Under Armour All-American Team - 2011

How much are they charging for it if any? I will check with my contacts here in Tucson as I know several players here attended. Am familiar with the event but Jr never been in one.

Thanks,
RR23

If it is at no charge then it is probably worth it. If they are charging $$ then probably not.

I believe it is $800. A lot of money. But I don't go along with the idea that anything costing money is a scam, or not worth it. These people who run camps, showcases, and tournaments, aren't in the sports charity business. You just have to pick where and how much you can spend, as I believe you are trying to do, Eric G.

BSBL JR. received the packet in the mail a couple days ago stating that he was selected as a Pre-Season UA All American for 2011. I don't have the packet in front of me, but I believe the cost is $799 for the tournament if you get fees sent in before a certain date, otherwise the cost is $899. Ironically he received the same packet last year, with the same fees, and he was a "Pre-Season UA All American"? However, my son chose to attend a showcase that was a little cheaper for his parents...and wouldn't you know, he was no longer on their UA All American list?

I do know a couple families that attended the UA event last year, they said it was run well. Unfortunately the $800-$900 price, not to mention travel and hotel expenses, makes this venture tough for most families.

bsbl is spot on regarding the costs. Is rather steep isnt it. I would no doubt consider it if it was more reasonable like 4-500.00.

The truly worthy awards/teams don't cost the player anything. Aflac, Area Code, team USA, etc. are all at no charge to the player. This is simply a ruse for Under Armour to generate publicity and generate $$ all on the players back. Don’t waste your time and money.

Actually, I'm fairly sure that this is not actually Under Armour, but rather Baseball Factory/Team One promoting one of their numerous events under license from Under Armour.

This 'pre-season All-American' thing is strictly commercial from what I've seen in the past. Several of the young men who've played with me went to one of their events, and as soon as BF figured out that they already played in a program they didn't intend to leave, they lost interest pretty quick in those players. They went from being Pre-Season All-Americans to nobody's (at least in BFs eyes) in very short order.

Needless to say it sounds like its much better to spend a few hundred on attending some likely college camps that we are interested in than to do this. Agree?

trust me its baseball factory and one of its many money makers. been there done that.... run away...

Is the event actually worth going to from a pro scouting standpoint? A committed 2011 I know just received an invite.

My understanding is that ability to PAY is more important than the ability to PLAY. I think from a pro scouting standpoint there are a lot of better opportunities.

Area Code, Aflac, Jupiter, Goodyear, East Cobb all would be better, IMO.

I coached two players who paid for and attended a UA/BF tryout against my recommendation. Both were selected as "All Americans" and invited to play in tournaments, either in Arizona, Omaha, or Florida. One player has JC/D3/D2 potential. The other will likely play the last game of his career in May. One parent was ecstatic that his kid was chosen as an "All American". The other, put 2 and 2 together once he saw the fees. Take that for what it's worth

How much playing time is GUARANTEED for this? I mean for $700 they better give them some good quality playing time rather than an inning or two.

Let's get some perspective here as well

LSU won the CWS in 2009 and I just checked out their site for camps. They have...

Hitting clinic that's one day for $120
Catching clinic that's one day for $120
High School Showcase that's one day for $250 (hitters) $215 (pitchers)

So basically you can take that $700 and attend all three of these camps, get instruction and exposure to LSU for $500 and still have money left over to spend at another college.

This is a scam. I don't care how many people it puts you in front of there are other ways to do the exact same thing that are much cheaper and cost efficient. Avoid this like the plague.

It is baseball factory/team one.

First, if you have the money to spare and your boy really wants to go then go. It sure did not hurt Josh Elander in 2009!

However, dont put yourself in debt over any baseball event. And, only consider going "to get exposure and looks" if your child has the ability to stand out and above other players there.

We had this discussion over this event a while back.

To the best of my knowledge, this event is sparse with scouts and coaches, a few perhpas, and IMO this is not something that is necessary for recruiting, etc.

One dad wrote it was a thrill of a lifetime having scouts (the few that were there) watch their son play. I am not sure I get that way of thinking, but if that is the only place you think he's gonna be watched and that's important, than go for it.

quote:

One dad wrote it was a thrill of a lifetime having scouts (the few that were there) watch their son play. I am not sure I get that way of thinking, but if that is the only place you think he's gonna be watched and that's important, than go for it.

You know that guy may feel that way due to the fact he's never been around high level baseball. Things like this can mislead those who don't have our knowledge of how big baseball goes. They throw some fancy brand names out there, use fancy descriptions to impress those who don't know and stuff like that.

Personally I think it's shady and sketchy to run a business like that.

Dont know why yall think this UA is real. My son went a couple years ago. Got invited to the teams and a couple of friends. But they all played Legion ball so did not do it. Also had the Baseball USA coach and another guy-Legion baseball nat'l cooordinator that were nice enough to give the boys the heads up.

They said hey, what are you doing now? Playing all over the country right? And scouts are there right? SO where do you want to go to college?

My advice-if you are not on Varsity or Legion or something like that now, maybe ya need to work on your chops. Then YOU call the head coach of the college you want to attend -he wont bite I promise-give him your recent stats and arrange an appointment and college visit. If you are a senior now, ask to walk on. Play summer ball and weight train. Call and email him once in awhile. Ask him or a scout rep to come watch some tourney you will be in this summer. Then when you arrive on campus to attend college, go see him to remind him of you. Good luck! If you do not make it, bring up your stats. play intramural ball and summer ball and try again or transfer to a JC and
do the same.

If you are really serious, it will happen for you. Do not inflate to your self how good you are or pay UA to inflate lies. Really be good. YOU take charge. Coaches do not have the time to go to all the events in the nation. Connections and hard work is what will give you your future-you prove it then go to them.