Very good Player/poor team

You sound like you're in the same situation that my son found himself in. My advice would be to just keep playing ball. You'd be surprised how the other school and summer coaches can help you get noticed. For our son, the coach of another school and the coach of their legion team both recommended him to friends of their's who coached college teams. The only interaction he had with them was on the field. This team did win our league and went on to play in nationals for legion last summer and the college coaches let him know that he was recommended as being a player that could definately fit in with their team. Fortunately for him, he still made the first teams even tho our team generally fell in under .500.
So, when the people on this board say that you never know who's watching, you can know that's a sure bet.

Dave,
First of all we're talking high school baseball, the least important and effective format to get college or pro exposure. The name of the game is showcases and select teams. Besides, the team's record or a player's awards are not what attracts a coach or a pro scout in to see a player...It is the player's reputation that draws the coach or scout in to see the team. When it all plays out, if the parent and the player have done what needs to be done to get to the next level, it will happen no matter what high school team you play for.

quote:

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If he was with a better team one would think the average and extra bases would have been higher.

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...or... he may no longer be the stud puppy on the stronger team and end up being overlooked (you know, the "little fish in the big pond vs. the big fish in the little pond")...or... his average might go down because teams historically throw weaker pitching to weaker opponents.
Fungo

This goes back to the early 90's when showcases and select teams were not prevalent

My son played three years on a HS team that never won more than 6 games in a year but they played in a very strong league

He played on a summer travel team that won 85% of its games

The summer between his junior and senior HS years he won the MVP in a prestigious local tournament

He ended up playing major Division I college baseball on scholarship nearly 2000 miles away from home

How did it happen? By being PRO-ACTIVE and marketing him properly and being where you need to be to be seen

Do not use a poor HS team as an excuse because it isn't--scouts come to see the strong teams play and if you are playing them then you are on the same field for the same amount of innings. The scouts will also be well aware of you being the strongest player, if in fact you are the strongest, on your team and realize the support or lack of support around you.

There is nothing better than hard work and strong efforts every time out--just make sure your team, be it a strong or weak team, is playing against the top talent around.

Another example for you---in the recent BA/PG Wood Bat event in Ft Myers there were 80 teams-- i6 of them made it past pool play-- the other 64 teams played the strong teams and the weaker teams in their pool--in our case we had a multitude of scouts at all of our pool play games, whether it was against a reputed "stud" team or a supposed lesser rival and I am sure it pretty much the same for the other teams in the event as PG does a great job is setting up the pools in terms of the competition--- that is why a team attends an event like this--to play great competition and be seen--if you are batting against a pitcher who is a potential draft pick and you do well you will be noticed--trust me you will be noticed

And you do not have to be rich to play on a good travel team, trust me on this also

Make no excuses--get to work and don't feel sorry for yourself-- only you can make it happen

TR,
You mentioned in your previous post being pro-active and marketing him properly. Could you be more specific. What are some of the more effective marketing strategies? Thanks!!

Dave...Your son will be fine.

If he can play, everyone will find him in Georgia. Georgia is one of the best states for high school ball/players.

Do what you can afford to do. Send him to a showcase where he can be seen by college coaches.

Nothing magical about it. If he's seen, they'll make the decision. If he plays in a closet...NOTHING will happen.

Fungo

You say "we are talking about high school baseball the least effective and important format" I wished I knew that as I spent a lot of time on the phone and accommodating both pro scouts and college recruiters who attended games during the years.

Sometimes the best way to get noticed is to be a very good player on a bad team. Just like a kid that is not very good will stick out if he is on a good team. My oldest sons High School football team won 7 games in four years. Thats a 7-37 record. What got him noticed more than anything else was the fact that no matter what the score or the teams record he played like it was 0-0 and they were undefeated. One College Coach said "A kid that plays that hard when he is getting his butt kicked every Friday Night I know will play hard for us". Its not where you are its what you do where your at. I have recommended alot of kids on teams that we waxed. Scouts look at players not teams. Keep playing hard and working hard and everything will be alright. And yes I agree that there are alot of ways to get your son noticed. Showcase events and quality summer teams as well as camps. My son has several offers on the table right now because I wouldnt let him use his High School football experience as a negative. We used it as a positive to motivate him. Several coaches have watced our tapes scouting the opposing team and have come back and said "Who is that #62, man he plays hard regardless of the score". One of the tapes that was used to send out to College coaches was a game that we got beat 56-06. He had a heck of a game. Made some outstanding plays. I know its frustrating to get pitched around. Just like its frustrating for the other team to run away from you in Football and double and triple team you. But the cream will rise to the top, if you dont let it become a negative and you make it a positive.

