Summer Rivalry Classic - Bentley University 2011

No scam here, maybe just not complete truth in advertising.

One of the last remaining free invitational events, along with the Area Codes. Even the Lynn Invitational now charges $150 and I'm not sure where that money goes. These Yaz games were free and an honor just to get invited.

Yeah, the number of ABs was poorly managed with some kids only getting 3 or 4 ABs, and if you were a catcher inviting 5 catchers per team was not fair in terms of ability to show your stuff.

But all in all it was very well run and the three games were well played. Calling it a scam would suggest they took money from you which they did not.

And if you chose to donate, the proceeds went to the American Heart Association. So yeah, if you wanted to get to Yankee Stadium and your numbers are right then that was misleading. But not a scam.


Added note: stands full of college coaches and scouts, for all three games. More reason to consider this a great event.

RedsoxFan21: Scam Defined - a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation. Money has nothing to do with it.

Not telling the parents and players that the teams where predetermined was unconscionable.

I helped work the event, and can say that getting the numbers right in terms of AB's, and innings played was a constant battle for all involved, and I can assure you that we did everything we could. With many players participating in the Lynn Invitational also, it was made even tougher to get innings due to the limited amount of pitchers available.

However, I can tell you that there WERE players chosen from the tournament to play at Yankee Stadium. One of the players in our program (Reed Gamache) was one of them.

It is an invitational event, no promises to be selected to play at Yankee Stadium were made to anyone, and it isn't as if it were an event where you were required to pay $500-$800 attend.

For the cost of your donation to the American Heart Association, your kid had the opportunity to be seen by more than 60 schools ranging from Bentley to Vanderbilt.

All in all, it was a GREAT opportunity for these young men.

shocking... you mean these showcase events don't always deliver what they say. I find that hard to believe.After a summer full of showcases and legion games I have come to one conclusion... they all s***.Even the better ones ( Lynn, Summer rivalry, Top96 )are about one thing, pitching. When you only get 3 innings a game and maybe two at bats there isn't a whole lot you can do to impress scouts. I may be wrong about this but my personal experience with showcases has not been a pleasant one.I think they are about money and not a whole lot else. The preseason games played this weekend in the showcase league were much better and more entertaining than any other event I attended this summer. Were I a college coach looking for local talent I know where I would look, Legion and Showcase League.

Devildad is correct in that the reason for most of these showcases is money.

The Franklin Pierce showcase kept taking money til they had over 120 players trying out. Lots of cash coming in that day. It's great to watch one kid hit in the cage, one kid hit soft toss and one hit live pitching while 117 kids stand around waiting and "fielding". I'm sure the upcomng 'Birdball" clinic will be very efficient. Anyone from 13 up can register and pay the price.

There has to be a better way for kids to be seen.

The Showcase league has a lot of good points, but needs to cut back on the number of players per team. When you have 15 or 16 players per team and some kids get the minimum required innings each game and some play all 9 every week it's not right.

East Cobb, East Cobb, East Cobb.
Jupiter, Jupiter, Jupiter

If you want your son to get exposure to college coaches, find a summer team that plays in the East Cobb Tournament or in the Jupiter Tournament (fall - my kid passed on this because of football).

Secondly, try to get invited to an Area Code tryout, doesn't matter if they don't make the team.

He won't have to worry about getting interest from colleges and he will get a great gauge of where he fits (level).

nhmonty, with all due respect, your kid was a stud and not exactly the prototypical hs baseball prospect from nh or even ne. He didn't only get seen because he played in East Cobb, he got "noticed" because of his ability. Once he was on the radar, then it just helped to build his resume. Some of the East Cobb tournaments have 250 teams registered. There is no way the 375-500 kids playing that week in East Cobb all get noticed. For the vast, vast majority of NH HS baseball players who want to play baseball in college, D1 is not the best route nor is it even an option. The NE-10 is an outstanding DII conference. Are the NE-10 schools scouting in East Cobb? Based on their rosters I doubt it. I would like to see the NE-10 coaches and the coaches from the top DIII programs provide better visibility to where they recruit (other than their paid camps for those who have them). $$ does tend to be a big motivator. BTW - it's not free to play on a team that goes to East Cobb either.

