I have a 17 year old Sophomore (catcher) who is wanting to do more showcases , along with camps or try outs. We live in a small town outside of Tulsa OK. Neither of which have many, if any . I don't know where else to look for showcases,evals, or camps other then a few sites. He has done only a few due to lack of knowing about any more. Can anyone tell me sites I can check? Or have any suggestions about where to start? !! Thanks for any help anyone may have.
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PG https://www.perfectgame.org/Showcases/
Headfirst: https://www.headfirsthonorroll...ball-showcase-camps/
PBR (I think they're horrible) https://www.prepbaseballreport.com/showcases
Why a showcase or camp unless it's at a school he's interested in seeing/getting on radar.
Camps are mostly money makers for the volunteer coaches. A great way to get in front of coaches if you don't have a travel ball team you can play on that will be at an event.
If he has good metrics and videos you could recruit yourself to some of the better travel teams that go to events to be seen.
Not sure what a 17U sophomore plays so here's the link. https://www.perfectgame.org/Ra...aspx?R=272&T=reg
Find teams in your region or nationally to compete.
What is his objective? Does he have a business plan? Or is he throwing spaghetti off the wall to see what sticks?
He wants to improve what potential coach's for college or MLB see that others may not.He is getting several invites, questioners and prospect follows from about 12 colleges now, but wants to try and fine tune or improve skills to give himself as many options as he can with the things he can control. Plus any extra opportunities to get his name out is a good thing when your high school is real small and more then likely not a stop many recruiters make . I think it's a way for him to be proactive in his future behind the plate after high school is what he sees it as.
And because of where his bday falls he has the option to play up to 18U (which is what he normally plays or he can play down at 16U because he is a sophomore
RJM posted:What is his objective? Does he have a business plan? Or is he throwing spaghetti off the wall to see what sticks?
Throwing spaghetti? Is this a new velocity protocol we need to include in our training? (Kidding)
Maybe that's what he's missing in his profile ....he's been eating all the spaghetti not throwing it ....problem solved.I'll let him know how he can up his game, this wont make him very happy since he likes to eat, but a good chance for him to learn sacrifice for goals set. ( hahaha)
I would use caution on that throwing program. If not taught correctly, one could start throwing meatballs
sorry had to add that one in, lol
I know most people on here will say that showcases and camps are a waste of time, but we didn't play for a power team because my son wanted to play with friends. We used showcases and camps exclusively and it worked out well. When he committed, he was talking to or had offers from about 15 P5 schools. It just depends on the path you want to take. We knew 2 kids who didn't even play summer ball, only did showcases and both committed to P5 schools before junior year. We just did PG and PBR, and then camps for schools my son was interested in. In the end, it probably not much more expensive than playing travel ball with flights, hotels, etc.
That said, our plan was for recruiting. If you ask 15 different people what you need to work on, you will probably get 15 different answers and a kid that is in his head way too much.
ROGERS3-
Now that we’ve straightened the error you’ve been making with spaghetti out....I’m still not sure why your son feels he needs to get more showcases in? College baseball is in season and yes there is some recruiting going on but it’s not the pace it was a month ago. Do you mean showcase tournament’s? Those will ramp up in the summer. RJM is right. You need a goal and then a roadmap to that goal. There are a lot of resources on this site that can help. Now is a great time to get organized for this summer, it’s a big summer for D1 caliber sophomores. Your focus should be getting on a team that will help your son be seen. (IMO) and getting colleges excited about seeing him at those tournaments by having your son (with your help) send introductory emails with metrics and video. There are also a bunch of threads that talk about west coast kids getting seen on the east coast and vice versa. Even though you’re in the middle, I think those principals apply to you.
Make sure to stress to your player that doing work on the field and in the classroom is truly the most important thing at this moment.
Also, because you brought it up. Might want to talk to someone about how his age and the draft impact how colleges see him? He’s significantly older than the majority of sophomores. I don’t know if schools will care that he’s eligible in his sophomore college year.
Don't play 18U until after graduation. Scouts do not show up for 18U tournaments/showcases. 18U teams are normally made up of guys who have graduated from HS already so coaches don't go. He needs to play 16U tournaments. Is he on a top level tournament team in the area, which there are a lot?
