Lakeside Showcase - Augustana College

I think most of the best '09's in this region were playing at Silver Cross Field in Joliet yesterday.

I saw a lot of good ones at this event. Sounds like you are throwing "sour" seeds to me.

Get over it. Everyone cannot be everywhere! I also saw a lot of Top Prospects at the Perfect Game event last weekend in Cedar Rapids. The local events are certainly nice, but if you want to get maximum exposure, it is my opinion that you will do that best by getting out of the "region."

My son has several east coast college visits upcoming that are the outcome of getting out of the area. He now just wants to keep playing to stay sharp.

In the second Sunday game for the Norwood Blues, it was John Schreiber, Whitney Young Class of 2010 hitting a grand slam in win over the Bettendorf Bulldogs.

You need to include the Kenosha Indians in your list of Chicago area teams - most of the players on the roster are from the suburban Chicago area, in spite of their name.

Oh, and my son also has several east coast college visits upcoming, and he never played more than an hour from Chicago.

Kenosha Indians were at Augustana. However, I only met players/parents from Wisconsin.

Most players will only play in front of a handfull of college coaches who will really watch them. The odds of being seen increase if the player travels and goes to where the coaches are in abundance.

The recruiting process is not scientific, but the odds will go up in the players favor if they make the effort to make the trip and do the other things that are part and parcel with the process to making it happen. It is a common myth to think that somehow they will "find" a player. "A - List" prospects will get that kind of attention, but the reality is that it does not work that way for most.

Congrats to one of the "three sons" and good luck with the process. It is a big decision for a student athlete to make.

For your viewing pleasure, the Kenosha Indians Fall roster.

http://indiansyouthbaseball.com/2008_Fall_Roster.htm

Thanks for putting that up Mr. K.

Hmmmm... you only met players/parents from WI on the Kenosha Indians. And yet the roster shows all Illinois players. Interesting.

For many players it's not about making the effort, it's about not having the resources to travel the country in the hopes that they might get "seen". For my boys the dream has been about attending college - baseball is one more way to get noticed (along with good grades and being all around good people) and a whole bunch of fun in the process. They know it will end eventually - they just want to ride the wave as long as they can and come out on the other side with a good education and opportunities for gainful employment.

Attaboy Three... you hit that one a ton.. with only a slight hook.

Glad to hear the Norwood Blues did well. My son has been playing with them only on Sundays (due to cross country meets on Saturdays). Unfortunately I found out that his arm has been sore (it hurt during his last 3 innings at Chesterton) just behind his elbow. I called Coach Pildes Saturday night and let him know my son could not play. Then I talked to my son and told him he must speak out. He told me that at first it felt like normal soreness, but it was still hurting.
We just came back from the doctor and, as it turns out, he has triceps temditis just above the elbow. The doctor told him not to throw for about 4 weeks and has him going for physical therapy for 5 weeks, twice per week. So again, I'm glad to hear things went well for Norwood.

dm- a quick question. It seems you have done a good job getting jr. "seen" by a significantly high number of colleges, -i mean significant compared to most of us-. How is it going, have there been any offers you would like to tell us about? I would think yes and if so what are you telling them? What is the strategy, have you targeted schools and waiting or trying to leverage one agaist the other?

Dolphin Mom,

No sour seeds at all, I have no reason to have a sour taste in my mouth. My son played on the Kenosha Indians and competed against the likes of the Norwood Blues, Lakeside Cardinals, Lombard Lightning, etc. when he was 15. Hopefully your son can be invited to and compete in half of the events my son did across the nation. If so you should be a pretty proud papa.

Seeing as you have come to this revelation that your boy needs to get out of the "region" to get maximum exposure, what team will he be competing on down in Jupiter later this month?

How many scouts and college coaches were at the Lakeside Showcase last weekend?

Does anyone have a count of the number of scouts at the Hit & Pitch Showcase? Although that question isn't really fair seeing as this was an invite only for the best in Chicagoland.

Dolphin doesn't do anything to make a lot of people like him thats for sure. I'm betting the kid is pretty sharp.

