What do you mean by 'performance?'

I guess it depends on your perspective as a parent.  My son has played on and against some very good teams the past 5 or 6 years.  I also formed a new team two years ago that played 15U and 16U.  I personally called/selected every kid on the team except for a couple fill in guys....who I knew before I offered them a spot.  Of the 15 or 16 kids we used the past 2 summers....

3 are committed to D1's as pitchers

1 has a very nice offer

1 has multiple offers as an OF

3 others have at least been contacted by D1's

1 is going to play D1 football

1 is going to play D1 or D2 basketball

My son played this fall with a team that has multiple D1 commits....and more guys with multiple offers.

My son wasn't one of the one's who had been talking to D1's....however, he went to a showcase attended by a bunch of D1 coaches in December.  After watching him throw, I really thought he had maybe done enough to be noticed.  Sure enough, the day before Christmas he got an email asking him to call a D1 recruiting coordinator...and is scheduling a visit.  3 weeks later I watched him put on what I felt was his best "showcase performance" to date.  Again, the coaches noticed. 

I guess from standpoint, I base my thoughts on his "performance" on what I've seen the past 2 or 3 years....both on our team and on others.  I think I've got a pretty good feel for what a kid needs to do at an event like that (or during a game) to be noticed by coaches. 

Would I expect a typical "parent" to go to a showcase and have the same feel for their kids performance as I do?  Absolutely not....how could they.  We've all seen kids at the "top" showcases who are 5'7, 140 lb juniors who throw 70...have an exit velo of 68 and can't throw the ball across the infield.  Obviously the perspective of that kids parent is a little off to think that he's going to fit in at a showcase like that (I'm not talking about the younger kids like was mentioned in an earlier thread)...I'm talking about juniors/seniors who just really just are so out of place that you feel bad for them.  I actually set close to a dad of one of those kids at a recent showcase....and really had a hard time listening to him tell the  mom of another kid how his son "played on XXXXX travel team....etc, etc, etc"....while I knew full well he was either delusional....or just really had absolutely no idea where he stood.

Sorry, this got a little long....but I think you'll understand my point.  Judging "performance" can be completely different from one person to another depending on the baseball experience that the person has.   One parent thinking their kid had a "great performance" could be completely different than another parent...or likely the coaches.   There are so many levels of baseball parents/coaches/etc on this site that it's obviously going to mean different things depending on who is posting.

This is really a hard question.  Many parents believe that stats define performance and in some cases they do.

At the younger ages, I always enjoyed watching what happened when you came across an opponent who had something you weren't normally used to seeing.  For example, watching hitters against a kid who had an above average fastball for the age in question.  Some of the big stats guys who could murder below average pitching did not stand a chance when the velocity went up.  Some of them were afraid to stand in there and you could tell by watching their body language.  Other kids looked at it as a challenge and even if they didn't get a hit on a given at bat against a given pitcher, they found a way to do something productive with their opportunity.

Performance is relative in every game and at every level including the pros.  Maybe you had four hits against the top prospect in the game but maybe there were extenuating circumstances that day.  Another day, a lowly prospect makes you look bad and you go 0-5 at the plate.  In baseball, you have to have a long term view of things.  It's easy to perform when you are feeling good about yourself.  It's hard to convince yourself that a hit will eventually come again when you've gone a week without one.  The stats will reveal performance over time.  Perhaps what I am saying is performance may be more about mental toughness than anything else. 

In the context of the question, I would say the individual separated themselves from others with their performance.  It would be apparent to just about everybody watching who is having the greatest impact on that particular game.

That's a good point but even in that context, it still gets back to performance is relative to the context in which the separation occurred.  Separating yourself at a tryout for the local junior college may not be the same thing as separating yourself at a national showcase event.  Performance also is repeatable to a certain extent within the context of the law of averages.  Maybe someone did not "show" well at one given event but over the next two or three, they acquitted themselves nicely.  I think it is a complicated question and time/consistency/context needs to be factored in to ultimately determine performance imho.

I like this post…a lot!

When our older son was in rec league (yep, he somehow survived and progressed despite playing in 'rec league'), I often got to coach the all star teams.  One of the criteria I used was 'How did kids look facing my son?'  (He was an overpowering pitcher).  Did it matter if they got a hit?  Nope.  Not at all.  All of the things you mentioned above CD…I used them in my evaluation of their "performance."

We won a whole lot of all star games too…just in case anyone was wondering about use of that criteria.  

This is a great question, especially for an online forum, because it reminds us that we're often not aligned on what words mean.

Personally, when I say it, I mean: "In this singular event, he excelled. He had a great performance." Like an actor in an Academy Award winning movie ... or any NFL quarterback in a single game.

