Under Armour All America Myth

quote:

Originally posted by itsinthegame:
More nonsensical BS.

Your wasting our time with this blabber. IMO

What's nonsensical? I asked probably 50 questions about the talent, etc. going to participate at this Pre-Season All America. I was never told eveyone was a future draft pick, I was told players projected to play DI/DII were invited. Perhaps they were more honest with me due to the amount of time I have been around them? It's possible I'm sure.

quote:

Originally posted by itsinthegame:

quote:

Originally posted by JerseyCoach:

Instead your son will be neither

Yeah - tell me all about it Coach.

LOL

Taking things out of context is also a great way to slander.........

quote:

Originally posted by shortstopmom:

quote:

Still, I have heard the same overblown reactions from the same 3 people

Look in the archives Coach.
( that little button up top that says " find " ) Press it and type in your tournament and see what pops up. Theres a heck of alot more opinions than from just three posters.
But we all know that you already know how to do that because you have brought those post-dated threads into today's thread.

Looking for more free promo ( good or bad ) for perhaps a personal invested interest??

I truely question your intentions here.

I see a few negatives, and then I see a few positives (who get blasted for giving the opinion from the same 3 people). Granted I haven't checked them all, but it seems like a common trend. Hardly a decent sample.

I do have personal invested interests...my players and family. I like to hope we are making correct decisions. If I turn out to be wrong with all of this...I am screwing a lot of kids and their families.

quote:

I apologize for believing someone with the name "PGSTAFF" would be biased. How silly of me

How silly of ME, but that doesn't sound like much of an apology at all!

quote:

Still, I have heard the same overblown reactions from the same 3 people.

JerseyCoach,

You are very shifty!... Biased about what in this thread???? I still haven't mentioned anything about the event you're talking about. I wouldn't have posted in this thread at all except wanting to correct something "larrythompson" had posted. Then YOU ran with it and when someone posted their thoughts you called them a liar!

BTW, there have been nine or ten people who have posted their thoughts here, not just three people. I have yet to offer any opinions or reactions, one way or the other, about the event you brought up. Personally, my reactions have nothing to do with the subject. It's only YOU and YOU alone that bothers me and I don't consider those comments made about you as being overblown at all.

quote:

do apologize SSMOM, I just really couldn't buy the idea that they sent $3500 invitations to you, and $799 invitations to the rest of us. I honeslty have also never seen more than 60 players at a tryout. Maybe it's different wherever you live...if it is...I really do apologize. (Like I said, my experience has given me a bias as I'm sure yours has as well)

You came on here two days ago for the first time, ( March 07,2008 ) and 14 posts later you managed to call one poster a liar and insulted/dismissed several others.

I welcome your opinion, your questions, and your convictions. What I take offense to is your approach. I would be less than honest if I didnt tell you that I question your true intentions and motivations behind your postings. I'm just not convinced you dont have a personal invested interest.

Time will tell.

quote:

Originally posted by PGStaff:

quote:

I apologize for believing someone with the name "PGSTAFF" would be biased. How silly of me

How silly of ME, but that doesn't sound like much of an apology at all!

quote:

Still, I have heard the same overblown reactions from the same 3 people.

JerseyCoach,

You are very shifty!... Biased about what in this thread???? I still haven't mentioned anything about the event you're talking about. I wouldn't have posted in this thread at all except wanting to correct something "larrythompson" had posted. Then YOU ran with it and when someone posted their thoughts you called them a liar!

BTW, there have been nine or ten people who have posted their thoughts here, not just three people. I have yet to offer any opinions or reactions, one way or the other, about the event you brought up. Personally, my reactions have nothing to do with the subject. It's only YOU and YOU alone that bothers me and I don't consider those comments made about you as being overblown at all.

Very touchy for someone who doesn't care. Who am I that I can make you this upset by using you as an example for the lack of diverse opinions?

quote:

Originally posted by shortstopmom:

quote:

do apologize SSMOM, I just really couldn't buy the idea that they sent $3500 invitations to you, and $799 invitations to the rest of us. I honeslty have also never seen more than 60 players at a tryout. Maybe it's different wherever you live...if it is...I really do apologize. (Like I said, my experience has given me a bias as I'm sure yours has as well)

You came on here two days ago for the first time, ( March 07,2008 ) and 14 posts later you managed to call one poster a liar and insulted/dismissed several others.

I welcome your opinion, your questions, and your convictions. What I take offense to is your approach. I would be less than honest if I didnt tell you that I question your true intentions and motivations behind your postings. I'm just not convinced you dont have a personal invested interest.

