Question from another board regarding PG

I got that email yesterday about the freshman team in Ft. Myers.  He would be playing for Gulf Coast.  The only thing I can associate with this is that he did play the WWBA PG tournament in GA last Memorial Day and was named to the all tournament team (hit .600+ for the tournament).  That is our only PG tournament last year as an 8th grader. 

Son got one.  He's already playing in the WWBA for 14's, so not interested.  Otherwise, I would consider it as the summer vacation tournament.  It would be fun for him to play, and I would enjoy  it also.  Ft. Myers is nice, and baseball is fun.  My guess the information is from the tournament team from prior year.  And about half the kids make the tournament team.

But we didn't confuse it as a high level recognition, or him being chosen as best of best.

Your sons are most likely being invited to play in tourneys by "3rd party" teams who are in it for the money.  My son got them all the time. Heck, he got one this spring and he's pitching in college.   I can't remember the names, but I did check out one of them because it sounded like a good opportunity.  It was nothing but $$$ for the guy running it....and after watching the results, the team didn't end up very good...and got smacked every game.  If your email is from someone at PG then it's a different opportunity.  If you'd like to email me the name of the team, I'll tell you if it's one of the two we got.  You can PM me.....I'll remember if I see the names

Buckeye 2015 posted:

Your sons are most likely being invited to play in tourneys by "3rd party" teams who are in it for the money.  My son got them all the time. Heck, he got one this spring and he's pitching in college.   I can't remember the names, but I did check out one of them because it sounded like a good opportunity.  It was nothing but $$$ for the guy running it....and after watching the results, the team didn't end up very good...and got smacked every game.  If your email is from someone at PG then it's a different opportunity.  If you'd like to email me the name of the team, I'll tell you if it's one of the two we got.  You can PM me.....I'll remember if I see the names

No, it was from Ben Ford, Perfect Game.

Go44dad posted:

Buckeye 2015 posted:

Your sons are most likely being invited to play in tourneys by "3rd party" teams who are in it for the money.  My son got them all the time. Heck, he got one this spring and he's pitching in college.   I can't remember the names, but I did check out one of them because it sounded like a good opportunity.  It was nothing but $$$ for the guy running it....and after watching the results, the team didn't end up very good...and got smacked every game.  If your email is from someone at PG then it's a different opportunity.  If you'd like to email me the name of the team, I'll tell you if it's one of the two we got.  You can PM me.....I'll remember if I see the names

No, it was from Ben Ford, Perfect Game.

Go44dad.....nice!!   Obviously yours isn't the type of email I was referring to.  My son played in some PG events, but I'm not sure PG had any of their own teams in them....at least not at that time. 

Son played in this last year (2017 Midwest team).  It was one of his favorite tournaments and memories regarding baseball.  It helps that they won the tournament.  Last year players were selected by invite only.  It was my understanding that this year they were going to try to have tryouts, but it may be invite only again this year.  Talent wise, it was very good.  Facilities were also very good as they played all games at the Jet Blue Park (main field and practice fields, which were in perfect condition as well).  The whole complex is in excellent condition.  Great opening ceremony as well, really an experience for the kid.  If its like last year, I would highly suggest going, it was very fun, talent was excellent and it was played as an honor for the kids.  I was skeptic about this originally as well and asked about it here last year, especially because it was the first year.  It was a great decision to go.  Also, be sure to call them.  They were very helpful in explaining what this whole thing was about and what the purpose of this was.  Having PG's name behind it also should help.

My email was also from Ben Ford at PG. 

My son got the same email for the sophomore event. I was told that it was originally a tryout event but has transitioned to an invite event. In addition to selecting kids from their database PG also called coaches and others they know to get recommendations on who to invite. My question is whether this is a"recruiting" event for colleges or whether it is just a tournament that will not generate exposure.

Any insight would be appreciated

The orginal poster came back with the full email, minus his son's name.  It is from Ben Ford, what should I tell him?

Here's the actual email (without my sons name shown obviously, but with Player Name & Player shown instead) received from Ben Ford with Perfect Game:


OFFICIAL INVITATION
"Player Name"
West Georgia
Freshman Perfect Game Series Classic
Fort Myers, FL Aug 1 - 7

Congratulations "Player",

You have been identified by Perfect Game Baseball as an elite player in the 2019 grad class to participate in the 2016 Perfect Game Series Classic in Fort Myers, Florida. The 2nd Annual PG Classic is a prestigious, invitation only tournament designed to create a platform for the top individual baseball players from across the country to compete and be recognized for their talents. Teams will be selected and divided by "territories" based on where the athletes live in the United States, either by state or region.

