Too Bad.........

Don't bother feeling guilty. Keep in mind that talent is the ultimate deciding factor.

For every parent like you, who does not have the money, there is a parent who does have the money, but whose son does not have the talent. Don't worry yourself that the kid without talent will be taking your sons position if your son does have the talent..

Showcases may be necessary for a kid in Ohio to be seen by coaches in Texas, but what about those schools in Ohio? Is there any reason he can't go to a local school? These things are a venue to make it easier for your son, they are not his only option.

Make it a point to find out as much as you can about what he can do locally, or with little cost to be seen. Talent is the ultimate deciding factor.

My son has only attended two showcases. Both were at no expense to the players. They were the California North/South Games and the Area Code Games. Just these two alone were enough to get him noticed by many D1 colleges and MLB scouts. But he had to be invited and then go through some extensive try-outs.

According to some JUCO coaches we know, if there is an exceptional player on a high school team, the head coach should be helping to get the word out to the schools and scouts. Not sure if the high school coaches are in agreement with this or not.

My son's head coach nominated him for the North/South games. Not sure if you have anything like this in your state. This showcase was for the college recruiters, but I believe there were some scouts in attendance also.

We also found that he received more notice during the high school season then while playing for his summer traveling team. The problem may have been that it was not a high profile traveling team.

So I guess what I am trying to say is, you don't always have to pay for your son to get noticed.

4Falcons,
I’m with AParent. . .don’t feel sad. . . because talent is what makes it all happen. There are thousands of players out there that aren’t involved in showcases or select summer teams that go on to play college baseball. There are two forces continually at work here to making this happen (for free). . . . Your son(s) and all those associated with him including parents, coaches, fans, newspaper reporters, teachers, friends, relatives, people on the HSBBW, and other players are continually promoting him just in passing conversations. Secondly, there are the college coaches and pro scouts that are using everything available to “discover” talent. Combine this with the baseball network most refer to as the “grapevine” and things are not as gloomy as they appear. I would say the odds are very good that Ryan’s talent will provide him an opportunity equal to his talent. Don’t construe my post as being anti showcases because I DO know they increase exposure and expand a player’s options. Select teams also increase exposure and options but I look at this exposure as a free byproduct of playing good baseball with the best talent around. A good showcase and a select team are nothing more that a concentration of the most important ingredient needed to get to the next level. . . . TALENT!!
Fungo

What if the coach doesn't care for your son (don't ask me why)?? He has his "pet" players that he sends their names to the showcases and whatever, even though my 07 son was the only all-conference player on the team.

well, you can do a whole lot of things.....you can do it yourself.

You've found this website and the tools are here to do it. If your sons HS coach will not help, then you need to go around him. Your son probably plays for a summer rec team, he can get an endorsement from that coach. Dont forget the umpires in your area, they can write a reccommendation for your son as well. You will have to be the one to find the showcases.

Talk to your son and find out his goals for playing higher baseball. Get a list of schools he would like to go to. Contact the schools and coaches and find out about upcoming Christmas Camps. Individual schools camps can be realtively inexpensive.

Find out who the pro scouts are in your area. I believe that the Texas Rangers had a scout in Waukesa WI, It used to be Ted Breznk....find out who they are and start sending out information.

Its not "too bad"...time......it's time to get busy........

4falcons,
Never rely on one single event or person to help your son move ahead. YOU and him are the ones who need to sit down, make a plan and follow through.
Your son is an 07, you have plenty of time to try to help him decide what direction he wants to go in. He may have been all conference but is still a little young yet, you may want to bring this up with the coach sooner or later about how you can all work together to move ahead.
No parent should ever feel guilty because they cannot afford showcases. If you start your research now, you may come up with some options that could be affordable and by all means, take advantage of any camps, showcases in your state as AParent has suggested.

Thanks folks.....you are all the best!

Having gone through this last year with my son, I have felt the pain (and guilt) you expressed. There are other venues, however.

Contact the schools your son is interested in and see if they hold open tryouts or camps. Jucos and D2's usually hold free, open tryouts. If I remember right, we went to 4 free tryouts and paid for two. One cost $50 and the other cost $135 - but it had 8+ schools there and fewer players.

Start going to every major league tryout you can find near you. They are free, you can go year after year, those scouts know everyone and most allow you to start attending at age 15. Have your sons tell the scouts up front that they are looking for a place to go to school and play ball and have them ask the scouts to pass their info to college coaches. The scouts will pass their info on, if they think your sons are capable. If the scout likes your boy, he will steer him somewhere he can continue to watch him. Get the scouts names and addresses for references.