First step is get good at the game and skills. So many kids/parents/families now have these completely unrealistic expectations from the AAU pay for play situation. Monty, I never saw your kid play but I've seen some of his HS stats and they are off the charts. For kids like that, the big time events are great. For most others, they have no business being there. For the more solid HS players who aren't top tier prospects, they need to work their *** off and target schools. They need to have a plan and find the right fit and not expect a showcase to showcase them when they don't have the tools to stand out.

At the Showcase League tryouts, I hit fungos to about 130 kids the first weekend and evaluated probably 100 kids hitting the next weekend. The most common comments I had: No footwork, no arm strength, no quickness, poor throwing mechanics, no bat speed, no ability to barrel up consistently, weak. I'm not trying to be a jerk... I just really want the level of baseball to get better and better and people need to know what to work on. A kid with good footwork or a kid who got ready to hit really, really stood out. I think it should be the norm.

Jball,

Thanks for the nice words about my son but my point was not related to him. I attended these events and saw first hand the number of college coaches at the events. Let's use Nate Jones as an example, they are friends of ours and I know his situation.

Nate was heavy on the radar of Bryant and Marist (and other NE schools). Wake Forest comes to East Cobb to see my kid and Nate happens to pitch a great game - end of story he is now playing in the ACC.

My best guess is any kid who plays in East Cobb will get seen by a minimum of 30 colleges. There is one complex with four fields, I would say at between 30-50 colleges camp out there and rotate from game to game.

There are great schools in NE at all levels and I would agree there should be more free events for kids to be seen but we don't have many now so kids have to find places were they get the best "exposure bang for their buck"

You reference my son so here's a little on his recruiting story that I think supports my recommendation. Less than five colleges came to his HS games his Junior year. Junior year championship game in Manchester there were some coaches at the game, BC contacted him day after that game and few others. Some NE colleges were at the first day of Legion Regional in Bristol summer of his junior year, he gets on the radar of CT and few others. I wouldn't say he was heavily recruited - he was lucky to be in high profile games in NE and most kids don't get that opportunity.

Invited to Area Code tryout in NJ (over 100 college and pro scouts)) and then the letters and emails started flowing. Contacted by ACC, SEC, and PAC ten schools. Many followed up when he was at East Cobb a few weeks later.

Interesting enough Maryland (where he is now) never sent him a form letter, email etc. They called and offered him on the first allowable day. We were stunned. Later I asked the coach how he found him..answer saw him at Area Code and we were at every one of his games in East Cobb.

He doesn't attend these events who knows where he would have ended up.

I understand not every player is DI but even at East Cobb and AC games there are tons of excellent DII and DIII schools and JC's.

Just trying to pass on some ideas from experience for those who want to get there son more exposure than what's available in NE.

Bobby and Jball

understand your point about talent level and agree.

there were NE-10 schools at the events I mentioned as well as most of the larger name NE DI schools.

it does cost to go to east cobb, my guess for player about $600 including air,room and spending money.

my guess contacts my son received after these events were 50/60% DI schools the rest DII/III so they are at the events.

We need a major free two/three day showcase in NE well attended by NE colleges, don't know how you do free - field rental, umpires etc...wish I had an answer

Not sure how to say this without sounding bad , but, the biggest problem I have found is that too many players that realistically have no business being at some of these "elite" showcases are taking up valuable playing time of players who have a real shot at making a college roster. Not sure how you weed this out, but by asking for accomplishments from a parent or even a high school coach you don't necessarily get a good guage of talent. Honestly, stats usually don't lie. Accomplishments such as all state selections usually don't lie. Cut down on the quantity of players and increase the quality of players and give them more time to show what they are capable of. If that means you have to charge a little more , so be it , I don't think many would complain if it meant more time to be evaluated.

I know the guy (Joel?) who runs the Lynn Invitational cross-checks the players for that event. And still, at $150 it is cheap and gets good players.