What makes the Perfect Game Series Classic unlike anything else? The PG Classic is aimed towards the individual. Much like the Perfect Game All-American game, this event is intended to be a stage for the best baseball players in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. Unlike the All-American game, this event is for ages 11u-14u, as well as Freshman and Sophomores, giving youth athletes the opportunity to be treated like college prospects. Located in Ft Myers, FL, each player attending the PG Classic will be guaranteed 7 games on top of the line fields at Major League Baseball spring training complexes. Upon arrival, each player will receive a gear package equipped with full uniforms and other apparel. On top of that, Perfect Game profiles will be created for each participant for additional exposure on the world's biggest amateur baseball website. For the individuals selected to represent one of the 28 territory teams at the PG Series Classic, this tournament will be a chance to prove who really are the top talents in youth baseball.

Please consider this your Official Invitation to play for West Georgia in the 2016 Freshman Perfect Game Series Classic. To complete registration and to get more information on this event, please click on the invite link below. If you have never created a free account on the Perfect Game web site you will need to do so before registering. The deadline for registering is April 15th. At that time the next group will be invited.

OFFICIAL INVITATION LINK

To find out more about Perfect Game please visit to www.perfectgame.org.

Based on the above email, I'm no longer qualified to be in this conversation    It says it's only the second year....so this isn't the event(s) that my son was invited to.  This is obviously a PG event and based on other PG events, I'm sure it's going to be a top quality event.  I would assume, that being a PG event, you'll see plenty of scouts

How many scouts are going to be at a 11U-14U event?

It seems that they are holding this event for 11-14u players and also for Freshmen and Sophomores. Our invite was to the Soph event. Completely agree about the 11-14u players but certain PG frosh and soph events traditionally have lots of college coaches present.

If my son got this invite, I'd seriously consider it. 

I don't want to come on here and promote the event. So I will simply say this... If your son received one of these invites, we have reason to believe he is a very talented player in his age division.  If we have made a mistake and he is not, I suggest he not attend.

Cost?

just my opinion, I can see Soph age  recognizing top players from a region, or even across US, but is it implying the 11-12 yr olds are best too?  

Words like top talent, college prospects, elite player, prestigious, invitation only really gets parents excited, esp those of younger ages. 

If u go chances r it will be exciting time/experience.

Just have a plan first if you have a son hoping to play at next level. Many ways to be seen, as this is one of them. Ask yourself can you really afford it and what you hope to get out of experience. This same advice applies to all opportunities son will be offered during the process. I've seen parents spending a lot of money and are upset later that when they don't feel they got return on investment they were expecting. 

Last bit of advice. If son is P, esp Fresh/Soph and plans to go in Aug, watch his arm. If they r pitching in HS, then on Summer team make sure he is at his best for this experience. No since is spending money traveling there to have arm tired/overworked. They need to be in good condition to be seen by coaches who may be there. 

Do they post which coaches will be in attendance? 

Good Luck to all who go, maybe post experiences after they played to help others.

PGStaff posted:

I don't want to come on here and promote the event. So I will simply say this... If your son received one of these invites, we have reason to believe he is a very talented player in his age division.  If we have made a mistake and he is not, I suggest he not attend.

Thank you for clearing that up Mr. Ford.  In this day and age of mass emails it's hard to tell what is a money grab mass email sent to MANY or someone/something actually sending it to a player based on what they specifically have done.

I will forward on what you have said.

playball2011 posted:

Cost?

just my opinion, I can see Soph age  recognizing top players from a region, or even across US, but is it implying the 11-12 yr olds are best too?  

Words like top talent, college prospects, elite player, prestigious, invitation only really gets parents excited, esp those of younger ages. 

If u go chances r it will be exciting time/experience.

Just have a plan first if you have a son hoping to play at next level. Many ways to be seen, as this is one of them. Ask yourself can you really afford it and what you hope to get out of experience. This same advice applies to all opportunities son will be offered during the process. I've seen parents spending a lot of money and are upset later that when they don't feel they got return on investment they were expecting. 

Last bit of advice. If son is P, esp Fresh/Soph and plans to go in Aug, watch his arm. If they r pitching in HS, then on Summer team make sure he is at his best for this experience. No since is spending money traveling there to have arm tired/overworked. They need to be in good condition to be seen by coaches who may be there. 

Do they post which coaches will be in attendance? 

Good Luck to all who go, maybe post experiences after they played to help others.

 

Playball, I sent your post to the other board as well.  You made some excellent points.

Please, never expect a lot of scouts or college coaches at the younger age groups.  Did the invite claim that?

