Fall of Junior year..

Start by reviewing the recruiting time line on the home page of this site.

Then talk to your high school coach and see if you can get an honest assessment of your abilities and prospects. If you think he's not a reliable source for such an assessment, seek one out from someone you trust.

Beyond that, my advice would differ somewhat based on what position you play.

If you're a pitcher, I'd suggest seeing if you can latch on with a team going to the Ft. Myers PG/WWBA 17u event, which is coming up in about 8 days, so you'd have to hustle but it can be done.

If you're a hitter, one of PG's winter showcases would be a good way to get evaluated and see where you stack up.

After that, my advice is to start thinking about colleges, figure out which ones interest you most, and then go out and have a great spring season so that you can hopefully build your case. And latch on with a summer team that will get you good exposure in 2008.

Local AAU teams are great for younger ages but at this stage you need to get out more and see tougher competition to see how you really measure up.

sorry, I forgot to mention that I am a pitcher. I have never been to a Perfect Game showcase, which one of their showcases draws the most scouts? Is it worth the money?

This past summer I won Union County Junior American Legion Baseball MVP. Legion got better as the summer went along, but as to what your saying about the aau teams, I meant showcase teams and other clubs...not like the mom and pop town teams.

Does anyone know of teams that are located out of NJ?

Tri-State Arsenal, Baseball U have teams that hit the PG events. Look into trying out and see how they evaluate you.

Yes, a PG showcase is worth the money, though as a pitcher you can profit a lot from a WWBA event, too. But it's only worth the money if you are indeed capable of playing at that level. Paying a lot to go show your shortcomings is not a good investment.

Both of PG's Ft. Myers events, either next weekend's WWBA tourney or the PG National Underclass over your Christmas break, are excellent opportunities for a pitcher to get exposure.

But I would caution you that if you played at the JUNIOR Legion level last summer, you may want to ask someone if they think you are ready to do well at the higher level. It pays to have experience BEFORE you go showcasing.

Again, ask someone you trust who has seen you perform what they honestly think of you.

I excelled in junior legion..it was not like I rode pine or got lit up every time I played. Thanks for the input Midlo Dad, I appreciate it

Not to rain on your parade but Junior Legion is not Legion ball nor is Legion ball travel ball with a select team


You want to make strides in the proper fashion

We have played both the Arsenal and Baseball University teams in recent weeks and they have excellent talent on both teams

quote:

Originally posted by shppirate09:
I excelled in junior legion..it was not like I rode pine or got lit up every time I played. Thanks for the input Midlo Dad, I appreciate it

It's still not Legion or 18U travel or even 16U travel. Did you start on the high school varsity last spring? You need to find someone to give you an honest assessment of your ability. Let's start with a basic pitcher's skill. What's your velocity?

Arsenal and Baseball U are incredible teams, but both are a trek from my house.

No I was not on the varsity team last year, I transferred in after the tryouts and was put onto the JV team. As a sophmore I was the #1 pitcher on my schools JV team. I am consistently throwing high 70's, maxing out at 83.

Arsenal has some elite talent, including Jerseydad's son on the 18u squad. You might want to PM him for more info, I don't know what he would know about the younger team.

Our team played Baseball U at East Cobb last summer. They were competitive but not very deep in pitching. I would think several of their players would advance to college, but not all of them. A guy throwing mid-80's (assuming you progress between now and next summer) I would think would interest them. Especially if you were born lucky (i.e., left handed), or if you mix it up well with good command.

Hopefully, I will progress from now to next summer. I will soon start working with a trainer to strengthen my core and develop flexibility. I do mix my pitches well, have a very slow change and a decent curveball(been working on it in fall league).

I am currently looking for select teams to play for next summer, so I am trying to make the jump to play in a more competetive league. The fall league I am playing in is pretty competetive, this weekend we play a double header against one of the states top 20 teams so how I pitch, not necesarily the numbers (lots of underclassmen, errors, and men left on base).

Has anyone heard anything about Richmond County Baseball, the South Bergen Mets, Bayside Yankees, South Florida Bandits, or NJ Cardinals?

quote:

Originally posted by shppirate09:
Arsenal and Baseball U are incredible teams, but both are a trek from my house.