Time will tell.

It's funny, I had been thinking the same thing about you. There is NO WAY someone can be this opposed to a reputable organization without vested interest elsewhere.

quote:

do have personal invested interests...my players and family. I like to hope we are making correct decisions. If I turn out to be wrong with all of this...I am screwing a lot of kids and their families

Man,..I do hope you are sincere. Looking at the way you have handled yourself here today on this thread.....
Time will tell.

quote:

There is NO WAY someone can be this opposed to a reputable organization without vested interest elsewhere.

Neener-neener....good grief.
Am I writing to an adult?

To get things straight:
I am not opposed to the organization in any way shape or form. Go back and re-read coach.

I am opposed to your lack of manners.

I am glad your son had a good experience. I even added to that, and mentioned of another I know who has also had a good experience. I know of two good experiences and I put them out there. I enjoy hearing about good experiences,...if there are more I'd be glad to read about them.

You brought up our personal experience from the tryout camp from a post-dated post.
Not me.
Dont like my opinion about it?
Then you probably shouldnt have brought it up.

Your apology didnt last long did it?

Feel free to hit your ignore button anytime.

Welcome to the HSBBW.
I've said my piece.

I have no interest in any of the organizations.

I have nothing generally against the sponsors of the UA event. In fact, I have taken my son to at least one of their very highest profile events and we generally enjoyed it.

I am a parent. You asked parents to answer your questions. I answered them, but you didn't like the answers I gave, so you proceeded to completely lose it -- with me and everyone else who tried simply to converse with you.

As far as your doing any disservice to your players, my thoughts are these:

If you told them this might be a decent event for exposure, you may well have been correct. We never went, so I can't say.

If you told them this was a neat way for them to put the "All-American" label on their resume, then I think you may well have done them a disservice. I think recruiters know what this event is and is not, and any kid who claims to be an All American based on this event is not fooling anyone.

And to the extent the kids (or their families) themselves got fooled, I do hold the event sponsors responsible for that.

quote:

Originally posted by Midlo Dad:
I have no interest in any of the organizations.

I have nothing generally against the sponsors of the UA event. In fact, I have taken my son to at least one of their very highest profile events and we generally enjoyed it.

I am a parent. You asked parents to answer your questions. I answered them, but you didn't like the answers I gave, so you proceeded to completely lose it -- with me and everyone else who tried simply to converse with you.

As far as your doing any disservice to your players, my thoughts are these:

If you told them this might be a decent event for exposure, you may well have been correct. We never went, so I can't say.

If you told them this was a neat way for them to put the "All-American" label on their resume, then I think you may well have done them a disservice. I think recruiters know what this event is and is not, and any kid who claims to be an All American based on this event is not fooling anyone.

And to the extent the kids (or their families) themselves got fooled, I do hold the event sponsors responsible for that.

I do appreciate the response Midlo. I thought I had said NUMEROUS times now that this event was not for players who wanted to be on a "list". To me it was obvious after reading what was involved in the tournament and asking questions ad nauseum about the talent, attending scouts, coaches, tournament setup, etc. exactly what a "Pre-Season All America" was. That is why I started the thread, to seperate the difference. No one deserves to be fooled, and no one here can control the naming of the event. That doesn't mean it can't be a VERY beneficial experience for your average college ballplayer. I agree with you, and have been saying what you just said all along.

The only thing I was opposed to in your first post was the thinking that it is so wrong to have to "buy" the honor of being a Pre-Season All American. My example was that you can't call yourself an MIT student just because you are intelligent enough to be accepted. Not much in life is free, except if your son is in the top %1 of players.

Here's where you jumped the rails.

If your son wants to tell people that he was accepted to MIT, that may sound defensive to those who hear it, but it's truthful and if he thinks it helps him, he can say that. But you can't represent yourself as if you are an MIT grad unless you attend classes there, pass them and meet the graduation requirements. And yes, that may cost some money, but pretty much everything worthwhile in life requires some sacrifice. If you choose to go a route that requires less sacrifice, then you have to accept that you made a sacrifice and what that means is there are going to be things you miss out on, like getting to call yourself an MIT grad.

The Little League All Star parallel you drew was silly. Little League costs next to nothing, at least around here, plus they have a program for waiving even their nominal fees for those truly in need. And at least in my experience you don't buy your way onto the All Star team, you have to earn it at least in the eyes of the decision makers.