I do however see a more sarcastic arrogance on the part of some of our Blue-Chip and semi-Blue-Chip dads. Yeah, your kids are studs and are headed off to play D-1 or maybe get drafted but so what? He gets ripped for talking about taking his kid elsewhere to get seen, while others talk about Jupiter, Area Code, etc and don't think twice about it. Is it more worthy for a kid to do that than it would be to end up playing baseball at a school like Harvard?

It's great that some kids are off to Jupiter or here or there, and they played with teams like Norwood when they were young, but what gives? Isn't it enough that any kid is playing and is going to keep on playing? You did it your way and your kid has the work ethic and talent to get where he is....why rip on someone who has a different plan for their kid who maybe isn't quite as talented or as physically mature as others?

I don't think you'll see Dolphin's kid at Miami or Arizona State or maybe not even Illinois or Northern Illnois. Maybe Dolphin does know a little more than a lot of others here about the kinds of schools that his kid will likely attend. And maybe he knows that those schools are far more plentiful elsewhere than they are here. I just hope he lets his kid do the talking once they are there. Regardless, Im sure he is a pretty proud papa as it is.

FBD, very well stated. All these local kids and their parents listening to the hype of playing in Jupiter or wherever, when the majority don't leave the state to go to college.

Now, if you're planning on staying close to home, then being invited to the P & H Showcase would be a great opportunity to be seen by local or midwest schools.

Best event my son attended was the Headfirst Honor Roll Camp in Va. Scouted by the best academic schools around including Div 1, II, and III. Amherst, Tufts, or the Ivy's don't rely on a Jupiter sighting to find their recruits.

Finally, DM is pretty hard to take at times, but a plan is a plan, and that beats not having one.

itsrosy,

There are many good opportunities for young players.

I would like to correct something, though.

Georgetown and nearly every, if not every, Ivy school is in Jupiter every October. Not sure about Tufts. They surely do care who is there. They have recruited many players out of that event.

Harvard is one Ivy that attends many PG and WWBA events, their roster is over half full of players who played in those events. Ask Joe Walsh!

Not just Hype, at all. It is the biggest "scouting attraction" in all of baseball. It doesn't need any hype!

That said, there is no single must event. There are lots of other opportunities for Illinois and midwest kids these days. Especially those who want to stay close to home.

I hear what you guys are saying but I think that you are being a little too open minded with Mom. These blue chip dads probably represent a larger group who, after reading yet another post about how his kid scratched himself succesfully, are wanting to scream out, "My kid got himself a scholarship and all he did was play local tournaments. He didn't have to travel to the South of France in order to pitch an inning of relief and only allow two unearned runs." We all know parents that brag a little too much about their kids. Having to enter daily updates on how junior is doing in his high school summer league games against a bunch of second string sophomores so his fans in India can read about it is a little over the top. In addition, I believe that some of us are a little envious of his financial situation during these times of layoffs etc. We all wish that we could provide for our kids as appparently Mom can, but we do the best that we can on our own budgets. In summary, I think that these blue chip dads are just saying what we all want to say and Dolphin Mom has no problem stating and that is that they are proud of their kids also.

PG, I hear what you're saying. What I tried to point out is how many of those players who end up at the schools mentioned are from Illinois? Playing all around the country is great, we've done it, but if you're staying in-state there are many opportunites to be seen by those coaches and recruiters right here at home.

If DM wants to post about his kid then let him. If you get tired of reading it than don't read it. Pretty simple. No need to rip the person & more power to him for getting his kid exposed. Now we get a new term - the "blue chip dad?" There are many people experiencing that process with their kid for the first time & what is wrong with someone sharing that experience too. If you don't want to read it, than don't read it. It just seems there is way too much ripping going on, on all fronts. I'd like to see everyone's kid be successful - no matter where they end up.

I agree with nc42. It makes them look pompous. If the negativity continues I'm going to have to lock this thread.

Sorry if some have taken my post as sarcastic, arrogant or pompus. After reading numerous threads and posts for a few years, mostly in the Illinois forum, I guess it has all rubbed off on me.

