Anyone else notice most of the college "showcases" touting the benefits of being "seen" by their coaches are more money makers than anything else. If you are D1, they probably will find you.

As much as I may agree with your original premis, I certainly don't agree with "They will find you".

Yes, they are money makers.

But they wouldn't exist if there weren't a plethora of willing customers.

But...talented kids do succeed in finding good "fits" through camps and showcases if they target their venues appropriately.

Don't think we want to try to make one summary statement that attempts to describe them all for everyone.

If a player really strategizes his search for a "good fit" school, the money spent on college showcases or camps might be a good investment. For some players, it is the only way they will be seen by a coach. And if they have communicated with the coach in advance, if they know they have the grades and have had a fair evaluation of their talent, then the money for the opportunity to show what they've got to a prospective coach makes some sense. But only if you've been on the coach's radar in some way..either through a letter or communication. And even then, it's unlikely that you'll know that anybody really saw you or not. I think in the beginning some players pick the top schools within their area (or beyond) and go to the showcases/camps hoping for a big break. When you consider that, by and large, a lot of college coaches already have their recruiting roster in mind, the chance that, sight unseen, you're going to get a big break without being on a coach's radar, is pretty slim. But then, as they say on this website all the time, you never know who's watching.

My son will be attending his first showcase in October... He's a sophomore catcher and I actually called the event organizer, after doing extensive research (on this forum, too!) on his programs, to ask if my son is too young for this sort of thing... He doesn't yet have any varsity experience~ he was selected for his JV team as an 8th grader, then moved into the starting spot, behind the plate, as a freshman... He hit for power and average once he was given a chance to be in the starting lineup that year! Since his 9th grade high school season, my son has been chosen to play for a senior Legion team as well as a fall travel team~ mind you, he didn't see much of any playing time, on his Legion team, and he's doing a lot of sitting this fall, too, as there are older, varsity players in front of him... Still, the experiences and practices have been positive for him, for the most part... Anyway, the showcase organizer told me that my son, at 6'1, 195, would 'fit right in', at least size-wise, and that there would be plenty of other players his age and experience level... I chose to register my son for this particular event because it's being held in an area not far from the many schools we've already requested academic information from (my son has a very specific degree program he intends to enter), though it's far from home... His high school/fall ball coach encouraged my son to register for this showcase, so that was a plus, too... I'm wondering what the major benefit for him will be, though, since NCAA rules are so strict when it comes to 10th graders... Would a coach or coaches actually see my son and make note of him, if they felt he has potential, then contact him in a year or so?

I have to say that attending showcases has been a huge part of our general plan to get our sons noticed. Our 17 year old goes to a small 2A school in a small Texas community where football and basketball are king. We went to his first showcase in December of his sophomore year and have since been to multiple individual college showcases through our own efforts and his travel team coach, seven major league tryout camps, the area code game tryouts, and one Topp,s 96 event. Our son is only 5'9" and 160 lbs. But by marketing his skills he has interest from at least three D1's, with very heavy interest from one, 2 DII's including one of the powerhouse DII's in the US and several DIII's. I believe none of this would have happened if we hadn't attended carefully picked showcases. I can't stress enough how helpful we found the Perfect Game showcases. After the South Top Prospects showcase, a major league scout called and said he was interested but felt a few years of college would give our son a chance to grow and mature physically. He personally recommended our son to the powerhouse DII school's coach and sure enough he has started calling after seeing video. I guess it doesn't hurt if your are a left handed bat who can run a 6.4 60yds either. Virtually no one on his high school team except his younger brother plays any travel or select ball and most don't play anything after Little League until high school. So speaking for the many people in our situation I think showcases serve a purpose, their fun to go to, and they have been a great confidence builder for both our boys when they see they can hang with talent at tryout camps and showcases.

Metro stars, This is about the money but baseball is a business. This is subliminal marketing. The label of "college showcases" is lipstick on a pig (can't remember where I heard that saying) It is the "old" money making camp competing with showcases. They call it a "showcase camp" to get some of the money parents are spending on showcases. But so have showcases conjured up "showcase teams" --- to draw the participants away from their teams.

SignCaller'sMa, Good luck to your son.

quote:

I'm wondering what the major benefit for him will be, though, since NCAA rules are so strict when it comes to 10th graders... Would a coach or coaches actually see my son and make note of him, if they felt he has potential, then contact him in a year or so?

NCAA contact rules would have NO impact on the benefits or lack of benefits a showcase provides a 10th grader. College coaches are ALWAYS looking for and evaluating players that can help their college roster. They don't have to make contact with him to see his talent. His play on the field establishes that. It's hard for anyone on this board to say if a college coach would remember a 10th grade junior varsity player's talent from 2 years before. I suggest you do one of two things. Determine the "optimum" time and place to attend a showcase (or college camp) and select one or two showcases that coincide with that period of time and place OR you can use the more common "shotgun" approach and attend a bunch of showcases and camps spread over a period of time and see what happens. That is much more expensive but would eliminate the common question of "have I done enough?"
Fungo
PS: Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I believe college coaches are exempt from the NCAA contact rules if the camp is held on their campus.