The Legion parallel you drew similarly missed the point. Only those guys who were on that team got to say they were state champions. That's because only they did the work that got them there. They didn't become state champions because the Legion organization quoted a fee for the right to have the trophy. They won it on the field.

There are several organizations that post All American lists, both preseason and post season. To my knowledge, the UA event is the only one that directly links your being labeled All American to whether or not you pay a fee, which to my recollection was $799 (though that did not include travel expense, which was considerable). You can question the methods used by each respective organization to come up with their lists, and I'm sure there are kids who are overlooked at times. But generally speaking, the All American moniker is doled out based on someone's assessment of merit, with this one exception.

What I hear in some of your statements is the sorry excuse that so many people make, that they think things like the Perfect Game rankings, etc. are pretty much only for rich kids who can afford all those PG events. The problem with that line of thinking is that it is born of ignorance and envy, not reality.

I have gotten to see many of PG's most highly ranked players in action the past few years. Some of them come from wealthy or high income families, but many absolutely do not. What they share in common is a willingness to make the sacrifice to go where they need to go to get better, to get evaluated and to show their stuff.

You do not have to attend a PG showcase to get a PG ranking. Obviously it helps, since they can only rank those they see, but they scout other events, too. In my own son's case, he received a very high PG rating and ranking before he ever attended a single PG showcase -- before we ever wrote a single check to PG. We did attend I think 4 WWBA events, plus USA Baseball's Junior Olympics, but we did that by placing our son on a team that had the players work concession stands at youth tournaments to raise all the money for the team's expenses. I'm not here to cry the blues about the cost of it all, because I'm personally doing OK financially. But I can assure you that several of our teammates are not wealthy in the least. They use credit card points to travel; they stay in extended stay motels; they share rooms with others; they send their kids with other families and the parents stay home to work. And several of these players received very high PG rankings. (We had a pretty loaded team, talent wise.)

And BTW, PGStaff is the head honcho at PG. If you would learn more about PG events and maybe take part in a few, you would get to meet him personally, as I have many times. Probably no one person has done more for my son, and many other people's sons, than this man. So when you come on here accusing him of being biased and basically running him down when you obviously don't know what you're talking about and you have some axe to grind, the impression you leave behind is that we should all take up a collection to send you to a Dale Carnegie course.

And with that, I'm off this thread permanently.

IMO, if the organization does what it says it is going to do, then it is legitimate. If a person chooses to pay $3500 to send their kid to a showcase tournament, then that was their choice. If they sent them and didn't check it out first to see if you actually get what you pay for, well...then they got what they paid for. I would think PG would admit that not every top player has been to a Perfect Game event and maybe it was because they couldn't afford the price. It could be because the haven't heard of Perfect Game, I hadn't until 2 years ago. Maybe it's because their Parents don't feel it's neccessary, maybe it is and maybe it isn't. The one thing I do know, is that Perfect Game does what they say they are going to do and that is give the players exposure to college and pro scouts. I expect Baseball Factory does the same thing or Under Armour wouldn't attach it's name to their event. I really don't have a problem with what they call their event either since no one organization can say they have seen ALL of the players that should be on any All American list. All it really takes is for a player to play well on the right stage and there they go! Right now, Perfect Game happens to have the biggest stages.

One more point, who's to say (since it's a PRE SEASON event) that some of those kids won't end up being All Americans?

I would kind of like to know where both organizations got the names and how they arrived at the lists.

The All-American title means something if you earn it.

It means nothing if you pay for it.

quote:

Originally posted by itsinthegame:
The All-American title means something if you earn it.

It means nothing if you pay for it.

Must have meant something to the coach who recruited my son at the tournament

The world is an interesting place - isnt it?

Buying recognition is OK for some - and not OK for others.

Just the way it is.

If someone told me they would make my son an All-American - if I paid them - I think I would puke all over them. LOL

quote:

Originally posted by Midlo Dad:
Here's where you jumped the rails.

If your son wants to tell people that he was accepted to MIT, that may sound defensive to those who hear it, but it's truthful and if he thinks it helps him, he can say that. But you can't represent yourself as if you are an MIT grad unless you attend classes there, pass them and meet the graduation requirements. And yes, that may cost some money, but pretty much everything worthwhile in life requires some sacrifice. If you choose to go a route that requires less sacrifice, then you have to accept that you made a sacrifice and what that means is there are going to be things you miss out on, like getting to call yourself an MIT grad.

And with that, I'm off this thread permanently.

I know you said you were gone "permanantly" from here but I hope you come back to explain how the MIT scenario is any different from the pre-season All-America.

