Factors to consider in a showcase team

I think the factors are determined by what each individual player is looking for.

If a player wishes to remain in state or close to home, choosing a travel team that travels nationally all summer may not be worth the additional costs if the player wants to remain closer to home (as an example why travel to california if you wish to remain in Florida).

If a particular showcase team has developed a reputation for choosing good players, running good tournaments, the coaches and scouts will come to watch those teams, where ever they play. The more you win, the more the players on the team will be followed.
I know things have changed since son was in HS, but the most important thing to us was the coach's relationships with many top D1 programs, and exposure for where he wished to attend, and attending the better summer tournaments in the southeast and playing on college campuses versus HS fields.

I remember one coach calling son and stating that if son could play for Coach X he could play for anyone. That was important to son in the recruiting process.

We also liked the fact, for pitchers, that with 58-60 games, there were plenty of pitchers, and son pitched on a 5-6 day rotation and never over used for a win, even for championship games. The program son played for was more interested in getting players seen and obtaining scholarships rather than sore arms.

Not sure if this pertains to all players, but there is a very obvious reason to be a known prospect nationally.

We have seen this many times.

Using a state like Georgia where we play the big WWBA events. Many of the top players in Georgia have ended up committing to schools from southern California. The Georgia colleges have to step it up with their offers now days in order to get some of the top Georgia players. Likewise, top players from California and Texas as well as other states end up getting offers from SEC and ACC schools. This makes the California and Texas schools or schools from other states step up and make bigger offers.

If a player wants to stay close to home and still wants the best possible offer... get offers from other top colleges and the home schools are forced to meet or beat. Everyone wants the player that everyone else wants!

Once again, we have seen this time and time again. When the whole country is involved things can get real interesting. This actually has caused some to recommend that local kids stay close to home... They don't need to play away from home because the colleges at home already know them. Players always need to think about everything they might hear and if there could be some alternative reason or motive for the advice they are receiving.

We can state that there were many players from California who are being recruited very hard by southeast schools. These players might stay in California, but they will get the offers they deserve. College competition for players is a great thing for the talented player.

Just another thing to consider. May or may not pertain to some. Both WWBA 18U and 17U are heavily scouted. The 17U is the most heavily scouted. We are talking about nearly every big DI school in the country and a ton of MLB scouts including many crosscheckers and most of the 30 scouting directors.

BTW, I'm not saying this to promote anything. We are already full at both WWBA 18 and 17 with close to a hundred teams on a waiting list. The teams entered include the top programs in the country.

The best advice you could ever get... Ask the college coaches from the top programs and top conferences outside your state which events they cover and which would be best for a talented player to attend.

I think those are good points PGStaff.

However, there is a cost/benefits side to it all. For us, from California, one week in Georgia (assuming either my wife or me travels with our son) is expensive!

* A pair of airline tickets, ~$800.
* Hotel for 9 days at a moderately priced hotel, ~$800.
* Rental car, ~$300
* Extra (eating out) food costs, ~$150-$300

And none of this adds in the lost work time (and possibly pay) for Mom or Dad. That might be quite a bit!

Its pretty easily a $1,500-$2,000 trip. Yes, there can be some cost sharing and we don't always have to go with our son...so maybe we can cut it to $750-$1,000?

All on the hope(?) that we can create competition? Personally, I don't think thats motivation enough. For me it has to be more about wanting to do it for the experience...and playing in East Cobb is a very cool experience...both of our sons have done it now (younger one there right now, with wife ). If something else comes out of it? Icing on the cake.

On our son's "showcase team" (geez, I never thought of it by that description...just thought of it as a really good team thats a lot of fun), many of the players will eventually get baseball scholarships. But how many will get one more due to a trip to Georgia? My guess would be well less than half. I think if I wanna increase my odds of payoff, I'm better off counting cards in Reno with that $1,000-$2,000.

In the current economy, I think about these numbers a lot more than I used too.

Often the responses on this board are based on the assumption the kid is a stud prospect everyone is beating the door down to recruit. Let me ask what's best for a player from another angle. What's best for the kid who's a mid major D1 to top level D3 prospect? This kid doesn't have the leverage a stud has.

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Originally posted by RJM:
Often the responses on this board are based on the assumption the kid is a stud prospect everyone is beating the door down to recruit. Let me ask what's best for a player from another angle. What's best for the kid who's a mid major D1 to top level D3 prospect? This kid doesn't have the leverage a stud has.

This is probably the most common situation and the one I'm most interested in hearing about.

I agree with TPM and Justbaseball:

In the end go with what you can afford. My son was offered a spot on a nationally ranked team a little over a year ago. We decided to not do it because of the cost, travel, etc. We put together a team from our area for the USA baseball 16U championships and we ended up placing 4th out of 72 teams. The teams from the program he was offered a spot on did not have a team in the top 32, so you never know. (They did do quite well in the WWB 17U however) I think the most important thing is to be comfortable with the program, be able to afford it, and most importantly make sure it is fun.