Will,
I didn't expect high school coaches of former high school coaches to agree with me. ... But in my opinion showcases and select teams are more important in getting exposure, especially from college coaches. Aren't most college coaches involved in their college season during the HS season, thus limiting their recruiting efforts during the spring? I would venture to say we saw more pro scouts at one high school game than we did of college coaches in four years of high school baseball.
Fungo

Fungo

It is not that i do not agree with you but you talk about showcases and elite teams. how do they work. Can anybody attend a showcase? How do you get on an 'elite team"?

Fungo,

Except for the local DII or area JUCO's, there were more scouts at our HS games than college recruiters. If it wasn't for a high profile fall ball team (traveled 100 miles to Denver) that ended up in a showcase in AZ, my son would have had very limited opportunities. BTW, he had numerous offers from the AZ showcase after only throwing 3 innings in a 9:00 am game. He had zero offers from playing in HS.

Where the HS coaches came into play was in filling out info and talking to coaches after being contacted by college's.

Even though it worked out for my son, knowing what I know now, I would have made more of an attempt to go to a top showcase or two.

Hit and Run

Make sure the coaches you want to see the player know where he is all the time--who he is playing with; the showcases he is in; where he is playing etc

We have our own specific methods and means in terms of marketing which we apply when kids are part of our program--

ONE THING TO KEEP IN MIND-- you cannot successfully market a kid as a Division I player if he not a Division I player--you need to be very very realistic

The fact is College coaches are coaching their teams during the High School season. They rarely get a chance to scout High School players during the High School season. That does not mean that the High School season is not important because it is. The players that perform at a high level during the High School season are usually the ones asked to play on the elite teams and get the best opportunities. Having said that, the best way to get maximum exposure to College coaches is to attend quality showcase events and play on a quality summer and fall team. College coaches seasons are over and that is where they look at players much more intently than the High School season.

I don't know about all this if you don't go to showcases and camps you won't play college baseball. All of the coaches that have called me have never said go to this showcase b/c we are going to be there. All the coaches tell me to send them a copy of my schedule so they can go out and see me playing for real with my team instead of as an individual at a showcase.

To me, I think playing in a high school game is more important for coaches to see how a player is:
1) with his teammates and how he carries himself...is he cocky/is he a team player
2) how he perfomes with his team.

At a showcase or a camp the coaches know that your trying to show off. At a game where you are playing for your high school and your pride as an individual player, a coach can judge what kind of player you are than 8 hours at a camp with 100 other players around you that you dont know. At a game you are in a more relaxed environment and you are more comfortable in your surroundings.

EMURRAY15

That is why we have games in the showcase format

And as noted above most college coaches are too busy with their own schedules in the spring to take time and watch HS games unless there is a player of special interest

TRHIT,

I wasn't trying to offend anyone, I was just saying that in my experience in being a recruit/prospective student-athlete, they really look forward to seeing kids play in their high school games.

I must be of special interest then b/c all of the coaches I have talked to said that they really wanted to see me in the spring. I'm sorry if that offended I was just using my own experience.

No offense taken at all

I am curious--what exposure have you had before this spring?

And are all the schools looking to see you in the spring local schools?

EMurray15

Sure coach's would like to see you play in the spring. But in reality they have to work that into an already busy, hectic schedule of their own in the spring.

Of course they may not get around to seeing you until near the end of the season. By then they may have aready seen another kid whose schedule fit better into theirs. And guess what, they might like the kid. Sure, they might like you too, but we all know about the early bird....

No one says that high school alone is not enough for SOME kids. What they are saying is that there are better avenues.

Maybe it is because of the weather and short spring season here in the Northeast but I look at the HS season as a means of preparing for the summer season when the weather improves and you are not playing in 40 degree weather

around here i still think that high school ball is the big seller. yes the showcase camps are good but if i have a player the colleges are going to come see them at some point and time. very rarely will a player get "seen" at a showcase that hasn't aleready received some interest in high school ball. yes the showcases further that exposure, and may allow some colleges to see them at a more convienient time. still not sure about the summer select teams.

by TR
"because of the weather and short spring season here in the Northeast but I look at the HS season as a means of preparing for the summer season"

words of wisdom you can "take to the bank"

Fungo's description of "least important" is accurate imo, that's not to say hs is not important as #3 behind them, but showcases and elite teams are just more so - ya can't argue with their results

by Will "you talk about showcases and elite teams. how do they work. Can anybody attend a showcase? How do you get on an "elite team"?"

no offense, but it's downright scary that a hs coach supposedly knowledgable about college recruiting and who has been reading these boards for 2 yrs is asking that question -
you're reinforcing the stereotype

Very good player/terrible HS team.

Carl Crawford, Houston, TX

Had he not gone to a showcase, he probably would have been the QB at the U of Nebraska. Or he might have signed for a much smaller amount. He showed the "right" people how good he was and he signed for about 1.5 million and he's already a Major League All Star.

Maybe he would have done even better at football, but we'll never know.