Quakes Pre-summer Showcase

I have no direct experience with this showcase... I held off enrolling my son because of the high price, the fact that no top HA players I knew attended, and the coaches are not known in the area for having top players in the program.  On a recruiting trip with my son I asked an Ivy coach how this showcase got all the Ivy's to attend... he said matter-of-factly the coaches are paid to go.  What was funny/interesting is that he didn't even pretend that he went there to find players...

That is interesting. What does HA stand for in your post? Was your recruiting trip to visit a school upon an invite or to go to a showcase? 

mom2baseballplayer posted:

That is interesting. What does HA stand for in your post? Was your recruiting trip to visit a school upon an invite or to go to a showcase? 

HA = High Academic... i.e., the players that target Ivy and other top academic D3 schools.  The recruiting trip I referred to was to a school my son was invited to visit, meet the coaches and tour the facilities.

Aren't the coaches paid to be at most of these showcases?  I thought they were paid to be at Headfirst/Showball, etc? I'm not advocating for this particular "showcase". Just saying collecting a paycheck is normal.

The bigger question I finding myself asking is WHICH coach is showing up?  I was at USA baseball JO's last year and TWO coaches at a school my son would LOVE to attend (so I noticed the logos on their polos right away) were watching their game.  (one left fairly quickly to watch another game) Rarely have I seen two from the same school so I pulled up their coaches roster (with pictures)  it was the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator.  Great news for my kiddo.  Then I remembered a big showcase was happening in another state at this exact same time, if these guys were here, who was there? Yep, a bunch of parents paid a bunch of money and this school sent their operations guy.  I'm sure he knows way more about baseball than I do.  But I'm guessing he had very little actual recruiting clout. I would be quite disappointed if I had that school on our list of reasons why we had chosen that camp. But what do I know, I'm just a baseball mom trying not to mess up her own kid's recruiting journey...  

Got it. Can you PM me? My son is a junior. Is yours a senior? Wondering how your son got acquainted with the coach-a showcase?

LousyLefty posted:

Aren't the coaches paid to be at most of these showcases?  I thought they were paid to be at Headfirst/Showball, etc? I'm not advocating for this particular "showcase". Just saying collecting a paycheck is normal.

The bigger question I finding myself asking is WHICH coach is showing up?  I was at USA baseball JO's last year and TWO coaches at a school my son would LOVE to attend (so I noticed the logos on their polos right away) were watching their game.  (one left fairly quickly to watch another game) Rarely have I seen two from the same school so I pulled up their coaches roster (with pictures)  it was the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator.  Great news for my kiddo.  Then I remembered a big showcase was happening in another state at this exact same time, if these guys were here, who was there? Yep, a bunch of parents paid a bunch of money and this school sent their operations guy.  I'm sure he knows way more about baseball than I do.  But I'm guessing he had very little actual recruiting clout. I would be quite disappointed if I had that school on our list of reasons why we had chosen that camp. But what do I know, I'm just a baseball mom trying not to mess up her own kid's recruiting journey...  

Lousy lefty: what was the USA Baseball JO showcase and which school had two coaches there? Good point-are coaches paid to go to HF?? I think it said on the Quakes site that HCs from the Ivies would be there. So I’m wondering why I haven’t heard of this showcase, but then again I know fairly little!

mom2baseballplayer posted:

Lousy lefty: what was the USA Baseball JO showcase and which school had two coaches there? Good point-are coaches paid to go to HF?? I think it said on the Quakes site that HCs from the Ivies would be there. So I’m wondering why I haven’t heard of this showcase, but then again I know fairly little!

JO's is the nickname for the USA baseball West Coast Championships in AZ (I assume they have the same nickname for the East Coast, but I'm in CA so don't hear much info past Texas) it's a large tournament hosted by USA baseball that is fairly scout heavy.  I don't know about the older groups, mine is a 2022, but it seemed to be mostly D1 schools at 15U last year and 14U the year before. But very few East Coast schools that I noticed.  I love to people watch, so watching the scouts and watching parents watch the scouts is almost more entertaining than the games themselves, even if it's 1000 degrees inthe shade. 

