Found my roadmap

Nothing is difficult, and Nebraska has some good tournies out that way during the CWS.

However, keep everything age appropriate. If your son has not made his HS V team, you might want to wait until that time comes, if you are doing this for recruiting.

Where did anyone say that you HAD to play in the summer or fall for their HS team?

JMO

In Cedar Rapids Oct 2-5

http://www.perfectgame.org/Eve...ault.aspx?event=3077

It's a huge benefit to play for a credible team with a reputation. College coaches will show  up at the game assuming there's talent on the roster. They trust what the travel coach tells them about players. I know of new teams who were stuck on back fields at PG and never saw a college coach.

That is the popular one around my parts.  Most players go to that vs. Lake Point. 

So here's the question.  Is it as good for recruiting?   

Things to consider:

October is in the middle of college fall ball which is to not to say that colleges with large recruiting budgets will fly halfway across the country to see a player they want.

Right now there are 24 teams signed up for the Nebraska weekend event.  Compare that to the 17u WWBA at LakePoint this past July that drew ~350 teams for a week. If you were a coach with a budget, how would you spend your recruiting dollars? 

I would think that the Nebraska event would draw local colleges for sure.  Is that where you want to go school?   The best way to find out if a college will be there is to call and ask.

The OPs son is a 2018. I think she was asking about 2016, next fall.

But I agree,  and keep in mind that in October there is the WWBA in jupiter. I would ask Jerry about coach attendance if the purpose is for recruiting. 

Perhaps I am reading this wrong but is the OP asking whether a player can play both HS and TB?  If so, there isn't a problem for most of these players doing both.  I can speak to my child's experience and that was that she played in just about every state in the Midwest in showcases and tournaments.  I would estimate that she played in front of 300 college coaches along the way.  I was her HC in HS and to be honest, she had interest from HS as well.  I've read the thread about HS stats and whether they matter. While I don't know the answer for most, my child's post season awards did matter with recruitment.  Those awards are based upon HS stats.  So, to wrap this up, imo, both have their place. 

I am not sure I understand.  He can play  both but not at the same time, in most states its a requirement you cannot do both.

Howvever, planner or not, dont put the cart before the horse.  Is your son a high level recruit? If so coaches will come knocking on the door. If he plays on a team, let the coaches figure out where they will play. There may be other opportunities down the road.  

TPM, I honestly don't know if he's a high level recruit.  He's not a 15 year old throwing 90. He didn't dominate varsity as a freshman. He only had 2 appearances. One was super short and he was overwhelmed with the experience. The second he threw pretty well, gave up 1 earned run in 5 innings(a solo HR) but took the loss since our team couldn't score.  So what does it mean?  Where should he be at this point in the game?  He is a very young 15, we have a lot of people telling us he is something special, but he gives up hits, gives up runs, he has great days and he has bad days.  It all seems pretty normal to me but I just don't know.

LivingtheDream.  Sent you a PM

LivingtheDream...why do you think you have to play at one of these PG events?  Are you opposed to showcases?  If you are looking for the most bang for your buck specifically with PG I would think the showcase route would be how you would go.

However, I would also only go if you have something demonstrative to show.  Is he a nearly full grown 15 year old throwing 85+?  Or is he a young 15 year old that shows great control for his age and he MIGHT grow into something very special?  If that is the case holding off another year would probably be best.  The advantage of a showcase is that there could be kids there from major cities to towns with one traffic light and they all get the same type of evaluation, but I wouldn't spend $600+ travel expenses until I was certain he actually had something special to show.

I think others would support this.  For underclass kids you will find the biggest scouting event of the fall will be the PG Underclass in Ft Myers.  IMO this event is second only to the WWBA for rising seniors in terms of exposure.

Do you know how much people pay for a tan like ours?!?!?!  It is SOOO not a waste of money!

I guess I feel like I get mixed messages as to which is the better route, showcase or tournament.  Just trying to decipher what it the best way for our personal situation.

As far as whether he has something to showcase that is really the biggest quandry I have.  Is he fully grown throwing 85+?  Nope.  But he is just a hair under 6'2" throwing 82 earlier this month.  But he is also a young 2018 with a late April birthday.  He still has his baby face, no sign of facial hair, his body hasn't changed to that man body yet like his brothers have.  I think I would probably call him a tweener with a lot of upside.  Above average but not yet a rock star.  And since finances and time commitment are both serious considerations I think it is in our best interests to give him a little more time before stepping onto the PG stage. 

I will say that like all of you we have spent an incredible amount of money on baseball for all 3 of our boys.  Neither of the first 2 will or did play college baseball.  Son 1 tore his labrum his sophomore year of high school and his arm never felt right again.  He stopped playing his senior year.  Son 2 decided football was his passion and stopped playing his junior year. I don't regret a second or a penny we spent on the diamond with either of them.  We made life long friends and have wonderful memories.  We won't have any regrets with son 3 either regardless of what happens the rest of his journey.  Even if this year is the high water mark of his career he will have had an experience that not many kids get.  He was the man for a year.  That's pretty fun for a 14/15 year old kid.

Given at you have written here, a kid like this can be expected to jump from 82 to 84-86 by next summer just from natural growth. No harm in planning for that.

Oregon sounds very similar to Nebraska as far as the lack of travel programs and the summer Legion ball being a de-facto extension of the HS varsity season. 

I don't think you have to manufacture a fall travel team in order to get exposure, and I certainly don't think there is any hurry. I think others have said here before, first succeed on varsity before worrying about exposure. Assuming your son does well in his first varsity season, take the next steps.

In my view, college camps are a great place to start getting the feel of the showcase circuit. In summer after his junior year, try to get into real showcases, Stanford Camp, Headfirst, etc depending on what his target schools are. And even if it is not local, it is not that hard to get connected up with a travel team that is going to one of the big tournaments. 

There are lots of blessings to not being in a travel ball hotbed, and it should not interfere with getting exposure needed to get the attention of college recruiters.