No I was not on the varsity team last year, I transferred in after the tryouts and was put onto the JV team. As a sophmore I was the #1 pitcher on my schools JV team. I am consistently throwing high 70's, maxing out at 83.

To provide a gauge, last year's Arsenal 13U team had pitchers throwing in the upper 70's and hitting 80. Here's another question. What level of college ball are you interested in playing?

13 year olds throw that fast? WOW those are some talented kids, they sure project to become some hard throwers.

Ideally I would like to play D1 or D3, it doesn't have to be a big prestigous school or a top 20 program; as long as the school has good coaches and decent facilities I would be happy to go there.

Do I have to play on a power house team to get my name around into the circles of D1 coaches?

shp,

I'm not sure where you are located however there are some good programs up north as well if the Arsenal or Baseball U is too far for you.

One thing I would suggest you do is look into the Super 17 program based out of Flemington, NJ. This is a showcase league made up of 6 teams throughout NJ and run by three highly regarded baseball academies in the state (Hit Doctor, Jack Cust and Teals). Over the last few years there have been a large number of college and pro scouts in attendance for the Super 17 games.

If you have talent I know the guys that run these academies will try to help you find a team to play with during the summer. If you want more info feel free to send me a PM. Good luck!

The first thing you need to do is work hard to succeed at the next level (varsity). That will carry a lot of weight to get seen by some of the elite showcase programs. Are you aware showcasing can be very expensive?

I'm not trying to discourage you. I'm trying to keep you in touch with reality. Getting to D1 is a challenge. If you become a solid high school player you can probably play D3. I don't know anything about York College (PA) academically, but it's a strong D3 baseball program.

I know that showcasing is expensive, hence why I have not tryed out for a select team, or gone to any showcases. I did not want to waste money on showcases or any select teams as an underclassman, nor did my parents want to deal with the traveling and other hassles associated with either showcases or select teams.

I know that making a D1 school is hard and I know a lot of baseball players want to play D1, but I am willing to work for it. Whichever level I can compete at, I want to push myself to be the best player I can be, regardless of the level. I will do anything in my power to get myself to the point where i could be thought to play college baseball.

As a junior, now is the time to start spending some time and money! This is definitely the year that you'll want to be on a high-profile select team, even if it requires quite a bit of travel.

The Bayside Yankees are part of Premier Baseball, which is very strong in Texas, but I'm not sure what type of exposure the team gets on the East Coast. Perhaps someone more familiar with the team can elaborate. Their website can be found at http://www.baysideyankees.com/homepage.htm Click on "Alumni" and you can see where recent program participants have signed.

I can't speak to many of the teams you ask about, except (a) there's a rant on another thread from the head of the Bayside Yankees, and if he's who's in charge, I'd steer clear of that organization; and (b) I have seen the Bandits up close and personal and would not recommend them, period.

quote:

Originally posted by jerseydad:
shp,

I'm not sure where you are located however there are some good programs up north as well if the Arsenal or Baseball U is too far for you.

One thing I would suggest you do is look into the Super 17 program based out of Flemington, NJ. This is a showcase league made up of 6 teams throughout NJ and run by three highly regarded baseball academies in the state (Hit Doctor, Jack Cust and Teals). Over the last few years there have been a large number of college and pro scouts in attendance for the Super 17 games.

If you have talent I know the guys that run these academies will try to help you find a team to play with during the summer. If you want more info feel free to send me a PM. Good luck!

Who is Teals? I know who Cust and Barth are.

It's actually Teels out of Wyckoff,NJ. If you go to the Super 17 website you can find links to all three programs.

I have heard very mixed messages about the Super 17 league, is it worth the money?

quote:

Originally posted by jerseydad:
It's actually Teels out of Wyckoff,NJ. If you go to the Super 17 website you can find links to all three programs.

That explains it. Barth and Cust are close enough to me in suburban Philadelphia. Wyckoff is out of range. I've looked at Super 17's on Cust's site. Flemington is doable from where we live. I've coached against Arsenal.

Since the offseason has begun I have been doing workouts everyday. I will be going onto a long toss program soon, just waiting for it to come into the mail (allan jaegar's program), I am going to see a trainer to get my core into peak shape and develop more flexibility...hopefully all of these things will result in a significant increase in velocity and make me a more attractive player.

