How many showcase teams are there in Virginia?

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Originally posted by VABaseballFan4:

Is there a list of all the showcase teams located in Virginia?

No list... but here are a few that I can think of right off hand...

Canes/ NoVA Patriots/ Richmond Braves/ Mid-Atlantic Pirates/ VA Nights/ Mid-Atlantic Cardinals/ Mid-Atlantic Mustangs/ Drillers

Some of these organizations have teams at the youger age level. As the players for these organizations get older the teams start venturing into the showcase arena (the Drillers are a good example). It would be interesting to know how many teams there are.

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Originally posted by Swampboy:

quote:

Originally posted by VABaseballFan4:

[QUOTE]Do all the showcase teams charge fees? Also what does it cost to play for these teams?

Not all do. Virginia Cardinals and the new RBAWest team do not. Don't know if they have teams young enough for your 13 year old, but others at this site can tell you.

Many teams charge between about $1000 and $1500 for a busy summer (not including travel and meals). Lots of variables can affect the price significantly, including roster size, salary for coaches, number of tournaments, and sponsorships.

I could be wrong...but looking at the RBA West site, the only team that doesn't have any fees is the 18 year old elite team. For the rest of their teams the players have to pay fees (Tournaments ("East Cobb and 5 Others), Hotels, Coaches Fees, Practices, Uniforms, Hats").

Participation fees (other than for the Va. Cardinals and the RBA West Elite team) that I've seen range from $1,000 to $3,000. But it should also be noted that a lot of times a team will waive fees in order to lure in a player they view as the type who will draw scouts to their games. There is no law or rule requiring that everyone on the team pay the same amount, and the guys who run the team tend to keep these special deals confidential from the families who're paying full price.

There are very few teams who provide any help with travel expenses, so hotel, transport and meals are usually expenses the player's family incurs on top of the participation fee.

Among the teams I've seen are the Canes North, Canes South, Richmond Braves National, Richmond Braves American, Richmond Braves Showcase, Virginia Cardinals, RBA West American, RBA West National, (coming in 2011) RBA West Elite, Hitters Warehouse, Mid-Atlantic Pirates, Mid-Atlantic Mets, Mid-Atlantic Red Sox (largely from MD but with some VA players), NoVa Stars, Patriots of NoVa Red, Patriots of NoVa Blue, Tidewater Drillers, Central Va. Sting, Cubs North (not sure they still exist), Va. Bandits, Capital City Titans and Mid-Atlantic Mustangs (possibly being replaced by the All-Americna Prospects North, not sure how that's coming along).

With apologies to anyone I've forgotten, that's all I can think of at the moment.

Additional showcase teams I remember from this past summer, which I believe were Virgnia based, are: Dominion Dragons, Blue Ridge Baseball, Prospects Elite (NOVA), Herndon Braves,
Osbourn Baseball, Roanoke Badgers and
Blasters Showcase (associated with Blue Ridge Hitting).

Canes fee was $650 for spring 2010 and $650 for the fall 2010 plus uniform costs.

Cubs North have merged with NOVA Patriots

Latest list of VA Showcase teams:
https://spreadsheets.google.co...CO6IgYoH&hl=en#gid=1

Very accurate spreadsheet that's open for all of us to make some edits if the need arises.

Virginia Renegades

http://www.eteamz.com/renegadebaseball/

Updated to include Renegades:
https://spreadsheets.google.co...CO6IgYoH&hl=en#gid=1

BTW: the answer to the Topic is 27.

Updated:
https://spreadsheets.google.co...CO6IgYoH&hl=en#gid=1

Sheet is open for additions and revisions, so if any teams are missing, please insert a line and add away.

Have 32 teams listed.

I have been reading some of these posts and I would like to share with you what I do for our team.

I have the Virginia Nationals team here is Salem, VA and it all started in 2004. I put together a group of players that wanted to play and get better, but I also make sure that I had a group of parents that supported ALL the players and the team.

