective about the camps you attend but if budget is an issue it becomes even more important. PBR varies from state to state (it’s pretty good in Texas) and if they are good in your state I would consider going to one of their showcases. They aren’t expensive and can be helpful. Once they have you in their database they do a good job of follow up mentions at HS games they cover. So it can be extra exposure down the road. I just got home from watching a kid that trains with me pitch against the #6 team in the 6A rankings in 37 degree temps - and the PBR guy was out there taking notes and shooting video. Didn’t hurt that there were 2 draft prospects in the game but you get my point.

Pretty sure Lefty went to a CCSC camp, but it was purely for the practice of going to a camp.  He's notoriously bad at tryouts so we wanted him to get used to the pressure. For the most part Lefty had always been invited to TB teams, so the idea of going out there solo to prove something to people that didn't know you was something he had to work through and dredged up the past "trauma" of a terrible little league tryout. (funniest thing I ever saw, he's 10 and throwing wildly, like couldn't hit the 8x8 net, and he looked down and said "what are you doing?" to his hand! I almost died)   As stated above, only bottom rung volunteer coaches were there.  They were nice enough to Lefty but nothing came of it.  We intentionally picked a camp that had the fewest schools he would consider in case it was a total bomb.  Worked out fairly well, attended a Showball camp the next week and it definitely helped with the nerves.  The camp was well organized and ran on time, the coaches were attentive to the kid.  I think it would be a great camp for a freshman  who just wanted to get his cleats wet and the family had the spare $$$.  But it will likely NOT help you in your recruiting.

A couple of thoughts:

- find a way to measure your son's velos before he goes to any showcases.  Don't do it to get numbers (unless for experience with showcasing), do it to show them to someone who wants to see them.

- is there a coach or instructor who can help with this?  and, for that matter, does your son have a travel coach who will be helping with recruiting?  if so, ask him what he thinks, and ask more questions based on his answer.

- PBR does good things, but the numbers are posted online.  Better decide if you want that.

@Momball11 posted:

I know some people can shine with measurables, but not be great ball players.  I feel that watching his in game performances would be more impressive than his measurables.

This is true of many players.  It's true of players with great measurables, too.  The only level of college that recruits sophomores is D1.  If your son is not right now of interest to D1 schools, it's not his time to be recruited.  Save your money for when it is his time.

It's really hard to resist the hype.  My son is at a D3.  We paid for many of these things, it didn't matter at all in the long run.

@anotherparent posted:

A couple of thoughts:

- find a way to measure your son's velos before he goes to any showcases.  Don't do it to get numbers (unless for experience with showcasing), do it to show them to someone who wants to see them.

- is there a coach or instructor who can help with this?  and, for that matter, does your son have a travel coach who will be helping with recruiting?  if so, ask him what he thinks, and ask more questions based on his answer.

- PBR does good things, but the numbers are posted online.  Better decide if you want that.

This is true of many players.  It's true of players with great measurables, too.  The only level of college that recruits sophomores is D1.  If your son is not right now of interest to D1 schools, it's not his time to be recruited.  Save your money for when it is his time.

It's really hard to resist the hype.  My son is at a D3.  We paid for many of these things, it didn't matter at all in the long run.

We will definitely get numbers before a showcase. We said we're only paying for a showcase when he can demonstrate that he's sub 7 for his 60 and 80+ throwing. If he doesn't have numbers registration fees will come out of his pocket.

Yes, we will also discuss with his coaches, who have been great already. He's gotten some interest with some D1 programs and aspires to play D1, especially after observing D1/D2/D3 practices and games. He's keeping all his options open though.

@Momball11 posted:

We will definitely get numbers before a showcase. We said we're only paying for a showcase when he can demonstrate that he's sub 7 for his 60 and 80+ throwing. If he doesn't have numbers registration fees will come out of his pocket.

Yes, we will also discuss with his coaches, who have been great already. He's gotten some interest with some D1 programs and aspires to play D1, especially after observing D1/D2/D3 practices and games. He's keeping all his options open though.

  All HS baseball players that are college prospects aspire to play D1. Only a very small percentage are actually capable of doing  it. Of the percentage that is capable only SOME get the opportunity. Of the some that get the opportunity only some of them succeed. All of that is true under normal circumstances. Now add in the fact that the NCAA has granted extra years  of eligibility to current college players due to Covid19 and the difficulty factor for current HS grads is even greater. At a good D1 program an incoming 18 year old freshman may find himself not only competing with more than 20 guys in his own recruiting class, but also competing for playing time with a 24 year old man. How many times do you think that will go in favor of the 18 year old freshman? One in a thousand?? Maybe??? College recruiting is a game of probabilities and the families that end up with the best results are the ones that learn how to play the odds - and the odds are always longer for a position player than they are for a pitcher. The point I’m leading up to is that the most important thing is finding the school that’s the right fit when you factor in the baseball, academic,  social, and political climates. If those things are properly evaluated your son will be happy where he lands. If he is happy it really doesn’t matter what number comes after the D. If he is miserable at a D1 (and an awful lot of players are) how good of a job have you done guiding his career? It’s been said many times on this board that college is a 40 year decision and not a 4 year decision. With the current cost of a college education that has never been more true than now. Don’t rule out Junior College. Its a great bridge to a 4 year school and can save you a lot of money. It’s also provides a better chance of a young player getting on the field - and you have to play to get better. The quality of JuCo play varies from region to region but where I am (Texas) it’s outstanding.  Best of luck on your journey but do your homework the same way you would research a company that you were considering going to work for and HSBBW is a great place to go for questions that come up along the way  