Three Bagger, I've heard so much about the Perfect Game showcases~ don't players have to be recommended for those? Our family has to be very choosy about anything we must spend money on, baseball-wise, for our son... Unfortunately, we have very limited resources and even the upcoming showcase my son will be attending is being funded by lots of overtime on my husband's part... I like that you mentioned that showcases can be fun~ that's something you don't hear too often when it comes to baseball anymore, especially when dealing with the competition to be 'seen' by recruiters!

Fungo, I have been researching college camps but so far, haven't come up with many, if any at all, being held at the schools my son is looking at (again, based on the degree he'll pursue)... Many of these schools are in PA and are DII, with a few in WV, too, also DII... Maybe there are more camps held in the summer? I have filled out many requests for information, for my son, at colleges, and indicated he is also interested in baseball... So far, one school has sent a questionnaire with their academic packet, which my son filled out and sent right back...

I have another question, which is related to my original post... When my son attends this showcase, he will be within a few miles of a school of interest to him, so I contacted the admissions office to request a tour... Since he'll be in the area on a Saturday and tours aren't scheduled on weekends, I asked for an exception to be made, as we live 5 hours from the campus... My son also filled out a baseball questionnaire for the school, online, and indicated he would be at a certain showcase, near the school... I received an email, from the admissions director, letting me know that the baseball coach will actually be giving my son a tour while he's there... Is there any rule against this, or is it simply considered an 'unofficial visit'?

SignCaller'sMa, welcome to the world of recruiting.

With most Perfect Game showcases you do not have to be invited, so to speak, you can request an invitation on their web site, if the showcase has a restricted number of slots or it is truly only for specific players, they will let you know.

For many of us, we have limited resources to go toward these activities; one of the goal is to maximize the benefit of attending any event or activity. You can do this by determining if the event will be drawing coaches and scouts to see your son play.

If you are interested in specific schools, you should contact the baseball coaches at those schools, let them know you are interested in their school, provide them with as much background as possible about your son (check recruiting tips in the tab toward the upper left hand side of the page), and let them know that you will be attending a showcase or tournament and invite them out to see your son play. That will give your son a little edge in the event as they are looking for prospects.

To address your point about making a visit to a campus, again, if you are looking to attend for baseball as well as school, you should contact the baseball coaches to arrange a unofficial visit, there are no limitations of how soon you can do that, we used to have college visits for our 8th graders for our travel teams if we were by a school for a out of town tournaments, that set the standard for them as the expectation is that they will be attending some college and that they needed to do well in the classes and the baseball field to get there.

There are certain blackout dates which college coaches can not met with you and you can find those dates and other useful information at NCAA.org. The coaches have certain restrictions as to what activity they can do when you are visiting including paying for meals and providing transportation, etc. but they can talk to you about the school, their program, give you a tour, show you the facilities, etc. For those who we really thought were good fits, we actually had some arrange meetings with the admission dept and professors of the major they were interested in, and we did that all before the junior year.

Good Luck and enjoy the ride!

SignalCallersMom, I can't speak to whether or not the schools that attend offer the acadmics your looking for or the level of baseball, but by far the biggest bang for the buck we got from a showcase/camp in terms of legitimate interest from college coaches was the Best of Virginia camp at Hampden-Sydney this past July.

Holden Caulfield~ I have actually been told that the H-S showcases/camps are really good... As a matter of fact, one of the catching instructors worked a bit with my son in the spring, as his own son was the JV head coach... He encouraged me to bring my son down to the camp but we already had other (baseball!) commitments this past summer... I did look at the list of schools represented and, unfortunately, there are not enough that offer the degree program my son is pursuing to make it worth our while, financially, at least from a 'scouting' standpoint... Now, as far as instruction, it may well be worth our while to look into the program for next summer! Thanks!

HomeRun04~ thanks for the welcome! I will certainly follow your advice and have my son contact some coaches from the schools he's interested in, academically, that are not too far from the showcase he'll be attending... Now that I know the 'unofficial visits' are not a problem, unless there is a blackout period, I feel comfortable being a bit more assertive... I was initially just worried about my son being too young for this process, but I see that I was wrong!