I don't use the word performance to describe a player's overall skills, potential, character, etc. Mediocre players can have great performances, and often do.

If I'm at all normal in how I view and use the word, maybe the takeaway for parents is: Just because a coach, scout, PG, or whoever, says "Johnny had a great performance today" doesn't mean he's destined for greatness.

Agreed, an old timer who has been involved with baseball since the 50's and high school ball since the 90's gave my son the best advice he has ever received so far regarding going to these showcases.  Ill paraphrase a bit since getting info from 15 YO is like pulling teeth.

Basically the thought was not to worry about your performance at these events, but rather to make sure that your fundamentals are crisp and repeatable. The people scouting or grading you are not concerned about a lucky homerun you hit more than they are looking for a great swing a repeatable great swing. Be yourself and don't try to overdo anything. ect ect...

Consistency is what i was told to make sure my son aspires for, not a good performance at a random event.

Now, all that being said we have yet to go to any of these events so i may have no idea what im talking about. Maybe lucky homeruns or hits do mean something.

KauaiDad,

Some old timers really do know a lot.  Sounds like your son knows one of those.

KauaiDad, IMO you hit it right on the head. Most players have moments of greatness or "show" well but in the end it is about consistancy. I have also tried to instill in my sons that repeatable sound mechanics are the key. To accomplish this they need to stay within the basic movements and stay away from making things complicated. It seems that in the last 10 yrs there have been so many instructors, coaches etc that are trying to come up with a lastest/greatest gimmick to make a name for themselves; imo it is just confusing kids.

Playing well on a weekend, when people are watching, may or may not make a difference.

If a kid plays well in front of a college he really wants to go to, but that school already has his position filled, or he doesn't meet their measureables, it won't matter how well he hits, fields, or pitches.

I've also seen the flip side where a kid just performed o.k. and didn't stand out, but the school was definitely looking for his position with a left hand bat. As a result, the coach asked to meet right after the game, tour the facilities, and asked the kid to come and play that day.

Sometimes it's about timing and need more than performance.

Agree, son went to D1 camp and HC sat sideways near batters taking live BP on field and he never once looked to see where balls were hit. Sure his assist did but he only cared about watching swing/fundamentals. Thankful my son has found a good swing and  does it consistently. Guess all the practice, lessons, hitting off tee in basement  r paying off. It's become smooth, effortless. Muscle memory I guess. 

Originally Posted by justbaseball:

…When you say/think, "My son had a good 'performance' at the showcase/tournament/HS season."  What did you mean?...

Performance is always relative to other players and unique in measurement to the perspective of the observer.

Based on the OP, ‘Performance’ is going to have to mean different things to different parties.  Nobodies interests are aligned … they overlap, but they do not match.

The player can only show the best they are capable of.  The on-field results are a product of talent, work, mental focus and physical state.  Realistically, ‘Performance’ can only be judged relative to that players potential for that weekend.  If a player is completely outshone by other players on the a field that weekend – judging on an absolute scale – the player must then to be aware of what his skills are capable of and assess how much work he’s willing to put in to show improvement.

For someone playing the parent role, ‘Performance’ can have multiple meaning.  With no control over on field results, a parent needs to be using their greater life experience to help, if possible, see a ‘Performance’ as part of a bigger, longer process.  If your player was named Uber-MVP-All-Star of the PG 25U Intergalactic Championship as a 15 year old HS freshman, but obviously didn’t play up to their potential, everybody knows there are two reactions.  External facing – this is to everybody not in the car on the ride home – smiles, thank-you’s, congratulations, and talk of  a ‘great performance’ are the order of the moment.  Internal facing – within a robust and healthy family relationship – a parent should be listening to what the players thinks:  Is the player only enamored with the adulation for his performance or does he recognize things ‘broke his way’ and he is capable of more?

For the scout and the college coach, performance is an absolute ranking of what a player is capable in context of the organization they represent.  All these parties may agree on whom the best Florida 2014 player is, but the Yankees or Florida State (only examples) have a far better chance of landing the young man than an upstart community college program from North Dakota in its first year of fielding a team.   For the ND CC program, a player that is widely recognized to be far down the food-chain may have had a Performance that is worthy of pursuit for their program

What I’m driving at is ‘Performance’ is one of the terms we can use as common ground.   Last example:   Two players leaving a showcase.  One player will one day be in baseball HOF, the other player will be done with athletics after high school.  It is not duplicity for each player to acknowledge they had quality performances over the weekend, based on their differing abilities.  In fact, as young people, they’ve both likely accumulated equal measures of where their resources and time should best be spent.  Should the inferior player say to the better player, ‘I can’t even hold a candle to your performance’?  Or should they be able acknowledge each other’s performances and ‘see you at school tomorrow’.