PG has a genuine interest in knowing who the most talented kids are at any age.  Our research has shown that many of the best 11-12 year olds end up  being among the better 17-18 year olds.  Scouts and college coaches don't have time to track or follow younger kids.  We are going to do just that.  We also know that we can educate players and parents while at the same time creating a fun, safe, and exciting event.

Always best are the bigger 16-18 events that draw hundreds of scouts and recruiters.  However, second best is being recognized by a reliable source. The most reliable sources, forgive me for saying, include Perfect Game.  Pretty much every high level college and every MLB scouting department follows PG information closely.

Anyone can do a little research on why this happens.  Here is a link as one example.  It is the Rawlings HS preseason AllAmerican and AllRegion lists. At the top of the page you can select previous years and see the results for those players.

http://www.perfectgame.org/all...fault.aspx?Year=2016

I just signed up my son for the Soph Classic. After doing some research it appears to be a great event. PG was very helpful answering some questions we had. In talking to a few other parents of players who did - and did not - get invited it seems they did  a real good job determining the right players to invite in our area.

What was the cost?    I guess I need to decide this week since the deadline is Friday. 

$599 which includes uniform, bag helmet and 7 games. Pretty reasonable compared to other tournaments or camps

My son is attending.  Class of 2019.

My 2018 got the same invite to the Sophomore Division awhile back and then an email indicating that they needed to know because they were about to send out a second round. We ended up declining mainly on a $$ basis. He'll be in Ft. Myers for the Junior National Showcase and a second trip from Colorado would be a little steep especially if it ends up that he's already committed by then. Otherwise, it certainly looked like the beginnings of a "must attend" type of event in the future.

My 2020 got the same invite, word for word, except "East Texas" team.  It is from his PG fort myers tournament last summer, where he and about 5 others on his team got "all tourney".  I think they all got the same invite.  (so did about half of the participants)  He is playing the WWBA at Lakepoint in June, so that will be enough travel for him this year.  Oh, and Tulsa in July at a V-tool tournament.  Can't wait, the plains in July.  At least it will be too hot for tornados.

Good for you go dad!  It will be fun to see where these 2020's take themselves!  Our goal remains - just make next years team!  Although this may make me popular (and I wouldn't want to do that) with some of the old timers, but I really do want things to slow down. In fact I really want to go back to when he was 7 and baseball just amazed him.  I want this season to last forever.  

My 2020 was invited.  At first I blew it off because the feedback from the youth ages from last year wasn't very good.  Since it is now part of PG I am reconsidering.  I guess my big question is what are the benefits of a 2020 attending this event?

d-mac posted:

My 2020 was invited.  At first I blew it off because the feedback from the youth ages from last year wasn't very good.  Since it is now part of PG I am reconsidering.  I guess my big question is what are the benefits of a 2020 attending this event?

Competition mostly.  Also, playing with kids you son doesn't know, being out of his comfort zone.  Very nice facilities.  The beach at Ft. Myers is nice.  Tarpon fishing in the Punta Gorda area.  Air boats through the everglades are fun.  Be careful with rum runners if you normally have an extra shot thrown on top.

2020dad posted:

Good for you go dad!  It will be fun to see where these 2020's take themselves!  Our goal remains - just make next years team!  Although this may make me popular (and I wouldn't want to do that) with some of the old timers, but I really do want things to slow down. In fact I really want to go back to when he was 7 and baseball just amazed him.  I want this season to last forever.  

You were already popular with the 'old timers!' 

These things are fun.  My main advice would be to keep it in perspective.  Our younger son took an 'invite on the fly' to a USA Baseball tournament in AZ when he was 14 and to my surprise he ended up making the USA team and playing in Guatemala.  Terrific experience including the Montezuma's Revenge that set him down for 2-3 games.

But I never, ever looked at these things as getting a leg up on recruiting.  In fact, I cannot draw anything (other than solidifying his position on an area elite travel team) - but I can't draw a line to anything in his ultimate recruitment a few years later to doing that event in 8th grade.

He was just a very good player that got a nice perk out of it.  Some who were on that USA team struggled mightily after that, while others flourished.  A year later he was cut from the USA team following a very good tryout - smallish, didn't throw as hard as others - but he was cut in favor of others who ended up not being as good as him in the long term.  Doesn't bother me, just telling you a true story.

Being in things like this certainly indicate your son is a very good player right now.  But things can change for better...or worse.  Just keep things in perspective.  That and I think most of us need to consider just how much we will spend between 7th/8th grade and end of HS?  Even consider how much through the end of college (travel expenses for mom and dad can get pretty high then as well).  Virtually none of these things are a case of 'do it or else.'