When I start to look at places to play and layout a schedule I let the parents have a say in where and when we play. The coaches get together and we try to preplan for this. The reason I do this is we all pay a fee and NO body gets a free ride. We have days where the players go out and work to make money for the team. This makes them take ownership in what we are doing. There is alot of time put into the program and we have had success with it.

There have been teams that have been started under our name and they are doing the same things and are also having success. I feel that if we as parents pay for all this, then we are not teaching our kids to work for things that they want.

The one thing that I guess makes me upset is being told if you don't have all D1 players we don't want you. Well I have learned that not all players are D1 and maybe a D2, D3, but it is my job as a coach to make sure that I place them in the best showcases/tournaments for them to have a chance to be seen and for the coaches/scouts to see them.

So with alot of talk about paying and with out having a 501C and Corporate sponsors ships it is up to the parents and players to fund this if they want to play.

One of the things that has been said "is it worth it?". Well if you go to the right Showcases/Tournaments it is well worth it especially when a college coach walks up to you and ask about a couple of your players and then hands you a letter to give to them on his behalf. This happened this past Fall and as a coach I was so happy for the players and parents. You get out of the program what you ALL put into it. Remember that nothing in life is FREE you have to work for it.

If you would like to see our website go to www.leaguelineup.com/virginia

Thanks

There's a lot to be said for that approach and I definitely support the infusion of work ethic into the young men.

The problem I've seen is that this model really only works when your entire roster is from a particular area. When you have players from all over, and you never meet up except for game weekends, it's just impossible to pull off.

I forgot to say that all of our players are from the area and we try to practice 2-3 times a week. Being on the Western end of the state there are not alot of players that want to do this, but we are still looking.

VA Showcase Team Tracker updated to include VA Knights web site:
https://spreadsheets.google.co...CO6IgYoH&hl=en#gid=1

Lets all be honest here.. How many teams on that google document are really, and truly "Showcase" Teams?

In my opinion a team compiled of 18 kids that has less than 5 kids on it that will play baseball at the next level is not a "showcase" team. Just my opinion.

I think a lot of parents are spending money on bad judgement, or someone isnt telling them the truth on what they can, and cant deliver.

Just b/c you go to a "Showcase" Tournament does not mean you are going to be seen by anyone. You can go to a Richmond Braves Tournament, Dynamic Tournament, Impact Tournament, Perfect Game Tournament etc.. If you dont have highly touted players on your roster that are legit prospects you will not be seen.

All this should be taken into consideration when dropping the word "showcase"..

A lot of the teams on that list have a long ways to go before they are really a "showcase" team. I guess "showcase" is really relative to who you are trying to "showcase" to.. Maybe some of these teams just want to "showcase" thierselves to thier parents if thats your goal then so be it..

Which begs the question: what is a showcase team? How do you define a showcase team? What is the criteria to be categorized as a showcase team?

Or is it akin to the definition of pornography: I'll know it when I see it.*

*"I can't define pornography, but I know it when I see it." (Justice Stewart in Jacobellis v. Ohio 378 US 184 (1964).

I think it means many different things and people will adopt whichever one fits their situation. This is the same as when travel ball teams spun off from Little League.

The definition I have adopted is what many college coaches have told me about showcase baseball - it is a place where players will either get exposure or be exposed.

I understand the point, though. At some point, everybody and his brother is claiming to be a "showcase" team.

I try to clarify with players and their parents the difference between showcases, on the one hand, and exposure tournaments, on the other. Both play key roles in the recruiting process.

Really any of the high school aged travel teams can enter exposure tournaments. And any player can pay to participate in a showcase. So, while the confusion over the technical use of the term "showcase" to refer to a team (as opposed to an individual evaluation event) is common, to the extent someone is trying to puff up their team's image, it doesn't matter one whit in the end what you call yourself.

Not everyone who gets exposure will benefit from it. You need it to succeed, but exposure alone won't do it. As Redbird's comment indicates, exposure is just the opportunity. You have to capitalize on that opportunity. If you don't perform well, it doesn't matter who you play for.