I'm not outing any program for the choices they make sending who where.  Sorry. Was just pointing out to research beyond which schools were there.  For what it's worth, I'm sure there are tons of "operations" guys at JOs as well.  

Quakes program is relatively near our area.  I know nothing about the showcases (other than we get invited via email and actual paper flyers) but they seem to run a good baseball program, very development based. I kinda feel sorry fo the guy.  Seems like he develops players and then as soon as they start getting attention they jump ship for bigger national programs (think BPA, Canes, etc).  I know a couple of boys who have played for them over the years, but have never asked much about the program.

LousyLefty posted:

Aren't the coaches paid to be at most of these showcases?  I thought they were paid to be at Headfirst/Showball, etc? I'm not advocating for this particular "showcase". Just saying collecting a paycheck is normal.

The bigger question I finding myself asking is WHICH coach is showing up?  I was at USA baseball JO's last year and TWO coaches at a school my son would LOVE to attend (so I noticed the logos on their polos right away) were watching their game.  (one left fairly quickly to watch another game) Rarely have I seen two from the same school so I pulled up their coaches roster (with pictures)  it was the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator.  Great news for my kiddo.  Then I remembered a big showcase was happening in another state at this exact same time, if these guys were here, who was there? Yep, a bunch of parents paid a bunch of money and this school sent their operations guy.  I'm sure he knows way more about baseball than I do.  But I'm guessing he had very little actual recruiting clout. I would be quite disappointed if I had that school on our list of reasons why we had chosen that camp. But what do I know, I'm just a baseball mom trying not to mess up her own kid's recruiting journey...  

D1 baseball only allows 3 paid coaches to be on their staff. Some programs have a lot of unpaid coaches on staff.   

Those paid coaches are the only ones allowed to leave campus to recruit.

However, it does allow unpaid coaches to work at off campus showcases and camps and get paid. They do report back to coaches as to players that may be of interest to their specific program.

D1 baseball coaches may not accept money for observing. We have had a lengthy discussion on that a few months back.

Is that what you meant in your post above?

TPM posted:

LousyLefty posted:

Aren't the coaches paid to be at most of these showcases?  I thought they were paid to be at Headfirst/Showball, etc? I'm not advocating for this particular "showcase". Just saying collecting a paycheck is normal.

The bigger question I finding myself asking is WHICH coach is showing up?  I was at USA baseball JO's last year and TWO coaches at a school my son would LOVE to attend (so I noticed the logos on their polos right away) were watching their game.  (one left fairly quickly to watch another game) Rarely have I seen two from the same school so I pulled up their coaches roster (with pictures)  it was the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator.  Great news for my kiddo.  Then I remembered a big showcase was happening in another state at this exact same time, if these guys were here, who was there? Yep, a bunch of parents paid a bunch of money and this school sent their operations guy.  I'm sure he knows way more about baseball than I do.  But I'm guessing he had very little actual recruiting clout. I would be quite disappointed if I had that school on our list of reasons why we had chosen that camp. But what do I know, I'm just a baseball mom trying not to mess up her own kid's recruiting journey...  

D1 baseball only allows 3 paid coaches to be on their staff. Some programs have a lot of unpaid coaches on staff.   

Those paid coaches are the only ones allowed to leave campus to recruit.

However, it does allow unpaid coaches to work at off campus showcases and camps and get paid. They do report back to coaches as to players that may be of interest to their specific program.

D1 baseball coaches may not accept money for observing. We have had a lengthy discussion on that a few months back.

Is that what you meant in your post above?