He was a pick up player last summer for a couple traveling teams , he wants to find a tournament team for this Spring/Summer season but the 5 teams we have found around us are maxed and not adding to the roster.(we found out alot of those teams have played together for years) but they all told him he is on their list to pick up if they need a fill in player. i'd like to find a team very soon even if its a little farther out from us , but Im stumped on where to look.
Rogers3 posted:He was a pick up player last summer for a couple traveling teams , he wants to find a tournament team for this Spring/Summer season but the 5 teams we have found around us are maxed and not adding to the roster.(we found out alot of those teams have played together for years) but they all told him he is on their list to pick up if they need a fill in player. i'd like to find a team very soon even if its a little farther out from us , but Im stumped on where to look.
Go to the registered teams list for the must do tournaments. Start sending emails. I’m in CA and our big events are mostly in AZ. Because of the heat a lot of teams pick up an extra catcher for the long summer tournaments. I would guess the same happens on the ECoast? Unlike emails to college coaches, you can do those.
Wanting instruction is different than wanting exposure. If he wants instruction, go to cheap, local college camps.
For exposure, keep this in mind: top D1s recruit starting in freshman year (or earlier!), but you have to have the measureable numbers that they want. Mid-major D1s might or might not recruit early; every other level recruits the summer after junior year. So, if as a soph he has D1 numbers, then go to showcases now; if not, wait.
For a catcher, the numbers they want to know are his pop time and his batting exit velocity. They also want to know whether he can catch and hit high-level pitchers. So, playing on a summer team that has good pitchers and plays high-level teams is important.
Do you know the pop time and EV already? If not, before you go to any showcase, you should measure those yourself now, and see if they are D1 numbers. If they are, then yes, showcase now. If not, save your time and money and don't go until his numbers are there, or spring/summer after junior year.
There are showcases (PBR, PG) where they put your numbers into their system and on their website. If your numbers aren't that great, they will be available to the world until you do another one of their showcases. PG is very expensive, PBR less so. There are other showcases out there (including Headfirst for high academic schools, plus many local ones) that are just "whoever is there will see you". Those are useful if you have something to impress whoever is watching.
PBR varies from state to state; you can look at OK and see if what they say about players in your state makes sense:
Might be a dumb question, but I'm still confused on the options for a Soph 17 year old. I get being able to play down to 16 due to having the right birth-date, but what happens next year when he is a 18 year old Junior?
I guess I might be overthinking it and he would just play as a 2022?
Yes, he would just play with 2022s. We had a kid who turned 19 a month into school, senior year. He played with his graduation year the summer before. In terms of the draft, it didn't hurt him, he was taken top of the first round out of HS.
In terms of summer team, you might look at the Royals Scout team. I know they pay for almost everything and although a lot of their boys are from Kansas or Missouri, they do have players from other areas. I've heard good things and there are some people on here who have played for them. The other scout teams might be following suit in the way they run the teams, but I don't know that.
The objective shouldn’t be to attempt to accumulate college baseball offers. The objective should be to obtain offers that are an educational, baseball, financial, social and cultural fit.
A player should sit down with a parent(s) and define the potential college conference level he can compete. This isn’t about wishing. It’s about being realistic. Then from those conferences decide which schools fit. Then target those schools. Email coaches and find out where to get in front of them. Don’t do camps unless they’ve seen you and invite you to a legitimate prospect camp.
Despite what most D1 players think going in (they’re going on to pro ball) most will play four years of college ball and hit the real world. Education and becoming prepared for the real world needs to be an important part of the college decision making process.
The Royals Scout Team is a definite option if he is a top caliber player. I can get you contact info. I would also contact FiveTool.org and ask about teams or look at the teams that play in their midwest tournaments and contact those teams.
PitchingFan posted:The Royals Scout Team is a definite option if he is a top caliber player. I can get you contact info. I would also contact FiveTool.org and ask about teams or look at the teams that play in their midwest tournaments and contact those teams.
He's a solid catcher , his pop time was timed by a college that held a evaluation and he had a constant 1.8. Even in a game situation. Best time at the eval. If you dont mind giving me the contact information that would be great. Ive also contacted fivetool after reading your reply. I appreciate a point in the right direction.