There are also other lower cost ways to be seen, you really need to lay out a plan for the next couple of years with a budget and do what you can afford.

quote:

Often the responses on this board are based on the assumption the kid is a stud prospect everyone is beating the door down to recruit. Let me ask what's best for a player from another angle. What's best for the kid who's a mid major D1 to top level D3 prospect? This kid doesn't have the leverage a stud has.

In general, I just think its best to reach for a team where you will have to compete to get playing time. I don't really want my son on a team where he will play all of the time because there are no other players good enough at his position (that is, unless he is the very best at his position in the nation!...and there are only 9 players who can claim that title). I also don't want him on a team where he is the 16th-20th player either.

I want him to have to work to get on the field. I want the competition within his team to drive him to get better. But I don't want him in a situation where its hopeless either.

Since the term "showcase team" was used in the title of this thread...I'm going to assume the question was also aimed at how to get your player seen. IMO, there is some good advice from PGStaff if you can afford all of the travel and fees. But aside from that, I would search for a team that challenges my player's abilities and at the same time gets outside of our immediate area (that could be 'regional' as opposed to 'national' if budget is a concern) to tournaments that are attended by college coaches. Asking specific target schools which ones those might be (aside from the obvious national events) is a good idea, as PGStaff suggests.

How about if your son gets invited to play on a team and playing time is assured based on the team roster makeup ?

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How about if your son gets invited to play on a team and playing time is assured based on the team roster makeup ?

I think thats fine as long as the rest of the roster and the competition they will play will challenge him.

I've seen too many players reach too high for their level...only to become the miserable 16th-20th player on a GREAT team. And I've seen too many players stoop too low just to be the stud on a team that wins local qualifying tournaments.

To me, the idea, like in the classroom, is to challenge yourself within reach. For an Algebra I student...no Calculus classes, no Arithmetic class either. Maybe Algebra I Honors. Thats kind of what I'm trying to say.

Some great points provided above and much to consider if you have such opportunities. I wanted to try to look at each question and respond from my humble perspective but first pose something for you to consider; how far away from home do you want to or are willing to go? Understand your goals (how far away what level program, etc..) before you spend a bunch of cash? As pointed out above, it ain’t cheap to chase some of these top travel/showcase teams.

What are the most important factors to consider when looking for a showcase team? Specifically, how important is:
Coaching -- What's most important here? Coach's contacts with college coaches, ability to instruct, former player, etc.?

At the 17U and 18U (and possibly 16U) there isn’t a lot of instruction because usually the guys on the team are coming from far and wide to play together at these events. Not really much time for instruction. The colleges interested in my son did not contact summer “travel” team coach. But I know other cases that it did matter, so depends.

Number of showcases the team is registered in -- what's optimal?

I believe there is no optimal number and the number would change for pitchers and positions players because you are getting in more games at different events as a position guy. As a pitcher you need at least one start per event and you want to be the one of the guys that gets the second start at the longer events. I believe it is more important which events you go to and use the other events to get ready. One of the most effective showcase teams in our area takes the approach that “MOST” kids are going within a 4-hour drive of home and targets playing at events at as many colleges in the radius as possible. The team played at several “tournaments” with tournament fees, but the coach had a good relationship with many college coaches and simply scheduled three or more teams at the college field for the weekend and got all the teams games against each other. Only fee was to pay for the umps. This takes a different twist to that saying “location, location, location”.

Prestige of program -- do those well-known dynasties, such as the ones in GA, really do a better job for players?

If you have a chance to play for one of the top teams out of East Cobb I would take it if you need the exposure for college and MLB scouts. They seem to be really connected; the scouts know these guys and talk to them. If you want to go to a school close to home, as someone else suggested, find out where the coach goes on scouting trips.

Does a strong winning record for the team make a difference to an individual player?

I believe it makes a difference unless a college already has your name and is looking for you. IMHO it is hard to get noticed if you do not make the first cut and get a game at the main complex after pool play.

Any other factors important to consider?

I would choose the colleges you are interested in and make sure they know who you are before you go to these events. Visit the colleges you are interested in attending and playing for as often as you can. Go to their camps, call and make visits when you know the coach (pitching coach for pitchers) will be there. Get as much face time as possible because there aren’t a lot of opportunities. My son had great success attending camps at these schools and getting to know them and letting the coaches get to know him. Saved us some $$ in the long run. If MLB scout exposure is a goal then spend more time at these showcase event that going to the colleges.

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Originally posted by AL MA 08:
I would choose the colleges you are interested in and make sure they know who you are before you go to these events. Visit the colleges you are interested in attending and playing for as often as you can. Go to their camps, call and make visits when you know the coach (pitching coach for pitchers) will be there. Get as much face time as possible because there aren’t a lot of opportunities.

This is probably more important than going to a bunch of events hoping someone will notice you!