When should I start looking at showcase schedules and tryouts for those teams that have been mentioned above?

Right now I would be more concerned with having a good junior year on your varsity team---from your ID I assume you are at Seton Hall Prep with Shep Jr.

Seton hall has a very good baseball program and are heavily scouted ... #1 pick came out of Seton Hall. I would think your coach has contact with many college coaches

No, I no longer go to Seton Hall Prep. I got cut by the program last year, so I transferred to Union Catholic Regional High School last spring. Unlike SHP, Union Catholic is not very heavily scouted.

Your right TR, if I were still at SHP I would be far more worried about making the high school team then getting exposure for college.

Ok, I found a team that is going to Jupiter. Now my obstacle is my parents, how should I go about asking them if I could go to this tournament?

make good grades....do homework without being asked
Help your mother around the house....without being asked
Help your dad outside of the house.......without being asked
Be a good citizen, don't give your parents a reason not to trust you.
Be nice and respectfull

Have a conversation with your parents that involve more than one word responses

Talk to them and advise them that you have a dream to play college baseball and would like there help.

You sound like my kid so maybe his journey will help you, he is in the fall of his junior year , and was mvp of his junior legion team as a 15/16 year old, he also played junior legion last summer and I might point out, in the northwest anyway these teams attract some top talent. Anyway he got his scholarship by going to a college run camp and excelling. Showcases and travel teams may be useful but meeting college coaches and having them see you work out and get to know you is invaluable. I might also point out that high school ball, at least up here is considered relatively unimportant to the college coaches I have talked to, high school coaches in my experience tend to be somewhat unprofessional and have some odd biases.
You might also find out if any colleges near you have some paid winter workouts, these contacts are also invaluable not to mention the no nonsense workouts. Also send some short letters to colleges you are interested in and see if they have winter camps you could attend.

smalltown - you say your son already got a scholarship, in fall of his junior year?

He has a verbal. Knowing the integrity of the coach it will be there when signing is allowed. I get the feeling that if coaches want you they let you know. He has some other interest as well but nothing he is interested in yet.

smalltown


Did your son commit?

quote:

Originally posted by smalltown:
He has a verbal. Knowing the integrity of the coach it will be there when signing is allowed. I get the feeling that if coaches want you they let you know. He has some other interest as well but nothing he is interested in yet.

I used to believe the above, but just heard of a very experienced HC with integrity having to let a player know they had to withdraw his very early offer. I know hear the player has been out of the loop for a year.

IMO, this is a very dangerous assumption. How do you know the same coach will be the one when next year's signing day arrives?

Good point TPM

quote:

Originally posted by shppirate09:
I did not want to waste money on showcases or any select teams as an underclassman, nor did my parents want to deal with the traveling and other hassles associated with either showcases or select teams.

This puts you WAY behind the 8-ball IMO.

I know I am VERY FAR behind the eight ball, I started this thread because I thought I could get good advice and so far I have. It is not as much me not wanting to play a higher level of ball, it is my parents and their concern of me not being at a high enough level because of how good some of those teams are.

I know these posts may sound like a broken record, but I'm just a high school kid who wants to improve on my play and become a college level player

If you can scrape together several hundred dollars, see if you can do a Perfect Game showcase this coming summer. Your rating will give you and your parents a much better idea about your potential for college ball.

Thanks Infield08,

I have been pushing my parents to take me to a PG showcase for about a year, they say you only have one chance to make a first impression (I agree). They want me to improve some first so that I will be making use of the money that they spend on the showcase

Sounds like a good plan. You're definitely going to want to bring your "A" game to the showcase. In the meantime, it might be good to get some pitching lessons from a respected instructor to make sure your mechanics are good.

My mechanics are not my problem, I have been working with a respected pitching coach for almost 7 years now, it is my endurance, strength and velocity

quote:

Originally posted by shppirate09:
My mechanics are not my problem, I have been working with a respected pitching coach for almost 7 years now, it is my endurance, strength and velocity

Then you should invest your time and money in a good strength and conditioning trainer. That would be much more important than a pitching coach at this point.