SignCaller'sMa,
I know exactly what you mean about the working overtime to pay for these showcases. Often I stay home working OT while my wife takes the guys to the showcase. She does video as much as she can since this can be handy in making your own videos to send to colleges. It is imperative to get the most bang for your bucks. If being recruited or seen is your main goal, you want to skip the more instructional camps and certainly the one's that have kids from 8-18. Find out if the camp is a true showcase for recruits and find ones that have multiple college coaches present. My son has been approached by college coaches at the major league tryouts but usually there are only a few college coaches there. One exception was the South Texas Professional Scouts showcase that will be in San Antonio, TX on Nov. 9 this year. Last year there was every major league team represented and about 30 colleges. This camp was for high school age only and drew about 220. If possible, try to get an invitation to the area code tryouts as there were over thirty coaches at the one in Blinn college and our son was first noticed there by the DI that is most heavily recruiting him. You must be recommended by a major league scout, but don't be shy about asking one that shows any interest in your son. It seems that the second round of Perect Game showcases we attended was well attended by both college coaches and major league scouts as this was maybe a little higher talent level showcase than the Perfect Game Sunshine showcase. Sometimes its good to first attend a little lower level or smaller college showcase to let your son just get comfortable in the competitive atmosphere. One of my most pleasant memories occurred at my son's first major league tryout when he was 16 and was doing well with most guys 17-23. He told me that he didn't think he saw anything that he couldn't handle in the middle of the workout. Whether it was true or not at least I knew then he had the attitude you need in these competitive situation. Remember, stress having a good time, make some new friends, maybe insist your son warm up with someone he hasn't met before and watch him grow right before your eyes.

What is the academic program, if you can say.

Holden Caulfield~ Sure, I can say what my son will be pursuing in school (I was just trying to keep things simple with mostly baseball 'talk'!)... He'll be pursuing his B.S.N., which is a B.S. in nursing... Lots of schools have nursing programs, but not all offer the B.S.N. program... My son has volunteered at our local hospital for 3 summers, logging almost 200 hours of time, and has attended medical camps... He has an amazingly compassionate nature and doesn't flinch when it comes to 'yucky' stuff (this was tested when he worked in the ER this summer!)... I actually found quite a few scholarships available, for nursing students, some just for MALE nursing students, at many of the DII schools we're looking at... I'm not sure how nursing and baseball would mix, and academics come first, but if there's a chance my son could do both, he LOVES catching!

Three Bagger~ thanks for sharing your family's experiences and offering advice on showcases... I wasn't aware that instructional camps are not something we should be looking at at this point...

SignCaller'sMa,
What I meant about the instructional camps was that there is a difference from true showcases that are for recruiting purposes. If your son's game can stand some work then an instructional camp is not a bad thing, but when there are kids from 8-18 theres not likely any recruiting going on and this camp serves a different purpose. Truthfully, as far as learning, private instructions by highly qualified former pro or college players are more likely to get results. If you find an instructional camp just for highschool aged guys then that might not be a bad thing on learning things like proper footwork or receiving techniques. It's just that there will not be a lot of one on one contact if the camp has a large number of participants. I think just getting your son a taste of the camp or tryout atmosphere will be good for him. It doesn't sound like he will be intimidated by anyone's size! We found that the most important summer is definitely the one following junior year but I think that with our younger we ar going to try to get his name out there somewhat in some more low pressure events after sophomore year.

Great to hear of young guys interested in nursing!! As a ER nurse, I can tell you that this career is the best kept secret..a million options, good salary, travel and scheduling flexiblity. Congrats to your son for choosing nursing. I hope he can find a program that will accomodate baseball, too. The clinical demands might be tricky. Good luck!!

Newcomer~ how long have you been an ER nurse? My son is considering working at a trauma center, but he also feels a big 'pull' towards pediatrics or geriatrics... It's exciting to me that he has so many possibilities to choose from! )... I have considered the clinicals and the challenges that part of his education would create for baseball, but that's a ways down the road, isn't it? I mean, aren't clinicals towards the end of the degree program? I just told my son he'll have to cross that bridge when he comes to it, as if he's strong enough to be chosen to play baseball in college, he'll have to work certain things out with his school and his coach...

Three Bagger~ I actually do know what you mean... I'd love to find some one-on-one instruction for my son, and I am hearing about an ex ball player in our area whom parents and players alike recommend, so I may check into having my son work with him! I just want to make sure he can actually get solid CATCHING instruction~ that seems to be so hard to find!

Its funny to see yall talking about nursing since my wife is a surgical charge nurse, her brother is the intensive care charge nurse, and his wife works in the emergency room all at the same hospital. Guess you could say I've got my hospital care bases covered!

Wow, Three Bagger, you really ARE covered!

Just a follow-up for those of you who have responded to my posts (and I thank each one of you!): I read about Al McCormick's Most Valuable Player Pitcher/Catcher camp and my son filled out a prospect form on the MVP site... Even though the event is listed for juniors and seniors only, Al contacted my son and I and is welcoming him to the event! Since it's free of charge for catchers, I'm looking forward to it being a great experience for my son, as he'll be catching older pitchers, which can only make him stronger... I've also registered my son for the MVP catcher's agility clinic... Since this clinic focuses solely on one position, I'm hoping it'll be a good learning experience for him, as well (the price was right, too!)...

I'm excited about these opportunities for my son, as since he's still so young, these showcases/events/clinics are learning experiences for him... He'll have plenty of time, in another year or two, to be under pressure to actually PERFORM at these events, but for now, I'm hoping he'll learn a little something and have fun while he is...

Excellent plan. As the father of a catcher, I can't emphasize eough how valuable good, position-specific coaching by someone who actually knows the position can be. A few sessions with a good coach turned my oldest from a longshot-to-play-HS-varsity player into a HS all-star and college player.