It makes sense if the players invited to the Pre-Season All America did nothing to earn it. If you can simply write a check and attend, then OK...that is REALLY messed up. If that is happening, it's VERY wrong. I don't know, but I think a DI/DII talent player has earned something. The best may not be able to attend due to financials, and it is no different with colleges all accross the country. You pay for the name on the degree, and not the quality of the education at the majority of Colleges/Universities. Is it fair that some of the more intelligent scholars cannot afford to "earn" a more prestigious degree? Maybe not, which is why MIT has now...(a little late) offered increased scholarships to lower income families. They, however, are one of the few with the endowment to make that possible.

quote:

Originally posted by itsinthegame:
The world is an interesting place - isnt it?

Buying recognition is OK for some - and not OK for others.

Just the way it is.

If someone told me they would make my son an All-American - if I paid them - I think I would puke all over them. LOL

Would you pay for a Harvard degree (say your son was a "legacy", academics don't seem to matter much for them), or would CC be fine since it's free? Either could teach you just as much....what are people paying for at Harvard?

What the hell does your hypothetical questions have to do with an organization that bestows "All-American" status on you if you pay them?

Like I said - I would puke.

Enough of this assanine topic for me.

quote:

Originally posted by itsinthegame:
What the hell does your hypothetical questions have to do with an organization that bestows "All-American" status on you if you pay them?

Like I said - I would puke.

Enough of this assanine topic for me.

Is it assinine because you know that people pay for the name on a diploma, and not the means by which they earn it? I guess the honesty behind that is hard for people to take in.

JerseyCoach,

It does appear that your agenda on our forums is something other than to inquire and discuss. Maybe you are here to try to discredit a respected baseball organization, or maybe to promote some other organization. I don't know, maybe you just don't have very good manners!

But please take a few minutes to read our Board Manners page and then feel free to contact me via the system notification I just sent to you.

Thank you,

Julie

MN-Mom,

Feel free to close this thread. I was done with JerseyCoach a few pages ago. Keeping it open only serves to show how much he/she doesn't know and doesn't want to learn.

quote:

My son received video, instruction, tournament play, Under Armour gear, and a great baseball experience.

Not sure how much you paid to receive all of the above, but when we were contacted, the price tag was around $3,500.00+,...plus airfare. The video was an additional cost.

You admitted it yourself:

quote:

Obviously, the term "All-America" is a marketing tool.

You call it a marketing tool.
I call it " questionable " and even possibly " misleading ".

I dont think the criticism is directed at the quality of the tournament, but rather to the " name " of the tournament.

Why not just call it the " Under Armour Baseball Classic " ?
That way no " marketing tool " is necessary and the reputation ( along with the cost of the tournament ),
can stand on its own two feet.[/QUOTE]
1) Not all players invited had to pay the fees, but travel was definitely at the players' expense.
2) All "All-America", "All-State", all-whatever are full of hype and marketing. That goes without saying. It's business and media.

At the risk of re-igniting this thread, I hate to tell you, but the price WE were quoted was under $1,000.

I wonder why it's more expensive for some than for others?

quote:

Originally posted by Midlo Dad:
I wonder why it's more expensive for some than for others?

My guess is that the sponsors are interested in revenue so the more people they charge that come, the more revenue they will receive. On the other hand, they are also interested in quality, so they may offer "free" passes in some cases.

Good grief.

The title includes "All America" not All-American"

There is a world of difference that most high school graduates should understand.

Here's the question. I have searched and read the forum about Basball Factory. Took my freshman pitcher to the UA tryout - and received the call that he was selected to the BF USA baseball Jr Olympic Team in Jupiter. I get that the UA/baseball factory tournaments are selected from those who attend their tryouts - BUT is it worth the $$$$$ to send him to the JOs in Jupiter on the BF Seleft team?? BFactory was VERY clear - they are not out to win. They will give equal playing time to players - they are offering exposure and a spot on the team to compete in the best tournament for 16U guys.

Thoughts? It's a lot of cash, but, if the tournament is all that it's cracked up to be, does it matter if it's a Baseball Factory team?

quote:

Originally posted by Jimmy03:
Good grief.

The title includes "All America" not All-American"

There is a world of difference that most high school graduates should understand.

LOL

Just too much!

LOL

Gamefan,

JO's is a great event. (At least if you're talking about the USA Baseball events in FL and AZ in June, those are the ones I have experience with.)