I guess I was trying to say that if a coach was paid to be there or not doesn't determine if the camp should be considered beneficial. And that, when we are selecting events for our players, to analyze which of the coaches will be there, based on your timeline and position, an operations guy isn't going to cut it (example: rising senior MIF and this might be the only time you get in front of that school, it might be better to find a way to get in front of the head coach or recruiting coordinator).  I think that paying these guys to be at camps is a mutually beneficial situation and don't think it should be looked down on. My player is a 2022 LHP, I feel like any coach can get him on a watch list if they want to.   The situation last year was a learning moment for me, I hadn't realized before then that the guy who was in charge of recruiting WASN'T necessarily the guy that worked the showcase camp. (edited "was" to "WASN'T" sorry for lack of proofing before posting)

Just to clarify, some head coaches go to watch and others don't. Each program is different because all programs do things differently.  But yes, at many of the camps and some showcases, they send the  volunteer assistant coach or the  unpaid operations guy, or the student assistant, or the grad assistant because they still are  considered coaches and assist in instruction and practices in their program. That is the only way they can get off campus to watch and earn some money I suppose.  Unfortunately the NCAA won't allow more than 3 paid coaches.

If you want to get in front of the HC, then  you might consider attending a prospect camp. Not all HC recruit on the road. It may be different for D3, JUCO, etc.

I don't see much difference between an RC or the other paid coach. They all do the same thing, which is finding the best player that would be a great fit for their program.

Hope this helps.

Today, PG lists 6 commits for Penn in the 2021 class.  If your son has Ivy talents, send an email now with info, videos, and summer schedule.  If they are interested, an Ivy will send coaches to watch you play in top tournaments in the summer (WWBA, Music City, Grand Park, etc.).  D3s not so much, unless it's local to the school; but, they go to the HA showcases, so pick a showcase (or two), especially if you are not on a team that is playing where the coaches will be.  But for sure you can over-think it.  My son went to Headfirst because it was highly recommended here (and rightly), but also because it was one of the easiest/cheapest to get to for us.

Our experience was that the level of the coach who saw you had something to do with generating interest, but my son also got recruited from being seen by assistant coaches who told their bosses.  Headfirst sends video to participating schools; a couple of head coaches told son they recruited him based on that video plus what their AC said.  Sometimes HCs show up to showcases anonymously - son talked to one at Headfirst, the AC on the roster was also there.  Plus, all the coaches are talking to each other all summer.

My son had a great experience with the Quakes camp.  If I remember right there may have been 30 guys there at the early summer showcase.  Great exposure and the coaches were awesome and very hands on.  Son ended up being heavily recruited by one of the Ivy's and had strong interest from 2 others.  It was well worth being there.

anotherparent posted:

Today, PG lists 6 commits for Penn in the 2021 class.  If your son has Ivy talents, send an email now with info, videos, and summer schedule.  If they are interested, an Ivy will send coaches to watch you play in top tournaments in the summer (WWBA, Music City, Grand Park, etc.).  D3s not so much, unless it's local to the school; but, they go to the HA showcases, so pick a showcase (or two), especially if you are not on a team that is playing where the coaches will be.  But for sure you can over-think it.  My son went to Headfirst because it was highly recommended here (and rightly), but also because it was one of the easiest/cheapest to get to for us.

Our experience was that the level of the coach who saw you had something to do with generating interest, but my son also got recruited from being seen by assistant coaches who told their bosses.  Headfirst sends video to participating schools; a couple of head coaches told son they recruited him based on that video plus what their AC said.  Sometimes HCs show up to showcases anonymously - son talked to one at Headfirst, the AC on the roster was also there.  Plus, all the coaches are talking to each other all summer.

Can I ask where your son ended up? Did he attend Headfirst in NY or California?

He's at a HA D3, went to Headfirst in NY in August.  There were colleges there from around the country, so I don't think that the location of the particular Headfirst matters, it's more whether the colleges you are interested in are going to be there - they put the lists up online.

Having said that, outside of a few well-known ones, I don't think my son really had that kind of plan - for him it was more, go to HF and see who might be interested, and go from there.  It worked out well for him.

The Quakes camps are very well run and the Ivy coaches advertised to be in attendance will be in attendance—unless they are in the playoffs and you will be told up front prior to the event. I was skeptical as what was advertised seemed too good to be true. Coach Elliott is top notch. Ms. Brittin provides multiple updates via email prior to the events. Metrics included Rhapsodo data for pitch velocity and spin rate. Overall a great experience for those in SoCal or any who want to visit a nice location for a camp!