First Showcase

My 2019 LHP has attended a few Showcases this year and the part my son and I really enjoy is the unbiased feedback he received. This feedback has been instrumental in guiding his training plan moving forward. So I would say look forward to the evaluation as it may be the most beneficial part of the experience.

Position player or PO??

Look and act like a ball player. Stay away from the clowns. Act confident. But don’t be Joe Cool. Shake off mistakes and get ready for the next play. Never walk. If approached by a coach use a firm handshake and make eye contact the entire conversation.

The only things I remember really was that sons first was ungodly hot and the critique he got from a d3coach said his best baseball was in front of him. I still am not sure if that meant he sucked that day or was a compliment--but it turned out to be true. 

Have fun. Tell him to enjoy it. If baseball is no fun there's no point. 

First one....just tell him to be himself and do what he can do.  Don't push too hard and try to do things he can't or things will go bad and he won't be looking forward to the next one.  If he is a pitcher and throws 82 and the guy before him throws 88, don't try to overthrow to keep up with him and end up throwing pitches that the catcher can't get to.  Same with IF....if the guy before him has a cannon , fine, just concentrate on making good accurate throws.  If he's in  BP group with the Aaron Judge of the showcase, don't try to match his power if your son isn't a power guy....he'll end up popping up all over the place.  Just have fun, enjoy it and use it as a learning tool to know what to expect for the next one.  If things go great, all the better, but if not, that's fine too

Buckeye 2015 posted:

First one....just tell him to be himself and do what he can do.  Don't push too hard and try to do things he can't or things will go bad and he won't be looking forward to the next one.  If he is a pitcher and throws 82 and the guy before him throws 88, don't try to overthrow to keep up with him and end up throwing pitches that the catcher can't get to.  Same with IF....if the guy before him has a cannon , fine, just concentrate on making good accurate throws.  If he's in  BP group with the Aaron Judge of the showcase, don't try to match his power if your son isn't a power guy....he'll end up popping up all over the place.  Just have fun, enjoy it and use it as a learning tool to know what to expect for the next one.  If things go great, all the better, but if not, that's fine too

I think this is all great advice..summed up always best for them to be themselves!!

Demonstrate hustle, show desire.

4T2 -- good advice above.  I would add to be prepared to introduce himself and have a conversation with coaches.  A lot of side talk goes on at some of these showcases/camps, so always good to be prepared for what happens on the field and for discussion.

Don't put any pressure on him - in fact, do everything you can to take it off.  I personally felt nervous, but I didn't let my sons see any of that, just told them it wasn't all-or-nothing and just have some fun playing against good players.

Just to bring closure, the event went pretty well. He was the youngest kid there, but didn't look like it--he fit in well (certainly not the stud of the bunch). He was nervous right up until they started warming up, then it was just baseball. 

Thanks to everyone for the responses!

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Glad it went well 4T2.