Showcase help

A couple of recommendations:

* The PG Sunshine South Showcase to be held at Blinn College in Brenham, TX, on June 7-8

* PG's South Top Prospect Showcase at the Ballfields at Craig Ranch in McKinney, TX, on Aug. 16-17

The Sunshine South Showcase is farther from your home, but top prospects from this showcase will be invited to the highly-regarded PG National Showcase, which will be held June 13-15. Also, since it's held early in the summer, you will get your profile and rating -- which you might want to pass on to college scouts -- more quickly than if you waited to attend an August showcase.

thank you infield!

I saw that one,but Im not really sure if some of these regional showcases are more for only that particular state,or for anyone.
Where on the PG site can I find the price?

also,if it doesnt have the "request an invite" link next to it,how do you register for it?

futurecatcher27, the showcases are for anyone from any state. At last year's Sunshine South Showcase, the majority were from Texas but about 15% were from out-of-state, including a half-dozen players from Oklahoma.

The cost for a PG showcase is typically about $550-$600. This does not include travel expenses. The cost will be specified on the PG Invitation mailed to your home.

Eventually, there will be a "Request an Invite" link next to the PG showcases you are interested in. If you would like to request an invite earlier, contact Jim Arp at jarp@perfectgame.org.

Best wishes!

thanks for the help.If all goes well,Ill be at the Sunshine south showcase in june

Also, consider the dates....IMO, the ealier you go, the better...
You say you are finishing your Jr. Year...that means this is THE summer...Recruiters will be calling you as of July 1...for early signing in Nov. of your Sr. year (this coming fall).
PG Top Prospects is great, but being in August, you want to have been "out there" by then...and have things in your "pipeline", so to speak.
Agree that Sunshine South would be more productive for you at this time.
Maybe for FallBall, you could hook up with a team planning on attending WWBA...that is, if you haven't signed your NLI by then.
Jim Arp is GREAT!! Call him!!

Here's why... Mr. Arp called totally out "of the blue", invited son to WWBA Underclass..I'd never heard of PG (mind you, this was 6-7 yrs. ago). Son was a freshman, & while there, a team saw him & invited him to WWBA Upperclass (2 weeks later). The following summer, he attended Top Prospect (then @ Baylor), his team went to WWBA fall of sophomore year. Next, Junior summer, was PG Nationals, Area Code, & the huge summer showcase tournaments in Marietta (forget the name). July 1, the phone was ringing & the negotiations began...He's now a sophomore @ Tulane, closer. Played Cape Cod last summer & going this summer.
Good thing come from Jim Arp & the crew @ PG!!
Good luck!

Thats good advice bbmom.Thats awesome that your son plays d1 baseball,thats my goal too.

I have been injured for the large part of my HS career,but I feel like I can play at the next level.Even though I am a bit undersized(though I have grown and put on muscle at 5`10,175)I feel like I can play d1 ball somewhere.I am just largely unknown outside of Oklahoma,which isn't a good thing,but its what life threw me.I plan to attend the PG sunshine in june,a week later is the area code tryout--and just my luck its at a HS about 15minutes from my house,and I also plan to attend an OU or OSU baseball camp this summer as well.Its going to be a busy summer,with work and baseball and weights

Have you called Jim Arp yet??

I emailed him yesterday and he responded promptly.He answered all my questions,and was very punctual.Thats a good first sign

I asked how PG events were ran,the price,and the process for checking the results.He answered everything for me very well.thanks for pointing me towards him

That's great news!! Next step, do your best this spring. If you can get on a team that goes to the WWBA Upperclass, go this summer!! Make up a profile of your accomplishments, include coaches, teams, academics GPA, whether you are registered with NCAA Clearinghouse, (if not, do it asap) SAT scores, etc. Send it off to colleges, JUCO's & take some to SunShine South. Start filling out college questionaires, talk to recruiting coaches... Set up files & be sure to follow up on all contacts.
Lots to do!
Good luck!!

My summer team will be my HS team.

I plan on going to PG this June.Also in June is the Area Codes tryout/showcase.Then in July I am likely heading up to Norman for the Oklahoma University Camp.

It should be a busy summer.

futurecatcher27, unless your high school team is nationally ranked, I'm not sure that the stands will be full of college scouts this summer. You may be required to play for your high school team in the summer, but if not, you may want to consider playing for a more visible select team that plays at high-level tournaments where the college coaches are. I am not familiar with Oklahoma select teams (perhaps someone from OK can help with this), but I do know that there's a select team in Texas that is based near the Oklahoma border that plays high level ball in the summer (www.blacksox.org).

If you are required to play for your high school team this summer, you will need to do everything possible to get some good exposure. That will mean attending not only a PG showcase and the Area Code tryouts (assuming you get an invite), but also the camps of colleges you are interested in. You mentioned the OU camp -- and all the power to you if you are the caliber of an OU prospect -- but you might also want to attend some others as well. Make sure you don't throw all your eggs into one basket. Cast a wide net and let as many college programs as possible know of your playing schedule this summer. Also, if you are able to afford the travel expenses, see if you can play on a Perfect Game team at the WWBA in Jupiter, FL, this coming October.

