Request PG Showcase Invite or not?

Welcome Kim3! Your first question is a good one. If you click on the Perfect Game advertisement at the top of this page it will lead you to the necessary links to request an individual invite. Should you do it? There are a number of positive reasons a player needs to showcase and probably only one negative ---- the cost of the showcase and travel. Of course that is only a negative if one perceives it as a negative. Personally I think showcasing is a great way to objectively compare your son to other players. It also provides additional exposure that some players need. With your son being a freshman you have time, so you might want to experience showcasing on a local basis first. This would at least “educate” you and your son on showcasing.
You said: “He has repeatedly asked to join travel teams but plays 3 differnt sports so I was concerned about the schedule.”

That COULD present some challenges down the road. I see some “juggling” in the future. All student/athletes have the same amount of time and they need to learn how to manage their time to provide the best opportunities. Sports are only one aspect of a young man’s life. Academics and social life usually require MORE time as he advances in high school and then into college. Plus many feel as if playing three sports could have a negative impact on his ability to succeed at any one sport. Kim3, I'm not so much giving advice here just mudding the water and giving you and your son some things to consider. Sounds like exciting times ahead.
Fungo

Fungo

Thanks for the information. Actually the showcase isnt too far away from where we live. We really haven't had to juggle very much because each sport is a different season which is great! The only issue he is having now is football season is almost ending and the basketball team practice is starting! lol I really think he loves being able to play alot of sports. I have asked if he would like to focus on one but the answer is always no. I really love him being in sports because he has to stay on top of academics to be eligible which really helps me out being a single mom! haha Seems like the coaches have more pull sometimes but that works in my favor too! His social life is basically with teammates lol which is good. I am really looking forward to learning as much as I can from you all!!

Thanks,
Kim

Kim3,
I think you will find most of the HSBBW family (you are a member too) just like you. Even though I've been around 10 plus years, I think my son was about your son's age when I first found this site and like you I had a lot of questions. If I remember correctly one of my first questions was about showcasing. After following my son and his baseball through high school, college and the pros, I have had to ask a lot of questions of these members along the way. Without a doubt the people on the HSBBW have given me great advice. The unique thing is the different views members have. There is no cookie cutter approach to getting to the next level(s) and often no consensus to even what the next level should be, so the variety of opinions provides us with options more so that a definite answer. For instance, I won't tell you the ONLY way to get to the next level is via a PG event since I didn't see the necessity of doing so for my own son, but I will say that generally speaking Perfect Game provides a young player with many of the needed elements of getting to the next level. Now that I've totally confused you would you please keep us posted on your son and best of luck.
Fungo

Welcome Kim:

I have certainly been here a for a much shorter period than Fungo. My advice would be to wait until he gets a season completed at the Varsity level and see how he does. As a freshman, there is plenty of time and it sounds like he is having fun playing multiple sports and has a full schedule.

In the FWIW department my son is a sophomore and two-sport athlete and we may, or may not go to one next season. We are taking the additional time we have in our schedule to go visit local programs he is interested in and watching their fall workouts and scrimmages right now. This is giving him the opportunity to see what level he will have to be at to compete and also is giving him an idea what each campus (& coaching staff) is like.

The center fielder from my son’s HS team just accepted a spot at a top 50 D1 program without ever playing travel ball and has never been to a showcase, so there are many ways to achieve his objectives. PG is highly regarded and it could not hurt other than if he does not perform to the level you expect it will be very publicly posted. Another option may be to go to a fall camp at a local University and see how he performs. He would get the benefit of being seen directly by a college program as well as seeing how he stacks up. Some here are highly enthusiastic on PG so that route is certainly an option. Personally, as a freshman I would wait.

Welcome Kim. You've picked a great place to ask questions.

Just wondering which HS in your area has had varsity tryouts already? You can PM me if you want.

Best of luck to your son.

kim, Welcome to HSBBW! From the sound of it, your son is a tremendous athlete and has a very strong arm. All of this is a great start to successful baseball career. But like BOF says, perhaps wait another year. His focus should be on mechanical refinement so paying for a really good pitching instructor might provide a bigger bang for the buck at this point. But definitely get him into a PG showcase as a sophomore. If he's that talented, it wouldn't hurt to try to get him into a couple of showcases, or college camps like the Stanford camp. Good luck.