Showball is located in California and had contacted my son to participate in their showcase. After checking them out a little on their website, we decided to give it a shot. My advice: Don't!
The showcase is a three day event with the first day consisting of a skills test (took half of the day) and the rest of the day sitting in the hotel listening to a motivational speaker. Here's the part that made me feel like my wallet was ripped from my pants... the second and third days had only one modified game (each day) in showcase format (batters starting with 1 ball and 1 strike), bat through the lineup, etc.
Yeah the boys got to play in Dodger stadium, but all of the down time offset the fact that each kid had to pay $650 to attend. Oh, and I almost forgot about the advertised "player evaluations". While there were representatives from 10 D1 colleges there, the players were far from provided evaluations. Rather, they were just given the "results" of their skills day. This was a very big let down.

As a dedicated baseball dad in california, I would like to offer my 2 cents about the showball baseball camp back in December. My son is now a senior in high school and he's been to more than 10 showcases over the course of the last couple of years and I must say that the Showball Showcase Camp was by far the most amazing experience he's ever had. First and foremost, I do not know of any other way my son could have played at Doder Stadium in an actual game other than him playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers 8 years down the road. We all know that's a long shot for most kids. Even if he never received any interest from the 10 schools there, when is the next time my son could play at Dodger Stadium for only $650. Exactly! This was the only opportunity Most importantly, my son was evaluated by and competed in front of 10 Division 1 coaches for 3 straight days. They saw every at bat and pitch of every kid. Combining the once in a lifetime opportunity of playing at Dodger Stadium (although I'm a Giants fan) combined with having a fair opportunity to impress any one of the 10 D1 coaches (Fullerton, Arizona, UCSB, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, Univ of San Diego, LMU, Univ of San Francisco, Long Beach State Univ, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo), it was more than we could have ever asked for. All in all, my son has went from not being on these schools recruiting radars to now having several offers. Ultimately, some of his college will now be paid for and I have to thank Showball for that opportunity. I would recommend this camp to anyone and everyone. Well worth every penny and then some.

Welcome to the website, SF Giant Dad! We'll keep a seat warm for you at PacBell (I can't call it by any other name, sorry). And it's sure a lot warmer than Candlestick ever was.

Your post got me thinking. I've noticed from recent posts elsewhere on this site about showcases that player evaluations are expected...and then not received. I don't recall any camps or showcases that my son attended(except the Stanford Camp)offering or giving specific feedback. The one exception was the University of San Francisco camp in which the coaches said you could come right up to them at the end of camp and get verbal feedback. As it turns out, my son didn't go to very many showcases or camps, so that might be the answer for me, at any rate. But what is the general consensus about evaluations? Do most showcases offer them? And what kind of quality should one expect?

quote:

Originally posted by Baseball Dad 16:
Showball is located in California and had contacted my son to participate in their showcase. After checking them out a little on their website, we decided to give it a shot. My advice: Don't!
The showcase is a three day event with the first day consisting of a skills test (took half of the day) and the rest of the day sitting in the hotel listening to a motivational speaker. Here's the part that made me feel like my wallet was ripped from my pants... the second and third days had only one modified game (each day) in showcase format (batters starting with 1 ball and 1 strike), bat through the lineup, etc.
Yeah the boys got to play in Dodger stadium, but all of the down time offset the fact that each kid had to pay $650 to attend. Oh, and I almost forgot about the advertised "player evaluations". While there were representatives from 10 D1 colleges there, the players were far from provided evaluations. Rather, they were just given the "results" of their skills day. This was a very big let down.

I'm going to have to disagree with "Baseball Dad 16". My son and I traveled over from AZ to attend this camp in Los Angeles. It was well organized and they came through with all that was promised. Yes, playing at Dodger Stadium was a great experience but I think exposure to the Division 1 coaches was more important. Most importantly my son had a great time at this camp and met a few new friends.
Regarding the cost I believe it was a good value. Think of the overhead - it's Dodger Stadium! My son also attended a camp called "Top Gun" and it cost $695 and did not play at a major league park. Dollar for dollar I believe Showball was the better of the two.

Thanks for the offer on the seat. Like you, I will always refer to it as Pac Bell. From all of the showcases we've attended, only a few have offered evaluations. I guess it really depends on what you're looking to gain from the experience. For us, being in front of the coaches and having them watch my son compete was the most important thing. However, we have been to camps (Stanford camp) where they did give us an evaluation. To answer your question, evaluations are not that critical. In my opinion, what matters the most is that the coaches watch your son play!

quote:

Originally posted by Newcomer:
Welcome to the website, SF Giant Dad! We'll keep a seat warm for you at PacBell (I can't call it by any other name, sorry). And it's sure a lot warmer than Candlestick ever was.