I have no idea what fee they are requesting. I've heard tell of some teams (NOT BF!!!) charging as much as $2,500/player, which is absurd for a single tournament. $250 is enough unless they are covering your travel expenses.

If you don't already have a team to go with, BF is certainly a reputable enough organization to go with. I'm not too keen on the UA event, but other than that I have no problems with BF generally.

With any "cameo appearance", though, I recommend you ask pointed questions about how many players are coming, and exactly how much playing time your son can expect. It's one thing to take 3 MIF's for a tourney, another to take 5 if you get my drift. Find out which it's going to be. It's sad to go to these tournaments and see kids who were promised the moon who barely get on the field all week.

Just a note on the JO's tournament. Just give you an idea of what the fee for the JO's is for some teams. We charge $250.00 a player to cover the cost of the tournament($2000), coaches hotel for 10 days and transportation. That seems to be the going rate here in SoCal unless someone has found a sponsor to help cover costs. I have heard of teams charging $500 to attend JO's.

sgvbaseball.com

There are two important things regarding the USA JO events.

1 - If you are one of the better players in the nation, it is possible to make the USA team

2 - It's good competition for that age bracket.

It is not a place to go for great exposure purposes. We have scouted the tournaments for many years, even before there were one on each coast. We do donate guns and timing equipment to the events, but most often, we were the only scouts in attendance at games. However, now days, the way college recruiting is changing, college recruiters are paying a lot closer attention to younger players. MLB scouts are way too busy at this time of year to scout 16 and under players as it is shortly after the draft. Most of the scouts and recruiters we have seen are there because they have a son participating.

We actually had a team entered a couple times. The fee was "free"! We loaded up with top players and the last year we had a team 7 or 8 of the players actually made the USA cuts. One that didn't make the cut is now in the Major Leagues. We finished second to Chet Lemon's Juice... Got robbed by the UMPS!

Bottom line... Outstanding events for players 16U. And it could lead to something big for the very best players who attend. Not sure if it is possible to research which teams the top players played for in past years. I mean the players who were selected to play for USA youth national team!

Also, we have no idea how much teams charge players to attend. I would imagine there is a wide range starting at nothing up to ????. Many are teams that actually play together all year.

If your a 16U player with some ability... It's a good place to be!

PG Staff - This was an incredibly informative post. We have come to the conclusion that we HAVE to send our kid to this tournament - seems like our only venue is through BF. It is incredibly expensive, but unless there is a PG team for free (even 500 -- even 1,000!) we are paying BF for the opportunity.

Does he have a chance for the USA team? Only one way to find out.

In the meantime, we will make a family vacation out of it and hope it is a VISA moment - priceless!

BTW, he is signed up for a PG showcase in October. We have only heard great things about PG and look forward to that!

Anyone looking for a P/1B for the tournament????

gamefan,

I would like to help you, but sometimes it gets hard to speak freely without coming across the wrong way.

Sorry, we no longer sponsor teams in that event. When we did there was no fee to the players. Of course, we went after the best players we knew of in the country. However, I'm sure there must be teams in the tournament that could use an extra talented player. Especially if your son can pitch and you are willing to pay what you mentioned.

We have all we can handle trying to see as many of the players as possible in both Arizona and Florida. There are many teams in the tournament, including some from Virginia. Evidently you must not have an opportunity to hook up with any of those teams. I would call USA Baseball and tell them your exact situation. They have some very good people and might have a suggestion once they understand the decision you're faced with.

I do agree that if your son is talented he should go if possible. But if he has talent, there are many other opportunities also. So don't feel that any one thing is mandatory or a can’t miss and that includes Perfect Game events.

Best of luck

PGStaff makes a good point. In the West, there are teams looking to add a player quite often. If you can get the list of teams from the East JO's email the coaches to see if a team might need an extra players. USA baseball might provide the list for you. It is a great event for 16U players. 72 teams going at it will all the got. This will be our 7th year attending and it has changed quite a bit since we first attended. As PGStaff stated with college recruiting going the way it is more colleges will be attending. Last year, there was quite a few at the event. I believe more will be attending this year as colleges have let is know they would attend when they haven't in the past.

As PG events go..I would recommend them to everyone. I had to good fortune of flying in from SoCal and assisting a team in last year's PG National Showcase. The talent there was truly amazing. Everyone one I met there was top notch.

If you're a solid pitcher there will always be teams who'll offer you one start. Look for a team with solid defense, especially at catcher, to help your son do well.

