USA Baseball and VA Recruiting

IMO, you are trying to get your son in front of as many relevant eyeballs as possible (using my dating analogy...people who might think he is attractive). USA Baseball is just another opportunity to do so. At your son's age, it is a good opportunity to get him "on the map" but the reality is that the college coaches REALLY aren't watching many 14u games.

As he gets older, and if he can do something to attract attention in a positive way (i.e. make a great play or turn around a good FB), it will turn heads. Coaches like to see your son do something great because it means he can probably repeat it.

I have been at the USA NTIS event the past few years (missed this year) and there are schools from all over the country. Now, you need to understand that a top programs from the PAC 10 or SEC are really just looking for the cream of the crop. They aren't looking to take a VA kid throwing 80mph to a local kid.

So, there really isn't a direct answer to your question.

Completely agree that no one is taking the walk from the Complex over to Thomas Brooks Park. But we're looking 1-2+ years down the road to determine if it makes sense to spend the money now on NTIS events for some potential future return.

And completely agree that unless there's a super special player out there, the PAC 12 school is going to recruit a PAC 12 situated player vs. a VA player. This notion makes me wonder if the NTIS fits into a well-thought and structured campaign to reach a targeted set of mid-Atlantic schools. Rhetorical: Does it supplement the campaign, or does the NTIS process open up some unexpected pairs of eyes?

Thanks for your feedback.

I am a stats rat, so I dug up a forum topic from a while back that had folks post where their son was 'discovered by their college': (small-ish sampling of posters)

http://hsbaseballweb.com/eve/f...06/showpollresults/Y

Zero from USA baseball, but I bet everyone of those players that went to the Team USA NTIS trials, ALSO went to camps, showcases, etc. including PG events.

For curiousity, I went back and checked all the USA team rosters before keewartson went to the North Atlantic NTIS in Allentown, to see how many Virginians made Team USA (I think I checked only 16U and 18U teams for several years back). Many players from GA, FL, CA, TX, as expected, and Tyler Wilson was the only Virginian I found. I could have missed one, but you get my drift.

Further into 2012, maybe you will have a better grip on whether USA Baseball is a fit for your baseball budget....or maybe you will have a big tax return this year

I will say, it is a good situation to be in!

USA Baseball is one of a few groups with a track record of identifying and showcasing what I would call the "national caliber" player, that is, the kid who can play anywhere and who may even have solid pro potential.

One thing we discussed last night is that it's just hard for a kid from one place to get seen by a school from several states over more than once (e.g., at East Cobb). That makes focusing on those schools closer to home, which can get multiple looks at you, a smaller mountain to climb.

But for the national caliber player, a circuit that includes the Team USA trials and/or tournaments, Ft. Myers and Jupiter in the fall, PG National and even one of the major All-American games can get the multiple looks you may want from the Omaha-oriented programs like Texas, LSU, etc.

I don't discuss that much because you're talking about something that affects maybe a few dozen players in each recruiting class, not something that the thousand-plus other college-bound players would really find cost effective. But if your son is a contender for Team USA, this may apply to you.

It is expensive. But for the few who have the opportunity, it truly qualifies as among those life experiences that are worth the money. I have more than a few mementos of Midlo Son's journey through that pipeline and I am so very glad I shelled out the money. I guess you could chalk it up as family entertainment expense, more so than cost-effective recruiting investment, but either way, well worth it!