For years I have dealt with the Illinois way of thinking on the ball diamond since my son was 13. You can take this to the bank, this board isn't much different than what our teams had to deal with coaches, players and parents being sarcastic, arrogant and being pompus. Not all mind you, but way more than people from other states should ever have to deal with. I never did it to other teams, but because I'm from another state and don't have as much money these people from Illinois are better than me? PATHETIC! And you know who you are!

Someone once said, "It ain't braggin if you can do it." I'm not so sure about that. But I do know that if you can't do it or are just average, you definitely shouldn't be braggin.

Maybe if a few people whine and cry they can pm the moderator we can get this thread locked. Thats the way people in this forum roll, say everything they want to say and get their jabs in and when someone says something they don't agree with go make the moderator aware.

seedthrower, what you are doing is called "projecting". You are calling other people out for doing what you consistently do. The people that know who your are also know your track record with travel teams here in Illinois. No one in Illinois misses you now that you went back to Wisconsin. By the way, this has nothing to do with your son who is a good player and decent kid.

I apologize if I was overzealous in commenting on another contributor's posts. My main point was to defend the right of other individuals to make positive comments about their sons also.

I would have to disagree with PG about one thing. IMO Jupiter is a "must" event. I'm not saying its a required event for playing at the next level (it is very very helpful however as it is one stop shopping for all types of colleges) and if you don't attend you're on the outside looking in, but rather the experience of Jupiter is something your son will always reminder if you do go. IMO its the Vatican of amateur baseball. In that vein its a "must". Make the effort if you can.

I hope that my prior post here was not read as put down. my inquiry is genuine. We are going through this process right now, although i must admit it is going slower than we -maybe i- would like. I think my jr. has comparable attributes as some of the position player already verbally committed. He recently went to a D1 camp and ran a 6.9, 6.8,threw 84 from SS, and hit well. Btw, in the summer state playoffs he safe hit in every game(9), and turned around every lefty that has since gone D1. So i guess it really is an issue of exposure.

Now, not sour grapes. Jr's plan is to continue to work in the offseason get faster, improve footwork, and maybe add a little to the arm strength and see what happens come April.

Is your son calling coaches directly and telling them about his credentials? Is he calling a realistic level of D1 schools?

First, I am one not bothered by DM's "promotions". Read 'em or not, who cares?
WHen it comes to playing D1 versus D3 I am proud to say my son, at this stage of his career, is a solid D3 player; if his fastball was stronger he could go D1. He will throw faster once cross country is over but will commit to a D3 school. However, as we've posted before, EDUCATION comes first. Only a very small fraction of the players will ever get drafted, let alone make the majors. Guess what? Our kids will need to eventually have a working career.
The only time we went out of state is the HeadFirst Camp last August. I agree with Itsrosy (my son played a year with his son); it was a great deal for our money. The other one was the Stevenson showcase. The Norwood Blues wanted him to play after watching him pitch in the Summer Varsity tournament in 2007, after his sophomore year. They wanted him again this summer but we stayed and played for the Highland Park legion team. Guess what? With that limited exposure he still heard from 41 colleges. I think the postman hates delivering to our house! Sixteen of these have requested transcripts and videos. Three have offered a full academic scholarship. So a BIG advantage of a D3 school is a free education versus a partial schlorship. Many of the D3 schools are academically rated higher than many of the D1 schools. So that rating, plus graduating debt free is a big plus for us. I just hope he chooses one of the close to home schools versus the east coast ones so it will make it easier to see him play. In addition to pitching he will also get a shot at playing third base, something that is a bit rare at D1 schools. The down side of this much exposure is he is pretty confused about where he wants to go.

Tralpaz, I think the process is harder on the parents than the child many times. Just make sure your son enjoys going through the process, even if you get stressed out.


BBfan that is a great post, best of luck to your son on his decision.

