My son is a 15 year old freshman playing JV ball. I'm trying to decide whether it would be better for him to play on a summer showcase team this summer or focus on skills development and do the summer showcase thing NEXT summer after his sophomore year. I've read that there's not much development going on by just playing showcase games. Any suggestions?
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If he's not playing varsity he's probably not good enough yet to showcase to a college coach. IMO he'd best focus on getting better, stronger, faster this summer, and make sure he gets lots of reps against the best competition possible.
If you’re asking this question chances are he needs development. Only ready D1 prospects should be showcasing at fifteen. If he was ready at fifteen travel teams would be approaching him.
Smitty28 posted:If he's not playing varsity he's probably not good enough yet to showcase to a college coach. IMO he'd best focus on getting better, stronger, faster this summer, and make sure he gets lots of reps against the best competition possible.
This...........and if you are going to play in tournaments, no need to travel far to get your head kicked in by true travel teams. There is nothing more maddening than going to Arizona/Florida/Georgia, and to be put in pool where 4/5 games are totally blowouts. With a kid on a team that travels, I'd rather lose 1 or 2 close games in pool play than beat teams by 10/12 runs.
I would echo the previous responses. I wish I had had this feedback when my 2019 was that age but got encouraged to put him on the summer ball showcase deal and he ended up on a "B" team (that mostly lost) with local big-name organization. He also played Legion that summer but, hindsight being 2020, I probably would have had him drop the showcase team and focus on development.
You didn't mention whether he was a position player or a pitcher.
A position player needs live at bats and live game reps. If his goal is to be able to compete for college spots with those in his class, he cannot afford to miss a summer's worth of live games. The development needs to be worked on in addition to the games
I’m not quite sure what you mean by a “showcase team”, so apologies in advance if what I’m writing doesn’t actually address your question.
My kid (a precocious 13 currently reading my phone over my shoulder) thinks kids like him with aspirations for higher-level baseball should play games as much as possible AND work on individual skills. If he had to choose between his high-level-but-not-quite-national club team and his lessons he’d pick the team. He says in the summer he can do his own workouts during his spare time. That being said, he and I both recognize that he is lucky to play for a summer team with very good team instruction, and his summer coach is a well-known hitting instructor. So he takes for granted that he gets good feedback from his club.
Great feedback by others... skill development, strength and speed/agility work start to become more important at this age. But just be sure to include whatever it is he would like to do that will continue to feed his love of the game. Typically, this includes some version of playing games at the most competitive level he can find where he doesn't sit too much.
...and don't bust the budget. There will be plenty of open hands in the coming years.
PS - you can't lump all showcase/travel teams. Some include extensive training and/or facilities as part of the package, some just play tourneys and many are somewhere in between.
Thanks everyone -- lots of good feedback on this. I'm still not sure what will be best for him, but at least now I have some other perspectives to consider. For such a simple game baseball sure is complicated! Lol
What are his numbers? Mound velo, 60, EV?
I don't know what a showcase team is. Is that another way of describing a travel team or is it a team that only plays at different showcases?
Either way, he should be playing and working on getting better. Summer is baseball season, you don't get better by not playing baseball. Sign him up for a local travel team that stays in state or relatively local and have him train on his off days. If it requires a flight or a hotel, it probably isn't necessary right now.
I'd also have him focus solely on SS for now, he can easily be moved to second later on. The best are doing both, your son should be too.
If he is around a 7.2ish 60, 77 to 80ish across the infield, low 80's off the mound and hits well then put him out there for people to see (as a freshman). If he is not there yet let him play local and work on bettering his tools. JMO
For those posters that have been out of travel ball for a few years, definitions/word usage has shifted. Regular, run of the mill tournaments often have “showcase” in the name.
To the OP, you gotta play best comp possible in your area/region and you gotta work on development also. They are not mutually exclusive.
By your description of circumstances, no need to go/pay for a true showcase.
BaseballJoe posted:He plays 2b/SS and also pitches. We haven’t really figured out which way
he’ll ultimately go.
Focus on:
MIF development (feet, glovework, arm slot - put the time in to finding a former collegiate MIF and work with him.)
Strengthen the bat where he can be considered a hitter.
Speed and Strength
Find a way to play on an area club team where he will play. He’ll need the reps. The big strength gains will come in the fall and winter. BUT, he should be getting min 2x workouts per week in summer.
Emphasis is skill and strength, but find a way to get reps at the plate and in field with some local team.
Edit: save his arm, get stronger, improve throwing motion...