For position players it can be more dicey. Often you end up as a bench/insurance player with very little playing time. Position players have to be very careful with the "cameo appearance" with a standing team.

quote:

For position players it can be more dicey. Often you end up as a bench/insurance player with very little playing time. Position players have to be very careful with the "cameo appearance" with a standing team.

thanks everyone. In spite of the $$$$$$ we are going to send him with BF. Midlo, your post is right on. When our son when to Cooperstown, we ended up taking a bench/insurance player on our team, and the kid was promised some playing time. Sure messed up the politics of everyone who had been a long term commitment. At least the BF showcase, everyone starts out equal. We expect to find out if our son has what it takes to stand out on a team with non biased coaches and a level playing field. Big investment - but I anticipate an honest assessment of his abilities. We have been pleased with BF in this process, $$ aside.

Gamefan,

What is the cost?

Hey, I saw my name mentioned earlier. Sorry I missed all of the fun.

One of the posts mentioned how much money is spent on events in relation to the scholarship money one gets back. Now that we know my son's situation, I can provide a relative update on how it turned out for us. My son only has played local Little League, American Legion, and High School baseball before going to two BF events. I am excluding the equipment costs (since he would have to have that anyway) and the travel to the one non-local BF event (as we take a summer vacation anyway and the cost for this travel was normal). So, I am just including participation fees (and only in relative terms). Also, I am assuming for these purposes that he holds his scholarship money for all 4 years.

So, if the local baseball costs over 12 years = X, then the two BF events cost = 8X, his athletic scholarship is 32X, and his total non-loan financial aid package is 100X. So, I don't think we were totally killed by the costs. Part of this is that we didn't go to lots of outside events/showcases/travel ball, just the two BF events.

A less tangible result has been his maturing as a player and I believe getting out of the "local" box was a big part of that. Our experience was based on a lot of hard work that kind of went in this order:

1) Son goes to BF tryout and gets a mixed review with specific things to work on.
2) Son and I work almost daily for two months to correct the issues.
3) Son experiences (important word) a good level of instruction, camaraderie, and playing at BF tournament/camp. Revised review reflects his hard work and improvement.

His two baseball experiences since then have been very positive. The first was at his college workout, where he did very well and seemed well-prepared for the requirements.

The second has been the high-school season. We have short seasons here (weather). Last year he was a good player that played his role well on a 6-12 team (15R, 3 HR, 14 RBI, .349 AVG, .382 OBP, .556 SLG). This year, he is one of the best hitters in our area and a leader on a 10-4 team that may make the playoffs if we finish well (17R. 8 HR, 37 RBI, .543 AVG, .596 OBP, 1.130 SLG).

This isn't all because of BF events, but the experience was very valuable and we are still happy with what we got. I think we hashed out a lot of this in the other thread, so I know there are other ways to go and things don't always turn out the same for everyone. This is just what happened with us.

quote:

Originally posted by infidel_08:
How do you describe an All-American?

To me an All-American would be the best of the best, a select few. It is a term that is earned not bought. I think that was the biggest complaint about the UA title. You could be an All-American simply by playing (and paying) for BaseballFactory or whoever was the organizer.......

Sorry to tell you this, but there are multiple All-America and World Championship teams, events, etc. Are the words hyped for marketing purposes? Yes. That's the way its always been, for more than just baseball. Regardless, All-America, Academic All-America, All-Conference, All-District, all- whatever, etc. are honors for the people involved. There is no need to knock that.

I am new here and found this post first (and was intrigued) and had to respond. My son has attended the BF PreSeason All American this last Jan. As well as, 2 years at the 16 J.O. in Jupiter. Here is my take from those experiences. The BF called to congratulate us on being selected as an All American (which at the time was just 180 Baseball players invited) we took the bait and by the time we paid and bought airfare and hotel, there were over 200 in attendance. I noticed that the BF had about 20 kids (from there exclusive program) who were "scouted" and reported on frequently, as well as a few kids who were not of the BF Program but had already had commitments. The rest of the boys were just the finacial backing for the scheme. They sure patted themselves on the back listing the names of boys who were accepted to college but from what I could see these boys were already accepted before this tournament even started.

As for the J.O. I did not see a large number of scouting going on, not until the final games were played. If you are going to be seen at the J.O. It is because you are already being looked at and your name is out there. It does help to be on a Large Nationally known team as well.

I want to make sure and say that we all had great vacations amd my son loved playing ball and I am not bitter about either experience, I am just wiser now. I will be more selective for my other boys in the future.
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest! Whew I din't realize it was in there!