If you can afford a good showcase, go. My son was asked at every tryout what showcases he had been to and what his results were. They also asked what summer team he played on and who his coaches were. Not having either of these was a disadvantage; however, he was able to counter this disadvantage by being able to give several pro scouts (from the major league tryouts) as references.

Get ready for some extended road trips and enjoy the time with your sons! It made for a great series of mini-vacations and bonding for my son and me last year .

quote:

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Originally posted by 4Falcons:
Being a parent, I find it sad that the only way, other than having your son write letters and hope to get a look, is to be loaded with cash and attending showcases or playing on a high profile travel team. I feel very guilty that I can not help my sons out financially to send them to these things.

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Don't be sad, because you are wrong (in this case it is a good thing).

You can be seen without spending a bunch of money. Although attending the Showcases and playing a fall team help a lot.

TO play on a fall team contact Andy Stack of the Blazers or RJ Fergus of the hitters.

This past summer, my 05' son attended the Area Code tryouts in Chicago(needed to be nominated) Cost $0 and a MLSB tryout in Madison Cost $0(no nomination needed, many college coaches were there.

BTW, How does Chad like Ripon? Geoff is now at WCTC.

If you want to give me a call we can discuss things I did to help my youngest son.

I also did not have a lot of money to spend on showcases for my son. I made it a point to meet some of the coaches in my area and do not underestimate the pro scouts in your area, I found that the pro scouts where good guys and where willing to help young players even if they where not really intersted in them as pro players. College coaches will call scouts and ask if they know of a good player for a need they have.since your son has time ( 06 ) I belive you could check into showcases that will let a player get sponsers to help pay for the cost. PG is one I bleive.
You should check into travle ball for your son. one of my pet peeves is people who put down some fathers who do have money and get travel teams together and then get put down for it. My son was helped a LOT by some fine men who cared enough to spend a lot of money and an unbelivable amount of time with travel ball.
I did not get to travel with them a lot but that was not the point my son did. Your son does not have to be on a Nationaly known powerhouse team to get seen lol just play against them a few times.
I would aslo recomend reading every article on this web site when you are done you will know more than most people about recruiting.

I can empathize with your position - I'm there, too, sort of - but it's a position I like to be in. There's no challenge or wonderment if you can just throw money at a dream and buy it. Our situation is compounded by the fact that we live overseas - we are scrambling around trying to find a summer team anywhere who might need an RHP/MIF for a couple summer tournaments (when we're in the States), we can't really network with all the parents that can be so helpful (as in this thread), and so on. But the kid is a good ballplayer - and we just have to try a little harder and look a little deeper for those opportunities. Best of Luck!!

4falcons, IMO

Money does matter. You may find yourself in a position where it doesnt - and talent wins out.
If that happens - god bless you.

But money in sports today - including youth baseball - is a paramount issue.
Thise who deny that - IMO - are either very lucky or just denying the obvious.

Money matters - in high school - and in college.
That is just the way it is - either you deal with it the best you can - or just be done with it.

Lot's of good advice, especially Old Cats. Some things I will add.

1. Craft a letter or email that will notify schools where your son will be and when. This works well for Pro tryouts, all-star games usually will have plaenty of scouts ...not as good at D-2/JC workouts. In your letter do not alude to financial difficulties. There's time to discuss this after you've generated some interest. In the letter/email include objective standards that are used to measure all players. Pop times, 60 yrd times, Radar gun etc. Assuming these are good this will peak what interest there may be if a school needs his position. Also include grades these help peak interest as well.

More good advice...thanks!

BigWI....Chad is loving Ripon. Great bunch of guys. He will probably lead off and start at 2b this season. Best of luck to Geoff at WCTC.

Ever consider working a weekend job to pay for a showcase? Or having your son do it?

I know lots of people that work extra shifts, more overtime, second jobs etc, so thier kid can play ball.

Me included.

I have two girls in college and a boy playing baseball and a daughter that rides horses.

Broke doesn't begin to tell my story.

We just make sacrifices.

Kellerdad

And I bet you sleep well at night too!!!

Good post KellerDad,
I can definately relate.

There's no crying in baseball!

4Falcons...You say you can't afford to send your son to some showcases, etc.; and, yet, one of your sons is going to Ripon. Ripon, although a small school, is pretty expensive.

Since he is not likely get a 100% scholarship, how are you handling that?

Inquiring minds want to know.

BeenthereIl,
That may be one of the reasons he can't afford to send the other son to a showcase.

quote:

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Originally posted by BeenthereIL:
4Falcons...You say you can't afford to send your son to some showcases, etc.; and, yet, one of your sons is going to Ripon. Ripon, although a small school, is pretty expensive.

Since he is not likely get a 100% scholarship, how are you handling that?

Inquiring minds want to know.

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I am not handling...and he is gonna have some hefty student loans when he is all done.

I understand now.