Monty, I think the southern talent plays a big role in attracting college coaches down there. The risk in doing an elite style tournament up north is bringing southern players up here and potentially getting them in front of a lot of college coaches from up here. Development in this region is getting better - moving in good directions. But the level of competition argument is going to be tough to shake.

A famous coach once said - Ask a kid at what level he thinks he can play, and go down a notch. Ask a parent the same question and go down 2 notches. My point is.... evaluate your skills at the proper level and find out where those targeted programs will be. No sense going to a showcase where your skill level is not represented.

To nhmonty on a free event - I ran a 2 day event in the Bronx (had to charge $20 to cover costs) and had about 10 or 12 low tier athletic programs in attendance. I geared it for the inner city kid who could never afford a showcase. It ended up about 50/50 between the kids who couldn't afford a showcase and the "professional showcase kid" - those "have not's" blew away the "have's" - so be careful about wishing for the free showcase since the competition level may go up a notch. Out of the 60 kids 12 of them ended up in a college program who might never have been seen.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by devildad:
Not sure how you weed this out, but by asking for accomplishments from a parent or even a high school coach you don't necessarily get a good guage of talent. Honestly, stats usually don't lie. Accomplishments such as all state selections usually don't lie. QUOTE]

Let's see, parents and high school coaches lie, but statistics don't? Where do you get the statistics from then? Remember the quote of Mark Twain/Carroll Wright: "Figures don't lie but liars figure"

All state selections don't lie? You clearly have not seen the politics in some states including RI where basically one Providence Journal reporter makes the selections after plenty of lobbying by several layers of people. Lots of good top level All State picks, but after All State the sub picks such second or third team and all division are extremely suspect.

There is very little in the way of a solution for the average player to this conundrum other than targeting a spectrum of schools and establishing a conversation with each school's coach.

Randomly attending a school camp is simply helping the coach at that camp to make ends meet. They are focused on running a smooth event, not on finding talent that they are not already focused on.

Randomly attending a showcase is simply making the entrepreneurs running the showcase successful. Their goal is to have as many paying customers as possible with just enough activity to not cause an outright rebellion. The reps offered at these things only work out for the person hitting the lottery of having an incredible day.

In my mind the priority should be establishing a list of schools where you can be successful as a student without baseball, and engaging the coach for a realistic talent evaluation. Then secondly a school camp where the coach knows you will be there and why. And finally a showcase where, again, you know a coach will be there and will look at you. With each of those being a part of showing that coach an overall picture, not a one day event picture.

Either that or play the longer term game of aligning yourself with trainers, coaches, and scouts who are 'connected' from your freshman year on who can provide the political introductions and invites necessary to get on the 'radar'. An expensive but successful proposition for many a player/family who has chosen to work at their game at the same time. Bottom line, you still need the talent and that talent ain't gonna get exposed in a 1 or 2 day camp or showcase and in fact you could hurt yourself with a bad day if that's your only way of getting on the 'radar'. Not to mention the damage to your budget.

Haven't got the money to do this? Many programs will assist top tier talent because it will make them stronger. Average talent and no money is a tough combination which means you'll have to work harder to rise above the average talent description.

For what its worth,(IMO) unless you are a legit D1 prospect, the most bang for your buck is the fall Showcase League run by GSBA. You get to play in 8-9 games on college campuses with excellent coaching. It is so much more than a "1 and done" showcase and allows the players to have a bad game knowing there is another the following week.

Over the past 3 fall seasons, I have witnessed dozens and dozens of players find a college program that suits their ability via contacts made thru the program.

These guys (GSBA) go out of their way to promote their players, and they know most of the college coaching staffs here in the northeast.

I also agree with NHMonty in regards to East Cobb. If you have the money and chance to get down there, it is well worth it. Of course you have to standout (as Nate Jones did), but there are hundreds of college (and Pro) scouts there and word travels fast if you play well and do get noticed. Just because they are at a game to see a particular player does not mean that is all they are looking at. I have witnessed scouts who are there to see a pitcher, and end up following the kid that had 2 hard hit balls that day off of the stud pitcher.

