Rookie with Questions

There a number of excellent select teams in the D-FW area. Hopefully, some posters will chime in with recommendations.

Don't fret about starting late. Junior year -- and the summer and fall afterwards -- is the most important time for recruiting anyway.

It would be great for your son to get his feet wet at one or two area college showcases. TCU has a very good fall showcase with a number of other schools from all levels in attendance. Dallas Baptist usually does not have many other schools in attendance at its showcase besides Northwood University, but its coaches are highly interested in every camper and are very gifted at helping them to develop their game. For more info about both schools' showcases and others, click on the following link:

http://hsbaseballweb.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/7106002781/m/5181042942

Lastly, a Perfect Game showcase would be really good to attend. Later this year, their website should post the schedule for the 2008 summer. Their Sunshine South showcase would be a good fit for your son. Usually, it is held in June in Austin, which is still early enough in the summer for your son to get his name out.

Best wishes!

BASEBALLMOM101,
I would suggest you consider the option below. You can get some good feedback on your son's talents, see for yourself how he stacks up against his peers, the price is right, and it is close by. The coaches at this showcase will be happy to give you some direction in your search for a quality select program.

Nov. 10
Class of 2008 & 2009 Showcase
Presented by:
Navarro College
Grayson County College
McLennan Community College
Hill College
Entry fee is $70. Registering on the day of the camp will cost $80.
Location: Navarro College
Perry D. Graham Field
Camp Structure:
Registration: 8-9 a.m.
Skills Evaluation: 9-12
Lunch: 12-1
Scrimmage: 1-?
ANY QUESTIONS?
CONTACT: WHOA DILL; 903-875-7478; WHOA.DILL@NAVARROCOLLEGE.EDU
OR
MATT PODJENSKI; 903-875-7477; MATT.PODJENSKI@NAVARROCOLLEGE.EDU

Thanks for all the feedback so far. You guys have been great and I already feel like I can breath better. My main concern is my son's education- his is sports (he also lettered in basketball his sophomore year). I want him to play in college and any financial help in the way of scholorships is icing on the cake. I have bought every book on the subject and they all say basically it is up to the parents and the player to make sure that he is seen. Sometimes you can rely on your High School coach somestimes not. I want to increase my son's chances of being seen but I need to get the most bang for the buck so to speak. I have a call into the Fort Worth Cats team to talk to them and had heard the Drillers were a good club. I am just feeling my way along here and I hope I head in the right direction. I look at the camps coming up and saw several I thought we might be interested in. Thanks again!!!

Baseballmom, There are a number of quality select teams on the west side of the metroplex; Fort Worth Cats, Arlington Heat, Texas Stix, TMC Rangers, just to name a few. Contacting them and just discussing your objectives, hearing about their program, and watching a Fall game or two, may greatly assist in determining if your son is a good fit for them.

Baseball Mom-
There are some quality teams on Westside of Metro area... FW Cats, Tx Blackhawks, Arlington A's -that is it!

If you go to A's be aware that they have about 4-6 18U teams and 6-8 16U teams every summer.. knowing where your son is placed in that organization is huge!!

There are other teams in the west (as Cobra stated) but those (three listed above) are your best programs easily...

You should look at the Fort Worth Monarchs web site. They put many kids in JC this past summer.
www.fwmonarchs.com

dallas mustangs, D-Bat, dallas giants, arlinton A's, texas blackhawks, dallas diamond jaxx are some good ones.

quote:

Originally posted by BASEBALLMOM101:
I want him to play in college

It doesn't matter if you want him to play in college. What matters is his desire and how he goes about achieving whatever he desires.

Do your best as a parent to support him emotionally and financially in his athletic intrests.

But encouraging him to make the contacts necessary to play beyond the level he is now will be huge in his success and growth as a young adult.

Have your son call these coaches. You can eventually talk to the coach, but let him make the contacts. It will be tough for him at first, but I can't tell you how important it is for him to learn these social skills. The earlier the better.

And don't worry about the late start......

I didn't play varsity until I was a senior and somehow I managed to get drafted out of college.

But with that, my mother nor father made a single phone call to any of my coaches........it was all on me and how much "I" wanted it.

I agree 100% with you Mr. Guthrie. I believe my son has talent (as all good mothers should)but I also think you need heart. Your heart gives you the desire, dedication and passion. I always tell him he can do anything he wants but no one can do it for him he has to want it, work for it and apply himself 200%.

I so appreciate the advice never having delt with any of this. I didn't even know he could call the coaches. I knew he needed to fill out the questionaires online and send letters of interest. I also have been filming his games so he can make a DVD. We are trying to do the right things to "help" him make his dream come true but ultimately it is up to him.

Anything worth having is worth working for!!

BaseballMom101, sending you a PM.