Professional Tryout

Is there any problem with HS eligibility? We lost 2 players a couple years back because they did that.

"Although there are no tryouts or "walk-ons" specifically for the Whitecaps, the Tigers do hold several tryout camps around the Midwest each summer. These one-day tryouts are generally open to players from 16 to 23 years of age. Don't expect to be signed directly out of these camps, though - If you are one of the few who do catch the eye of the scouts, what they will do is add you to their list of players to scout at high school or college games for the next couple of years to determine whether they should draft or sign you." 

This is what the website had to say. I will check with our schools AD and see what he says.

Very good idea to go regardless of talent level.  If he has talent then he's being seen by the right people.  Even if he doesn't have pro talent they may be able to help get your name to people they know at college level (don't rely on this though).  If they don't have talent then now they can see just how good the talent pool is they are going against.  It may make him realize he doesn't have the talent or he needs to pick the work ethic up some.  The last pro is that it's free.

 

Stats does make a good point about making sure it's legal in your state.

These tryouts are a good way for a HS player to get a sense of what competition looks like at the next level. I've never heard of any HS eligibility issues arising from a kid attending one, but state athletic associations can be as clueless as the NCAA, so I wouldn't put it past them.

 

 

Definitely check with your state's regulations.

 

Here in Virginia, the VHSL has an agreement with MLB.  MLB is prohibited from signing HS players while they are still eligible for participation in HS athletics.  They can, however, talk to HS athletes during that time.  HS athletes have to have written permission from the HS principal to attend professional tryouts and no more than 5 students can attend the tryout.

 

Your state probably has something similar.

 

 

FoxDad, can you provide the link or page from the VHSL to where you have to have written permission from the principal to tryout?   Thanks.  Had not heard of this before.

Keewart - Google VHSL and go to the VHSL website and look for the handbook.  I believe the information was on P. 192.  It is specifically regarding baseball.

This is the response I got from our High School AD...

He may tryout, however, if he signs a contract or accepts any gift or money valued at over $25.00,  he would lose his high school Eligibilty...

I emailed the MHSAA to get their answer also.

I don’t know for sure what was the exact reason our guys got pinged, but I’m pretty sure they accepted airplane tickets accommodations and meals, and I know for sure they didn’t have permission from anyone. The worst thing about it was that a local area scout arranged the whole thing, and he should have known better.

 

The most interesting thing about it was, a local coach whose team was defeated by ours in the playoffs, appealed to get the loss overturned because of the incident. Unfortunately, he wasn’t aware that his best player was down in Oakland trying out for the A’s, the same day our guys were in LA trying out for the Dodgers! All in all, it was a pretty embarrassing thing for everyone.

That's pretty interesting as my son recently went to a private tryout and no one offered him a dime for his transportation. Were these high profile players? I think that we have gone over this before a while back with scorekeeper.

I am pretty sure that one cannot try out or play for another team until their season is over that would be for HS as well as D1. So that is why they most likely got dinged.

Going to an open tryout is good for your son, as RK points out it gives you the opportunity to view the competition.

The website pretty much says it all.

No more high profile than anyone else really. One got offered a contract and is still playing rookie ball in his 3^rd year. The other played JUCO ball, but as far as I know isn’t playing any longer.

 

As for what they were given or not, I don’t really know because I’m not them, their parents, the team they tried out for, or the scout who set it up. The only thing I know for sure is what one of the parents told us. Maybe he was lying through his teeth, maybe he wasn’t. I don’t really care now and didn’t really care when it happened. All I know is, if all of the participants didn’t know what they were doing was wrong, someone in authority would have been told, but they kept it a big secret, then had the audacity to feign indignation and ignorance when they got caught. No one cares what happened to either one of them. It was a huge embarrassment for the school and the coach, and the other boys on the team suffered needlessly for it.

No problem with going. I've heard of tryouts where they charge money. I would NEVER go to those. I participated in a couple of pro tryouts when I was playing college ball. Depending on the weather, morning will be timed running, arm strength, and batting cages. The pitchers will have their own time to throw a modified bullpen. Afternoon tends to be scrimmage play. There will be a couple of area college coaches out helping as well.

My son is turning 17 next month and is a junior in H.S. He wants to know where he is at compared to some of the older players there. Will they give him an evaluation sheet or let you know that they are interested?

In California by CIF rule, a player is ineligible if he tries out for a professional team during the playing season.  However, most players who have the opportunity for a tryout will take the risk.

 

605. PROFESSIONAL TRYOUT
A student shall become ineligible for CIF competition if he/she participates in any tryout for a professional team in any CIF approved sport during the high school season of sport. The season of sport for a school is that period of time that elapses between the first interscholastic contest and the final contest in that particular sport.

 

You/son will fill out a questionnaire. I remember one of the tryouts I was at it was filled out on a index card. Anyways, they will appoint every participant a number and when it is their time to run, they will jot the time on the card. Typically you get two timed runs. Then they will have everyone throw distance. I'm not sure how they grade arm strength? Maybe just eye test and give A-F rating? Same as batting cages. As far as feedback, they will not tell the player their "grades". As far as asking? I'm not certain what the will do. However, you can get your run time from the timer. EVERYONE likes to know what they ran. Then again, if you are a speedster, most eyes tend to stay with you throughout the course of the day. The pro scouts LOVE speed, you know, unless you can pitch in the mid 90's+ range.