It does pay to be on a talent-laden team, though, because the more talent you have, the more scouts will come to see your team play, and thus, the more opportunities you will have to make a favorable impression -- if you can. And to the extent that we are seeing a metastasizing of the number of high school aged travel teams out there, some of which don't have all that much in the way of collegiate level talent, the fact that the term "showcase team" is used in a self-promoting way by any team as a way of enticing players is something everyone needs to be aware of.

In the end, all boasting has to be taken with more than a grain of salt, whether by a team or by any player.

Coming to the conclusion that it's a "watch what I do, not what I say" situation. To that end, judge the degree to which a squad is a showcase team by the schedule that it plays, and how it performs. Caveat vis-a-vis "performs": game results in showcase tournaments, as well as where past players end up in the next step of their baseball career (if there is a next step).

So if I were to revise that Google list of showcase teams, I'd insert a link to the team's published schedule.

Showcase teams take time to develop. One of the most, if not the most important part of that development is to build and maintain the contacts at the next level. The kids do the work on the field, but if the organization is not working with the schools/coaches, it can be tough and very frustrating. Once these relationships have been established and the talent is there, things happen, year after year. It is a lot of hard work, but for the $$$$ some of these teams charge, it should be expected.

Two examples of this.

Dominion Dragons, over the years there has been a lot of talent that has played with this organization. Many kids have signed at the next level, but they have done so once moving to a different team. Good training/facility, high level play but not enough contacts at the next level.

NVTBL Stars, again, a lot of talent. Early on not a lot of signings at the next level. Hard work at the top changed that and just look at the success the past two years.

I would consider both of these teams, showcase, but not even close as far as end results.

My point is, there are a lot of good teams and early on you need to go where you get playing time and can develop your game. At some point you will need to try-out or get invited to play with a team that has shown the capability to get kids to the next level.

Finally, don't be afraid to attend a few, very thought out, individual showcases. These can be successful if you do your homework on what schools will be there and make some contacts before the actual showcase.

NVTBL Stars in the last couple of years have really emerged as a fantastic team and I believe that it has a lot to do with their training during the week. They travel a lot for weekend events but also come together during the week to play/train. Couple that with the fact that they linked up with Prospect Sports Training where they are doing sprint work and focused cross training and it really seems to work.

Last few weeks at Diamond Skills they have had a number of kids go sub 6.8 due to the SPARQ training at Prospects. My own son ran into the 6.4's this week after training with them... Great group in the NOVA area and Carroll is top notch...

I'd be curious what a college coach looks for at these events. If I had to guess it's mostly pitching. Let's face it how much can you tell from 1 or 2 at bats other than the general nature of the swing and bat speed. Defensively you might get a handful of chances spread out over a game for someone to make the throw from the hole, chase one down in the gap or make a throw to the plate or 3rd.

Pitchers on the other hand will get 70-90 pitches. It gives them the chance to show what kind of stuff they have, how they work, durability, react to adversity when the defense let's them down or a flare or two fall. If pitching is 80 or 90% of the game then I think it's arms college guys look for.

With the return of bats that act more like wood maybe being able to actually hit will matter again. For the last 20 years it's been try to get to 3-1 and take two monster swings in case you hit it because it might go out and you're a star. Any 175 lb kid taking a big hack at a 85-87 MPH fastball can hit it 400 feet.

I talked with some of the coaches that have been e-mailing my son there at the event and the guys that I talked to said that they were looking at things like bat speed in the cage and for any speed guys on the track that really stood out. I got the feeling that it sort of gave them an idea going into the spring of who might be on their radar that they had not seen before.

For us I believe that it was well worth the time...

List of VA Showcase teams updated with as many 2011 as could be found:
https://spreadsheets.google.co...CO6IgYoH&hl=en#gid=1

Anyone have a link to the VA Drillers web site?