Showball Question

Good question(s). How about some feedback from those who have attended in Maryland and most recently in Las Vegas? 

This weekend is Plano, TX and San Bernardino, CA. Might be able to get feedback next week too. 

Las Vegas showcase was well run. All day one skills events were live-streamed, but real time numbers were not available (emailed stats were received today, 2 days after camp). Day 2 games were 3-5 batter innings beginning with 1-1 count. Multiple views of pitcher/ batter, and some pitchers had Rhapsodo. No fans in stands, but with live stream able to watch all events from air conditioned comfort (game day temps were 100+). Given where we are at in the COVID pandemic and late in (2021) recruiting process we appreciated all Showball did to pull the event off!

@Los Angeles 2021 Parent posted:

Las Vegas showcase was well run. All day one skills events were live-streamed, but real time numbers were not available (emailed stats were received today, 2 days after camp). Day 2 games were 3-5 batter innings beginning with 1-1 count. Multiple views of pitcher/ batter, and some pitchers had Rhapsodo. No fans in stands, but with live stream able to watch all events from air conditioned comfort (game day temps were 100+). Given where we are at in the COVID pandemic and late in (2021) recruiting process we appreciated all Showball did to pull the event off!

we have a friend who attended it.  Haven't seen them but I wanted to ask him if he thought it was worth it.  Showball doesn't have a huge presence in our area but it seems somewhat on the pricy side.  the original setup was local to our area (College of Alameda, I believe) but because of current restrictions, it was moved (or the attendees were moved) to Vegas. add travel costs onto the higher price tag (about a grand for the 2 day event?) and it didn't seem like it was worth rolling the dice for an org that few people (in our area) knew much about.  Especially when PBR and BBF are running events locally for a fraction of the price tag.

As a general rule, if your son wants to play close to home, you should focus on local showcases like PBR or the equivalent, or simply going to individual school camps (and for that matter, especially in the pandemic, using video).  Showball and Headfirst cater to a particular group:  players looking for High Academic schools outside of their state/region.

FWIW, I didn't think the Dallas event was very good or worth it.  There were a few D2/D3 coaches there but they didn't interact with the players at all.  I really doubt coaches were watching remotely--the live stream wasn't very good--pretty hard to see much of anything.

But if I had to characterize the event in one word, it would be RUSHED.  They claim they've taken the "fluff" out and that helps the players maximize performance, but the opposite is true. It's really just code for how to get >200 players through everything on only one field.

Heat index was >110 and the players are running everywhere and constantly being told to hurry.  Run from station to station, run sprints in the warmup, then immediately run out to the OF and throw, then immediately run into the infield and take ground balls, then immediately run out to the 60 station, No water etc.  Run a 60, job back, immediately run it again.  By the time they ran the 60, they were all gassed.  We knew a number of players in attendance--every single one put up worse numbers across the board than they had elsewhere.  BP was a joke--they double barreled, which is fine, but the throwers were rapid firing and hitters had a ball coming before they'd finished the previous swing.

Games weren't much better.  They played one "12 inning game" which took a little over 2 hours.  Batter started with 1-1 count and there was 1 out at all times.  Each half inning was either 3 or 4 hitters.  One guy calling strikes from almost 2nd base who was chiefly concerned with making each inning as short as possible.  Players spent half their time sprinting on and off the field.

After Day 1, son commented that at HF, the staff all seemed genuinely interested in the players and really wanted them to maximize results.  Here it just seemed like they wanted everything to get done as fast as possible.

Again, not sure how similar this is to their regular events.  Maybe they typically have more fields and do things better.  I know there are only a couple of HA showcase organizations, but we'd probably avoid this particular event going forward if at all possible.

Thank you for you and your son's honest opinion and assessment. The way you describe it sounds significantly different than the way it was run in years past. That is disappointing for someone considering attending later this fall in CA or FL. 

@used2lurk posted:

Thank you for you and your son's honest opinion and assessment. The way you describe it sounds significantly different than the way it was run in years past. That is disappointing for someone considering attending later this fall in CA or FL. 

I wonder if they usually have multiple fields.  Also, I have to say the heat amplified the effect of all the rushing around.  Maybe a cooler time/place wouldn't affect the metrics as much.  I know people have had good things to say in the past--just one person's observation. 

@langra posted:

FWIW, I didn't think the Dallas event was very good or worth it.  There were a few D2/D3 coaches there but they didn't interact with the players at all.  I really doubt coaches were watching remotely--the live stream wasn't very good--pretty hard to see much of anything.

But if I had to characterize the event in one word, it would be RUSHED.  They claim they've taken the "fluff" out and that helps the players maximize performance, but the opposite is true. It's really just code for how to get >200 players through everything on only one field.

Heat index was >110 and the players are running everywhere and constantly being told to hurry.  Run from station to station, run sprints in the warmup, then immediately run out to the OF and throw, then immediately run into the infield and take ground balls, then immediately run out to the 60 station, No water etc.  Run a 60, job back, immediately run it again.  By the time they ran the 60, they were all gassed.  We knew a number of players in attendance--every single one put up worse numbers across the board than they had elsewhere.  BP was a joke--they double barreled, which is fine, but the throwers were rapid firing and hitters had a ball coming before they'd finished the previous swing.

Games weren't much better.  They played one "12 inning game" which took a little over 2 hours.  Batter started with 1-1 count and there was 1 out at all times.  Each half inning was either 3 or 4 hitters.  One guy calling strikes from almost 2nd base who was chiefly concerned with making each inning as short as possible.  Players spent half their time sprinting on and off the field.

After Day 1, son commented that at HF, the staff all seemed genuinely interested in the players and really wanted them to maximize results.  Here it just seemed like they wanted everything to get done as fast as possible.

Again, not sure how similar this is to their regular events.  Maybe they typically have more fields and do things better.  I know there are only a couple of HA showcase organizations, but we'd probably avoid this particular event going forward if at all possible.

My son attended in Aberdeen, MD, and I think he would say this was an accurate description.  He felt very rushed the whole time.  That said, he has had interest from schools that were watching, including a D1.

One more oddity--the guy recording OF velocities was using a pocket radar and standing a good 20-30 feet offline from the throws and well below throwing trajectory.  We haven't received the results but I'm guessing the throwing velos will be bad across the board due to cosin error.