My 15 year old son is a Soph and it looks like he has an excellent of making the Varsity team as a RHP. Is this summer too early for him to think about attending his first showcase? Would it make more sense to wait until next year?

JCAdad, this is a difficult question. Many factors come into play as to when to begin showcasing a player. IMO, if you son is a player, and it sounds like he, indeed is, then his sophomore year is not too young to send him to a showcase. The question then is, which one, how much to spend, what are your expectations of the number of scouts or college recruiters that will be in attendance etc.

Perfect Game, the obvious leader in showcase events runs a very organized and well attended event. If you go on their website you'll see that you can request an invite online and I'd say that an event like the Sunshine East would be a terrific first showcase opportunity for your son. He will NOT be the youngest there and because it takes place in June, your son will be in top playing shape. As he gets older, and the premier events are held during the winter months it is much more difficult for the northern player to be at his best. I'm sure you'll get several responses to your posting and other opinions on this subject.

If nothing else, there is so much to be gained by having a young player on the field with some older, and better players. He can see what he has to do to better compete or he can see that he already can hold his own and is on the right track. Good luck.

Itsrosy is right on the money. Sophomore year is a great time to become familiar with the showcase process and to understand areas that need improvement to compete on a much larger stage than most kids are used to. Perfect Game, especially Sunshine East, is a great showcase to target and it will give you a clear idea of where you stand. However, depending on cost concerns, you may want to do a more regional or local event. Most players are not really showcasing for college coaches during the sophomore year, but are really getting ready for the critical junior year. Then Perfect Game is very important.

My son is a young soph also and I had the same questions just a few months ago.

Of all the possible reasons I could come up with not to start the ball rolling this summer the only one I couldn't negate was.... "Just how rose colored are my glasses?".

Best thing I ever did was have someone give my son an honest evaluation. We are lucky enough to live close enough to a man whos knowledgable and very invloved at the high school showcase level. He was willing to take the time to have a look. When it was over I was told, "He's ready, he'll be fine".

That being said this year is still the get your feet wet year. A year to get experience to use towards the summer/fall of his junior year.

So if you can get an ubiased opinion of his skill do it. If that goes well both of you will be more confident going into this.

If you can't do that then use the next best thing. At most schools making varsity at 15 says a lot!

Go for it!

JCA

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