Your post got me thinking. I've noticed from recent posts elsewhere on this site about showcases that player evaluations are expected...and then not received. I don't recall any camps or showcases that my son attended(except the Stanford Camp)offering or giving specific feedback. The one exception was the University of San Francisco camp in which the coaches said you could come right up to them at the end of camp and get verbal feedback. As it turns out, my son didn't go to very many showcases or camps, so that might be the answer for me, at any rate. But what is the general consensus about evaluations? Do most showcases offer them? And what kind of quality should one expect?

Our limited experience is that some college camps don't offer evaluations and you have to make a point of asking for them at those who do. It was taking a while to get an evaluation from one school that offered it until we realized that we were talking two different things when we said evaluation. They thought we wanted a formal written evaluation and all we wanted was the pitching coach's opinion. He got that to us right away and we told them we didn't need the formal evaluation. They certainly would have provided the formal evaluation but the coach who was putting them together was tied up with other things at that particular point in time.

The college camp he went to where they didn't offer evaluations said something on the order of there being too many potential problems/complaints to deal with when they would provide formal evaluations. Once again they had no problem with providing feedback if the player asked for it.

I can see several sides of the issue. The first is that we as parents pay good money for these camps. The last thing we want to see is a very negative evaluation. I tend to take criticism of my my son's play to heart. However, it's nice to know where he stands. I think a quick critique with black and white numbers (MPH, 60 time, ect) and a comparison to the averages would work best. I'd hate to see comments like no power, weak arm, no speed. This could crush a kid. Better comments could be; work on foot speed, get quicker through the zone ect. Also, I think it would be beneficial to include things that are done well. I used to love positive feedback when I played.

I just found out that Showball is having 2 more events this summer which my youngest kid (2010 grad) will be attending. I guess the 1st event is in St. Petersburg, Florida in late June. Apparently, the games are being played at Tropicana Field. Although we're die-hard Giants fans, my son looks forward to playing in a dome. It will be nice for my son to get in front of some of the big time schools that will be there. Their 2nd event is sometime in mid July in San Francisco. They play their games at At&t Park. As a loyal fan (and I know I'm bias), At&t Park is probably the most magnificent park in baseball. I think I'm more excited than my son.

I wholeheartly endorse Showball Showcases. My son, a senior, in a very competitive baseball league, attended the December Showcase. Not only was it extremely well organized but it delivered everything it promised. With all of the numerous showcases available, there is none that allows a player to be seen at one time by a large group of Division 1 coaches. In regard to the evaluation, we did receive an evaluation very similiar to Perfect Game.

The creators of this showcase work on the premis that all players, whether they are stars or just have passion, should have the opportunity to be seen. All showcases request money for participation and as parents we really need to do our research to weed out just moneymakers. Showball Baseball is definitely not one of those. They genuinely care about each boy and would go the extra mile to make a connection happen.

Yes, my son approached a coach from USD on the last day at Dodger Stadium. Although, it was not his lucky day to show all the power he had, the coach was impressed with him. Two weeks later, he received a call and planned an unofficial visit. Within fifteen minutes of the visit, my son received an offer to become a Torero! He committed two days later.

This was a dream come true for a boy that was not a star but had extreme passion. If it had not been for Showball Baseball and the exposure they gave him my son would not be going to a Div. 1 ranked college.
Believe and Thank you Showball.

SFGiant Dad & ndmom - you have a PM

Thank you for the posts and congratulations nd mom!! That is exciting news. I have been invited to the camp in San Francisco, I was invited to the Dodger one but had already committed to another tournament. I am hoping it will be an awesome event and that I will someday play there again at the ultimate level!

ndmom,
Your team is having quite a season. They've beaten several decent teams from our league with only one loss against our league. Good luck in the season ending series.

Thank you CA Dad! Yes, winning the CIF Southern Section Championship at Dodger Stadium was a terrific goal met by the Notre Dame Knights! Then to be ranked No. 1 in state was unbelievable. The Notre Dame Knights worked hard to accomplish the goal they set early in the fall.

Many Junior (soon to be Seniors) will be attending the Showball Showcase at AT&T!