Best wishes!

fc27,
Very good advice from Infield08.

funding people.We aint millionaires!!!I work a job as is,and my mother cant afford to send me whenever at will.

PG,Area Codes,and OU will have to do.That,a good work ethic,and a little luck will have to do.

Ive also attended a an ORU(**** roberts)and a Connors state Juco Showcase

Locally Im fine,Im trying to get a bigger venue for more exposure

futurecatcher...What part of Okla are you in?
Close to Tulsa? or OKC?

live in tulsa

futurecatcher27, I understand that things are expensive. That said, you really need to maximize your opportunities for exposure this summer. This is your big year for recruiting.

You may be able to find one-day showcases or camps at colleges that are very low cost. I know there is a D1 in my city that charges $25 for a one-day showcase. Also, try to attend as many free pro tryouts as you can. Let the pro scouts know that you are very interested in getting to the next level. They should be more than willing to make recommendations to schools they think you'd be a good fit for.

To get information about the dates for pro tryouts, which are usually held in May and June, post a question in the Texas forum sometime in April. I would think there will be a number of tryouts in the North Texas area that you could attend.

thats a good idea.I was planning on getting to an MLB camp anyhow.There is usually one just north of Oklahoma city each summer.

Our budget is tight,so all I can do is work hard and hope that someone likes me enough at one of the events I attend

keep us posted on how things go for you!

will do so

Sent in my request today for the PG event

one more question.

As this is my first major showcase,aside from the smaller ones Ive gone to.Do you bring your parents with you?Do they stand off to the side and watch,or do they just return at a given time?My mother would like to come and watch from the side,but not sure if it would be the right thing to do or not

It is fine if your parents are there. They can sit in the stands and watch the games and the workouts.

Agree with CADad. There are lots of parents who sit in the stands to watch during the showcases.

One more piece of advice: make sure your mom doesn't come over to you during the showcase to bring you water or snacks. Have all of that with you before you begin the showcase. Evaluators like to see players who have got it together.

Ok thanks. I figured since its an out of town showcase,and she needs to come with me,it would be a good idea to find out ahead of time.

futurecatcher27,

It's cool you're asking about what your parents should do while you are at your PG Showcase. We (parents) were a little unsure when we went with our son.

One thing we did notice while sitting in the stands. Parents were all very quiet, unlike our normal behavior at ball games. It's not a competition in the usual sense, even when they put some teams together for the kids to demonstrate their game situation skills.

Son's dad cheered for son at one point when he did something good, and the other parents just kind of looked at him (son's dad) like he was a weirdo.

So, chatting quietly like you do if you are watching batting practice is in order, but NOT cheering.

Maybe all other parents know that instinctively when they attend these events, or they had been to other similar events?

I don't know. This was our only experience, so ... tell your mom to cheer for you silently!

Best of luck to you during this big time in your life!

I cannot speak for other events but we WANT the parents to be in attendance for the entire event.

It can be very eye opening for them to see the level of talent that their son will be competing against once he gets out of his small pond. Call it educational if you will

We also hold a reception/recruiting seminar the eve of the event with a Q&A session that runs as long as they want it too

For us the parents are key because if they better understand what is going on in the process they are more at ease with it all

quote:

I cannot speak for other events but we WANT the parents to be in attendance for the entire event.

It can be very eye opening for them to see the level of talent that their son will be competing against once he gets out of his small pond. Call it educational if you will

We also hold a reception/recruiting seminar the eve of the event with a Q&A session that runs as long as they want it too

For us the parents are key because if they better understand what is going on in the process they are more at ease with it all

Very valid points.

Another good reason for parents to be present (both moms and dads) is so showcase professionals can project a player's future physical growth. In other words, if a junior is 5'7" but his mom is 5'8" and his dad is 6'2", he most likely is a late bloomer and will be growing quite a bit more in the next 2-3 years.

One more recommendation: purchase the "Showcase" DVD (costs $24.95) and watch it before you attend your PG showcase. It will give great tips for making a good impression. Go to http://showcasethemovie.com/

While we're on this topic, I have a couple of other questions.

1. futurecatcher27 had mentioned the cost factor.

I have often wondered about kids who are talented but who can't come up with the out-of-pocket expenses for showcases, travel to Area Code games, etc. I know we all agree that economic differences shouldn't prevent some kids from getting deserved exposure, but are there scholarship funds for those kids? I would like to know about them, so we can possibly contribute.

2. For how long have Showcases been an integral part of a player's exposure?

Back when my son was in H.S. and we were trying to figure out what we should spend $$ on, we talked to a guy from our area who had been taken in the 9th round in 1996 out of high school. We asked him about showcases and he hadn't heard of showcases.