@adbono posted:

  All HS baseball players that are college prospects aspire to play D1. Only a very small percentage are actually capable of doing  it. Of the percentage that is capable only SOME get the opportunity. Of the some that get the opportunity only some of them succeed. All of that is true under normal circumstances. Now add in the fact that the NCAA has granted extra years  of eligibility to current college players due to Covid19 and the difficulty factor for current HS grads is even greater. At a good D1 program an incoming 18 year old freshman may find himself not only competing with more than 20 guys in his own recruiting class, but also competing for playing time with a 24 year old man. How many times do you think that will go in favor of the 18 year old freshman? One in a thousand?? Maybe??? College recruiting is a game of probabilities and the families that end up with the best results are the ones that learn how to play the odds - and the odds are always longer for a position player than they are for a pitcher. The point I’m leading up to is that the most important thing is finding the school that’s the right fit when you factor in the baseball, academic,  social, and political climates. If those things are properly evaluated your son will be happy where he lands. If he is happy it really doesn’t matter what number comes after the D. If he is miserable at a D1 (and an awful lot of players are) how good of a job have you done guiding his career? It’s been said many times on this board that college is a 40 year decision and not a 4 year decision. With the current cost of a college education that has never been more true than now. Don’t rule out Junior College. Its a great bridge to a 4 year school and can save you a lot of money. It’s also provides a better chance of a young player getting on the field - and you have to play to get better. The quality of JuCo play varies from region to region but where I am (Texas) it’s outstanding.  Best of luck on your journey but do your homework the same way you would research a company that you were considering going to work for and HSBBW is a great place to go for questions that come up along the way  

I definitely would consider JUCO if we were in TX. He's considering mostly D1 schools for the school aspect and not the baseball aspect. We don't have many JUCO choices near us...almost all D2 programs. He figures if he doesn't get on a D1 program then he'll just play club.

This addresses @Danj concerns about the decision makers.  The showball Camps are attended by the Head Coaches. https://showballbaseball.com/  Some HSBBWEB posters have gone to this in the past.

Re players who shine with measurable but are not great ball players.

I know a kid who’s father left no dollar unspent turning his kid into the best possible showcase player. The kid had the look. When I think pro build I think Josh Hamilton (6’4” 240 all muscle, no fat).

The kid would get raves at showcases. His high ranked team college coach stated he might be his best recruit ever. A high level PG person told me he was the real deal.

I coached the kid from 13-16u. I watched him play high school and travel ball. He piled up stats in meaningless games. He couldn’t deliver in big games. He lacked mental makeup. I never told a player to relax more than this kid.

He headed for a P5, ranked team ball. He was handed a starting position for three years. All three years he was out of the lineup by conference play. But he looked great in a uniform. He looked like a future Hall of Fame ball player.

It can be hard for high school parents to understand how “good to play D1” can be. A high school parent once asked if my son dominated his travel games like he dominated high school games. His response was along the line of, “You’re bleeping me” when I told him he fits in. One day he’s the star. The next day he might be unnoticeable to the average eye. They’re all top players. They all went major conference (except the kid who chose an Ivy over Duke).

On the flip side I know of a kid I saw as a top notch D3 prospect when he was in high school. He was undersized. But he was the fastest kid on the high school field. He didn’t crush the ball like a D1 player. He had great hands, speed and instincts. The kid walked on at a low level D1 and made the team. I don’t believe they’re fully funded. He hasn’t started other than injury fill in and occasional starts for four years. But he’s on the team. He’s at a good school. He’s happy hanging with the guys.

@Momball11 posted:

I definitely would consider JUCO if we were in TX. He's considering mostly D1 schools for the school aspect and not the baseball aspect. We don't have many JUCO choices near us...almost all D2 programs. He figures if he doesn't get on a D1 program then he'll just play club.

Is your son interested in either of the 2 D1 programs in West Virginia? 

@TPM posted:

Is your son interested in either of the 2 D1 programs in West Virginia?

Yes interested.

@Momball11 posted:

Yes interested.

I sent you a private message.