Thanks Red, the reason I asked is in your opinion and experience with the Tidewater area do you believe that the some of the potential talent is going underserved/unnoticed due to lack of quality showcase (excluding your organization, Pirates, Lynnhaven and Drillers, jury still out on Hitters U) teams for individuals at a reasonable cost. I know all about the Braves and other organizations in NVA but there really seems to be a serious lacking of affordable options and good coaching/mentors to the individuals who might be a PG 8 or just don’t have the resources to get that extra polish. The Tidewater area has so many Athletic Players that just go unnoticed and underserved. There are several 2012s that have been mentioned here on HSBW and other forums that are not getting that polish (i.e. Staskey, Hinton, Moynihan, Lighton) just my observation.
quote:there really seems to be a serious lacking of affordable options
We (Virginia Cardinals) are free, if you can make the cut. No player fee, hotels and van transportation also provided.
You just have to be good enough to make the cut.
We did not have any Tidewater players come out for our team last spring. But we would certainly welcome them. We did "borrow" a Chesapeake guy from the Pirates to pitch twice (arranged through Bobby), so I'm hopeful we might get a little more grapevine going down that way.
Watch this board for an announcement for our late fall tryouts for next summer's roster. I'll probably have that nailed down by early October, for late October/early November tryouts.
As for the others, I think what's affordable may depend on what you're after. I know the Canes and Braves have taken steps to assure that players can somehow get the money taken care of. And I know those teams deliver an excellent return on your investment. There are teams that take a lot of money and don't necessarily deliver a return, but if you're a player of sufficient caliber to make the Braves' A team or the Canes, you are very likely to see that return.
The key, of course, is that you have to be good enough.
As for coaching/mentors, I don't look for these teams to provide a lot of one on one instruction. Players can always learn game situations, etc. But when you're on one of these teams, the idea is that your talent has already been developed and you're ready to go and just seek exposure. For one thing, most of them seldom or never hold a practice, they just meet at game sites. These sorts of teams are for the home stretch -- taking a player who's done what he needed to do to develop talents and skills, and putting him where he needs to be to go after a college deal.
quote:how many of those players are realtively unknown to the long time posters like Midlo and Redbird?
Most of these guys were off the top travel teams -- Canes and Cardinals included -- and we encouraged them to attend as part of their exposure/recruitment process.
redgird...Midlo...could you PM me please...I am a rookie and can't figure the PM thing out!
Thanks in advance
Thanks in advance
Midlo I commend your organization (Virginia Cardinals) for being free if you can make the cut (talent wise) correct me if I am wrong but the Cardinals are primarily NVA area Players. The point of my observation is that players from the Tidewater area that are on the cusp of the teams you mentioned do not have their needs met to take it to the higher level without a little polish and opportunity. The Players that are at the levels you speak of have had the means and opportunity to rise to the level which they are currently. I am in no way saying that just because the parents say players could be on a certain team they should be there. In the Tidewater area if the players have the means to get the polish it is available for a fee. When I came up (long time ago LOL) Coaches at various levels were there to teach and not just showcase talent that is readily apparent. I believe Coach May (paraphrasing) said it is easy to spot the diamonds that have been polished… but to take a piece of coal. Tidewater has a wealth of talent that just needs the polish again this is my observation. High School Coaches don’t have the time or sometimes the skill to polish (develop) and opportunities are fleeting or unattainable for various reasons.
IMO, showcase teams do not polish - they are a means to surround yourself with similar talent. Many college coaches will say they allow you to gain exposure or be exposed.
I have coached many of the 8.5+'s (and against them) since they were 10. The basics were instilled back then. Now, it is simply a matter of getting bigger, strong and faster. Late bloomers happen but they already have the fundamentals down and are waiting on size and strength to kick in.
I may be a minority among showcase coaches but I do A LOT of instructing, working with my kids before and after games. After they leave the weekend, it is their responsibility to continue working on the things we discussed during the week.
As for the players you mention, Moynihan is a Cane. We have tweaked some things in his delivery and swing to help improve him. Late in the summer, he saw much better results and I am hopeful he will develop into a solid D-1 player. Staskey played with the Braves and is now playing with the Pirates. Hinton plays with HItter's Warehouse. Lighton is a 2011.
I have coached many of the 8.5+'s (and against them) since they were 10. The basics were instilled back then. Now, it is simply a matter of getting bigger, strong and faster. Late bloomers happen but they already have the fundamentals down and are waiting on size and strength to kick in.
I may be a minority among showcase coaches but I do A LOT of instructing, working with my kids before and after games. After they leave the weekend, it is their responsibility to continue working on the things we discussed during the week.
As for the players you mention, Moynihan is a Cane. We have tweaked some things in his delivery and swing to help improve him. Late in the summer, he saw much better results and I am hopeful he will develop into a solid D-1 player. Staskey played with the Braves and is now playing with the Pirates. Hinton plays with HItter's Warehouse. Lighton is a 2011.
quote:correct me if I am wrong but the Cardinals are primarily NVA area Players.
Although we had some NoVa kids try out last spring, actually we had none make our roster. We would love to see that change, but there do seem to be a lot of options for kids up that way, so I'm not sure if we'll succeed in attracting them or not. Only time will tell.
Rich Graham and I both live in Chesterfield, so most of the guys we are familiar with are in the Central region. But we did have players from Culpeper, Charlottesville, Spotsylvania and Chesapeake play with us this year. We would love to branch out even more in the coming years.
...or pony up another $550...hmm?