Some people dont travel to certain tourneys like Jupiter solely for the purpose of trying to get noticed by the colleges and obtain a scholly . Believe it or not , some kids like the challenge of playing against the best...especially the midwest kids going up against the southern kids . No better place to do this than Jupiter . Make no mistake about it ( from a hitters perspective ) ...you will not go up against better pitching in any one tournament than you would in Jupiter . That goes a long way in bettering oneself with an eye toward the future. To the parents who say they their kids can achieve their college goals without traveling too far away ..thats great ...but thats not the main reason my kid is going /has gone to Jupiter . That way of reasoning ---The chicago kid playing in jupiter will end up going to college in the midwest anyway----why go ? --is a skewered way of looking at it . WE choose to go for different reasons.

I'd like to share one thing. There is a young man (Cishek) who plays with my oldest son. When Cishek was a senior he topped out at 82 mph. He ended up at a D-2 because that is where he "fit." After working hard in school, he was drafted as a 5th rounder & now throws 91-95. I am not saying it will happen to everyone but don't give up the ship because everything is not in place at age 18.

My youngest son absolutely hates the phrase..."It (velocity) will come." Nobody, other than the man upstairs really knows the answer to that. But you know, it may never come but if you have fun trying that is really all that matters in the end.

How tall was he at 18, and now?

sulltiger24 - I agree. My son loves to play against the better teams and players and has usually showed very well and has surprised many a coach and opposing player because they figure he isn't throwing hard and therefore "has nothing". In all 3 of his losses this year he only gave up 1 earned run in each. However we don't have the time or means to do all the traveling so we're content to play here.
nc42dad - Chisek sounds alot like my son. Everyone calls him "projectable". He currently averages 82 as well and is 6' 3 1/2", thus "projectable". However, that will be only if he works his butt off after crosscountry is over, which he intends to do. He knows he will finish all 4 years of college, thus he has until 2013 to fulfill "projectable". He also matured late, so he is just now growing into his body.

According to my son, it wasn't that Cishek grew much more... it was more a function of him getting stronger. Isn't projectibility great?

My oldest jumped about 6 mph in one summer (after Jr. year) & I still can't figure that one out. He didn't get taller & he didn't gain any weight to speak of. So why did it happen with him & not with kid #2? There is no answer......maybe like the Cub fan, wait til next year.

It is probably on a thread somewhere but I really don't think anyone can predict IF the velocity is "going to come." The entire recruiting process for pitchers, right or wrong, revolves around how hard you throw. Like it or not, that is the way it is. It is frustrating to kids when they work their rear ends off, and then it never comes. That is why IMO you better be having some fun because in the end there is probably more heartbreak headed most kids way than the alternative success story like Cishek.

Thanks nc42dad. If you figure out how your son got the extra six miles an hour, please share it with the rest of us.

We have definitely had a plan. As they say, not having a plan is a sure plan to fail. One part of the plan has been to work on increasing velocity which has improved from 79 mph in June to 83 mph a few weeks ago at the end of September (with an 85 mph radar reading in August).

He will make his visits. From this point going forward, the decision from here on out is all his to make. He is the one who has to live with it.

This is all pretty much uncharted waters.

Seedthrower

Not all the top talent in the region was at Silver Cross field last weekend . Lots of top talent was playing in Lexington Kentucky for Cangelosi . The boys had a great time playing on an SEC field .

Sounds like a lot of you are starting to agree with Dolphin Moms approach to the recruiting process --about time

quote:

Originally posted by sulltiger24:
Sounds like a lot of you are starting to agree with Dolphin Moms approach to the recruiting process --about time

That may be one of the most arrogant posts yet.

Gee..why does your response not surprise me ?

Arrogant is a bit strong ..wouldnt ya say

Consider the imagery that goes along with your post...shaking a finger, "bout time you guys came around, told ya so"...pretty arrogant...evidenced even further by your trite sarcasm. Care to pile more evidentiary fuel on the fire?

I don't see anyone agreeing to Dolphin Mark Moms approach, that's a fig newton of your imagination. So your whole statement lacks foundation. People only acknowledged that he had a plan, I didn't see a soul subscribe to it, most people here aren't that foolish. Why would anyone "come around" to something that hasn't worked?