How many and what age?

My son attended 2 Perfect Game Showcases. Underclassman World Showcase in January of his Junior year and Northeast Top Prospects at Cape Cod the summer before Senior year.

It is a choice you will have to make but from what I saw I would not reccommend attending before the Junior year. PG is a first class organization and attracts big talent....Your sons makeup would determine if attending earlier than that would be a good thing.....I saw some young kids motivated by the challenge and some visibly shaken by the competition of players 3-4 years older than them....

My son benefited from the experience...he competed well with the best that attended and he had his eyes opened to the talent level out there......its one thing to be the best player on your team, but at a PG event, most all the players are the best player from their team as well.........

That being said I would not send a 14yr old freshman to a National PG event...... I believe they now do some ID showcases regionally.......Contact PG directly, they will give you good advice and are top notch people to deal with....

best of luck....

My son went to the PG Southeast Underclass Showcase at Duke last August as a rising freshman (same situation you are in right now). Due to scheduling conflicts, he attended the Sunshine East in Ft. Myers in June of this year.
Some thoughts:

1) I agree with piaa_ump. COntact PG and discuss.
2) My son enjoyed the experience at Duke last August. Less than 50 players, was not intimidated at all. Did well.
3) Not sure going to Sunshine East this year was as good an idea. Over 300 players, lots of 06's, and about 20 '08's (my son is an '08). He did OK vs. other '08s, but certainly was a bit out of his league against the '06s). However, made good defensive plays, was hitless in 4ABs (but no K's). In my book this was an accomplishement as his team's lead off hitter (an '06) K'd 4X, along with many other guys.
4) We looked at the PG experience from a perspective that he sees how he stacks up vs. peers and HOPEFULLY when he goes in the future, it will be "old hat" to him!
5) If you think he's ready, I recommend going to a regional or State ID showcase first.
6) At his age, no need this year to go to more than one. Just give him a taste.

Good Luck!

This is a personal decision for everyone on how best to spend your money.
We relied on tournaments up until his junior year and he traveled doing those during freshman sophomore and junior summers. He attended only two showcases underclass Pg and then National, if I recall the only two. One camp senior holiday break. During his senior fall and after season he went to two pro showcases. Some prefer joining scout teams.
Your son will change dramatically physically and mentally over the next two years, he has time.

Garry

As a rule, and yes there are exceptions, but we like to see the players as varsity contributors before they attend one of our events--yes we have had freshman and we do this year as well but they come highly recommended and are [playing "up"

Garry-

You have a PM.

My opinion, based only upon going through this with an older son, and now having an 06 in the house wanting to go the college baseball route, and assuming your son looks to be a good solid player, but not necessarily an obvious stud muffin, unrelated to the Upton family (which could likely send their boys to showcases during pre-school) :

I'd have your son go to a couple showcases after his sophmore year, just to get a feel for how they operate as most follow a similar format: run the 60, BP, infield, outfield, bullpens for pitchers, then a few games between teams over a day or two. It is different doing all this when they know coaches are watching, but most players seem to adjust to being scrutinized pretty quickly. The experience is helpful for the following year when it's all on the line. It's all about exposure the summer after the junior year. Good exposure, in front of the schools for which your son might be a prospect, is the name of the game.

You do learn helpful tidbits from other parents and coaches as you attend-come to a showcase fresh, not after a weekend tournament, dress for success, lose the jewelry, get a haircut, slightly rolling starts are possible with electronic timing, kids should wear shirts with their name on them, swing only at strikes in BP, even if they say swing at everything, realize folks are always watching, notice that baseball coaches are a big fraternity and there's lots of talk, wearing a shirt with your son's school name on it can't hurt if a scout is looking for a parent, etc.

Our 06 is going to 4 showcases this summer and 1 showcase/camp. I'll tell you this fall whether we hit it "right", but knowing the 4 showcases and the schools that normally attend them, I think he'll get seen by plenty of schools that might be a good fit. It's all about exposure.

Hokieone has given you a great format for a successful showcase plan. Each individual can modify the plan to fit their individual needs or budget. Over-exposure is costly ...but... Under-exposure is worse!
Fungo

Hokieone--you have a PM

My son went to his first showcase during the summer between freshman and sophmore year( PG Underclassman). I took him not for the exposure but in order for him to experience a showcase format. There is alot of pressure on these kids to perform their best in this type of enviornment. You get 3-5 ground balls and 10 hacks and they better be good ones because people are watching. Same thing with the games after the showcase portion. I also took him for the competition. There are some really good ball players that attend these showcases.In his sophmore year he went to 2 or 3 showcases. By the time he was a junior he was so used to the format and the pressure that it really didn't phase him. He was a little nervous at the first showcase and did OK, but after that one he did great at the rest. I think these showcases also helped him as he tried out for the JV and Varsity teams at his school. It will not hurt him to attend at a young age, and he may surprise you and himself. As a sophmore my son started to receive recruiting letters which was something neither of us expected. So go and enjoy.

I've known quite a few great freshman HS players who weren't any better than average senior HS players. A better-than-average performance for his age at a showcase now could fool you into prematurely thinking you've got something great. No need for the pressure right now...plenty of that to come.

Let him have fun and develop. Don't rush...focus on the goal in front of you...making his HS varsity team as a freshman or sophomore.

Thanx to all for the great comments and suggestions :-) This board is awesome!!

I guess we'll see where he's at after his freshman year. Hopefully, he'll do well.

Hokieone, great post!! Will take it to heart.

Baseball25, thanx for your help!

Justbaseball, I think you sealed the deal for me!

Again, thanx to all who responded, I truly appreciate it!!

Garry

Jbbaseball, you have a PM!

Garry



To All: I didn't get any replies regarding the costs involved attending a PG event! Any ballpark figures?

Thanx, Garry

Garry -
Regional PG events may be different but their past showcases were $495. I suggest calling PG or posting a question on their message board for more information. Perfect Game website, look under "contacts".

Our experience: Son went to his first local showcase the summer between Freshman and Sophomore year. He was on HS Varsity. He then attended the PG Underclass showcase during his Soph year winter break. Did he start showcases too soon? Probably. But he was use to national competition from his travel team and really enjoyed going up against the best at each and every showcase he went to. In all, he attended 6 showcases and 2 camps. Hindsight, probably too many but we always treated them as family vacations and enjoyed seeing the events and meeting other families from across the country. Son's favorites were the PG events. IMO, the summer after Junior year is when you want to make sure he is scheduled to attend some top-level showcases and tournaments.

Thanx, RHP!

Wow, $500! I guess I'd better start working some overtime!!...lol

Garry