Newbie with a Quesstion

Get the details. There are quite a few 'national' teams that charge dearly for the privelege. Dig into the background of the coaches. Ask for some former player references and call the parent. I have no experience with MVP Baseball, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express the other night.

I agree with RedSoxFan. My son received an email from MVP in December asking him to play with them in a tournament in Kissimmee (Orlando), Florida. My son gladly would have played because we live an hour away. However, the fee per player was more than an entire team's entry fee. I called him out on this and his response was that they are coached by MLB scouts and players. He claimed it would be the best experience my son ever had. Well, I can tell you, we knew it wouldn't be. The money he wanted was about half a summer fee for an elite travel team that plays 7 tournaments in the summer including WWBA at EastCobb, BCS in Ft. Myers, TeamOne in Jupiter and others (all of which are well attended by scouts).

Needless to say I was quite insulted. Please make an informed decision. It is easy to get flattered at the start of this process by invites to play "national tournaments". I'm not saying your son isn't a great player, he very well may be, but tread carefully. My son has been invited to everything under the sun. Early on we had that excitement of wanting to play at a national showcase/tournament. Your son has plenty of time to be seen. If he plays summer ball at the big tournaments and is good enough, he will be seen.

Of course, if you are loaded,I guess you can do it. But if you are not wealthy like many of us, I wouldn't do it unless it was very cheap and did not require travel.

Obviously, this struck a chord with me. I will get off of my soap box now Best of luck to your son in this journey. Feel free to PM me for more info.

By the way,welcome to the site. You will learn a lot here from some great people who are always willing to help.

quote:

Originally posted by RedSoxFan21:
, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express the other night.

I miss those ads.

Thanks so much for the advice. I have been able to talk to some parents with experience.

quote:

Originally posted by Patriot_2016_Dad:
I have been able to talk to some parents with experience.

Then, is there any additional info you can share that may help others?

Don't they do the Academic Head Start showcases?

It turned out that some older players from our high school had played with MVP before. A couple of the players had played in more than one tournament. After talking to the parents, this is what I got. The kids that went to Omaha had a wonderful experience. When a couple of them went to Atlanta for another national tournament, they did not. I got a biiigggg lesson on some things to look for in the future.

In the Omaha tournament, there were only 14 players. The kids were listed as position players. They got to play plenty of innings and really enjoyed the experience. Also, they indicated a lot of training time between games. The parents did tell me not to expect a lot of colleges though. Of course, having a 2016, I made the decision to do it for the experience. If he's willing to put in the work, his time will come.

In the Atlanta tournament, there were over 20 players on the team. They were listed as pitchers and pitched in a couple different games. Very few innings in the field. Because they only played a couple of innings in the field, they didn't get many ABs which was the most disappointing aspect to them as there were a lot of colleges there.

Being a newbie to all this, the first question I will now ask is how many players are going to be on the team. The second question is whether he is being asked as a position player or pitcher. He does both well, but I don't want him pigeon-holed as soley a pitcher right now.

I don't know how it turns out, but I'll come back at the end of June and let you know.

Let the buyer beware.

A lot of money to go to events that other high quality better connected and respected as well as lower cost teams go to. You can do much better than this IMO.

Ill add my 2cents after attending a "showcase" with this organization.  First of all, it was not a showcase but a tryout rather.  Sure they ran it just like a showcase (minus the game/scrimmage).  The players all ran the 60, infield throws for velocity, OF throws to 3rd and home, all IF positions had many fungo's hit to them to judge footwork, hands, etc.  Catchers had pop times and blocking skills.  Pitchers threw 10 pitches in a bull pen for velocity.  Ended with BP. 

 

The goods:  Best 75 bucks i have spent.  bballdadJR was able to get a feel for the showcase environment, stress, perform under pressure, etc.  He did not know it was really just a "try out" for the MVP teams.  The "college recruiting speech" was also informative and i agreed with 90% of what they had to say concerning the subject. 

 

The Bads:  It’s a sales pitch for MVP.  They are the only people there.  They stress that you can’t do it without them.  They don’t believe in JUCO placement.  Those who threw BP were lacking in the basic ability (with the exception of one thrower), I felt bad for some of the kids that had to swing at that stuff.  They also push TOP 96.  And finally $$$$$$$$$$.  If you want the $ info, let me know and ill scan and send you the price list.  It’s disgusting!

 

In the end, i did my research well before attending.  I knew it was really a "try out" and not a "showcase".  But I went into it knowing that it was a very small fee (75$) to attend while allowing my son to get his feet wet and experience a showcase environment that will mean nothing in the end.  I got my 75 bucks worth, and that’s all I’m spending...

 

The majority in attendance were Sr's and Jr's.  I have to say i was appalled at how little anyone knew about recruiting, college baseball, etc.  I sat there listening to the MVP staff talk to all of the parents for an hour and a half about some of the most basic college recruiting concepts: Videos, emails, contact periods, head coach vs. recruiting coordinator, 11.7 rule.  I looked around and they all had the deer in the headlights look and some were franticly taking notes.  Thank God for the HSBBWEB.  I have learned more here than I ever thought.