It is a great place to go to a tournament and play against competition from all over the country.

quote:

Originally posted by BBNH2011:
...The Franklin Pierce showcase kept taking money til they had over 120 players trying out. Lots of cash coming in that day. It's great to watch one kid hit in the cage, one kid hit soft toss and one hit live pitching while 117 kids stand around waiting and "fielding"....

We were at the FPU camp on July 31st. I'm pretty sure there were "only" about 70-75 players there.

Sorry, I was referring to the August 2010 showcase at FPU.

Maybe they put a limit on the number they will register this year per session, or maybe word of mouth on last year's money grab kept people away this year.

I must be lucky , in the sense that my sons coaches at high school and legion don't doctor stats for anyone. Our legion scorekeeper keeps a very tight book and his stats are dead-on. As far as politics in R.I. go, you would be right I don't have a clue, but here in NH they generally get the all state selections right. There are always a few deserving that get overlooked but most everybody deserves to be on the list.When I sent the app in to Lynn I never stated his stats , just his accomplishments and his HScoach and Legion coach did the same. What I saw there was really good pitching and not much else. Again , just too many players to have a chance to stick out andonce the scouts put down thier guns they mostly just chatted with each other, don't think I saw a Scout pick up a pencil after a hit. For that matter most weren't there for the hitting part anyways.

My son participated in the Lynn Invitational and the Summer Rivalry Classic. Did so-so at LI but was MVP at SRC and was invited to play at Yankee Stadium. He had the time of his life there. He is uncommitted and we hoped/expected to get some college interest as a result. So far he has received invites to several fall camps but unfortunately he started football yesterday. He will follow up on the invites to gauge the level of interest and with luck can make visits on Sundays or over the winter. He has played at E. Cobb the past three summers and 2 PG Under Class events here in NE in 2009 and 2010. IMHO NE teams don't get much attention from scouts at EC unless there is an uncommitted stud or two on the team or someone from NE stands out when playing against a high level team. If I could do anything over again this year he would have done the PG Top Prospect and skipped the Top 96 and Lynn Invitational, which conflicted with PG Top Prospect.

Congrats to him on the MVP, I saw him play at the SRC, well deserved!

I can back up everything Monty has passed on to you guys. In fact, I followed his advice starting last year and my son played for two weeks in East Cobb, went to the Area Code tryout, and also played in some well attended showcase tournaments at college campuses thoughout NE and a Perfect Game tourney at Baseball Heaven this summer. Keep in mind, unless you have a school targeted before your Junior year, any college "camp" you go to is a waste of time and money.

All his best exposure came from playing for NorthEast baseball and the tireless efforts of their staff to promote and get him seen. Long story short, he ended up with offers from two of the top teams in D2 Northeast 10 amongst others, but opted to go with a D1 team in America East because of the campus, coaches, and challenge of playing at the highest level.

Money wise, each one of annual costs of his AAU ball cost more than tuition and costs for NorthEast baseball. Tremendous value for the price. East Cobb set the tone as far as mass exposure, and the tournaments up here afterwards allowed those interested schools to see him multiple times.

Like Monty's kid, my son plays football or he may have waited to commit until after Jupiter. If NorthEast Baseball doesn't qualify, I had an option to place him on another team that did. Being a pitcher is certainly an advantage.

Lastly, he was never involved with GSBL, but wished he could have. These guys are busting their tails to get exposure for all New England kids and it's clearly a labor of love for them that many can benefit from.

Ultimately, it comes down to doing research, and these boards are great for it. The first thing to do is have your son seen by several different people. From what I understand the Granite State guys do a pretty good job of putting players in front of the coaches in the northeast. I know our staff if constantly working with our players on finding the right fit not only academically, but athletically and socially.

Look at Big School vs. Small School, Public vs. Private, and potential majors (figure out 2 or 3, since it does tend to change!). Go from there.

We have had over 60 players attend colleges on fall rosters in the last 3 years, and only 2 have transferred. It all starts with laying out a plan when the player is a sophomore or in the fall of their junior year at the latest. It's like anything else, the longer you wait, the more you will stress about it come decision time.