Can anyone give me feedback on the exposure and any past experiences for this PG tournament in Ft Myers?

Is it a good fall event for Sophs and Juniors?

I have done a search and not found a lot posted on here about this event.

Thanks.

The 17U WWBA is a great event with tons of exposure. Lots of fun and very exciting. One of the best events to plan on attending.

Not sure the question: Two different events. The WWBA 17U @ East Cobb is one of the most scouted events of the year. The WWBA Underclass World Championship in Fort Myers is a great event but not scouted as well as the the WWBA National Championship in Jupiter later in the month or October.

The question is in regards to the Ft Myers event in October. I appreciate the feedback.

The Ft. Myers fall 17u event is an outstanding event to attend. I was last there in 2006. At that time, there were not many college scouts in attendance. The value at that time was largely towards building a player's Perfect Game database.

That being said, the last 2 years have seen a sea change in college recruiting. Kids are being scouted and given handshake deals earlier and earlier. I would imagine the Ft. Myers event will see steadily increasing scout attendance in coming years as a result.

Bear in mind that the 18u Jupiter event was originally positioned as the last major event before a player's early signing period (fall of senior year). Now, by the time you get to Jupiter, a large number of the top players have already committed and are just awaiting the signing period to get their paperwork and sign it. Jupiter is an event not to be missed, don't get me wrong, but at times I wonder if it might have to get moved to September at some point in the future, to keep it more essential to the recruiting time table that is actually in use. There will always be the pro scouts, of course, but several coaches I talked to at Jupiter last fall had already hit their quotas of 2008's and were there primarily to get an advance look at the 2009's in attendance. With that in mind, you can see how the Ft. Myers event might come to take on increasing significance.

One other caveat. WWBA events generally are very pitcher oriented. If you are a pitcher, you can go throw one 3-inning outing and accomplish all you came to accomplish. If on the other hand you are an offensive player, if you just come without a plan and you hope someone will notice you, it can be hard unless you are really pounding the ball that particular weekend.

The best use of these tournaments is for the player to keep in regular communication with the recruiting coaches for the programs of greatest interest to him about who he's playing for and when and where. Then hopefully those guys will be at the game not just looking for whoever catches their eye, but specifically to see you, and to see how you hold up against the best competition opportunity there is for a high school player.

That advice goes for both pitchers and hitters, but is particularly important for the non-pitcher.

Keep in mind that coaches/scouts are not worried so much about stats---they are more concerned with "what they see" in the player--- we have had coaches watch warmups and then tell us they want "that they like that kid" ---it is all about what they see in front of them not necessarily the results

Very true.

It amazes me how many kids slouch around with their hats cockeyed, etc. Everything about their body language says, "Attitude."

Look like a ballplayer, and hustle everwhere you go. You want someone to notice you? Then be the player they would want to have on their team. Not the kid who thinks he looks like a big shot to a 15-year-old.

My son played with the winning McKinney Marshals at the 2007 WWBA Underclass event at Fort Myers. Although we enjoyed the experience, the event was not heavily scouted. The games at Terry Park are scouted the best as there are 3 fields back to back. Other stadiums used were Twins spring training home (2 fields) and City of Palms Park (Red Sox home). I probably didn't identify more than 4 scouts at Terry and 0-2 at others. We did make contact with one D1 school while there.

A sour note, after winning the tournament, the players still have not received their championship rings from PG. We received rings months and months after the tournament. They were wrong and we are awaiting new rings. You'd think PG would be better about following through with the awards to the winners in these big tournaments.

http://www.schmap.com/florida/events/p=321558/i=321558_4.jpg

Rock Dad,

Normally we size for rings immediately after a tournament. We are unable to do this when the team has to leave immediately. I’ve been told that it took a long time to then get those correct sizes. Once the “personalized” rings are ordered it can take quite awhile before they reach the championship team. They are not ordered until after the tournament and after we have the sizes. I’m not sure what the mistake was on your rings, but it does take awhile to get those rings at times. Actually we try very hard to get these rings to the championship teams as soon as possible, but we do not make them. We have awarded thousands of them over the years. It would be much easier and cheaper to hand out individual trophies.

Also, The replacement rings are sent directly from the manufacturer. I am kind of upset that we have not heard a word about this until reading it here on a public forum. Guess I don’t quite understand that part. We will get on the manufacturer about this right away, as we have already made payment for those rings. Until now, we have heard nothing but great things and thanks from the McKinney Marshalls group. I’m sorry you had this experience. You WOULD think PG would be better about following through with these awards and we are in nearly every case. But these rings are not cheap and they are not made until all correct information is available to the manufacturer. We order them within days after receiving that information, in every case.

We apologize for the problem in your case. We are among the easiest of people to get in touch with.

PG, how about his take on the number of scouts?

There are two different takes on here about "tons of ecposure" and few scouts? What is PG's ifficial take on this? Do you have how many scouts registered last year?

fsmjunior,

The number of scouts has grown over the past few years. It's still not even close to the events with next years seniors, but we are expecting a good number this year. I'm in Georgia right now at the WWBA Tournaments so I have no way of checking on this right now. I can say there were several, but not a large number.

I do think if a underclassmen with major ability is at this underclass tournament, his name will be known by every major college in the country. The list of players who have ended up playing in the college world series or being drafted who had attended this event as underclassmen is amazing.

I'm not sure that people understand the importance of being identified by a reliable source that reports to just about everyone in baseball.

Perhaps the craziest thing about the underclass tournament mentioned is that the agents attending out number the scouts. It is a baseball heaven for agents. Not saying that is a good or a bad thing!

If someone is expecting 100s of scouts and college coaches at an underclassmen event, thay should NOT attend this one. They should be looking to get on a team in Jupiter for the WWBA Fall Championship. BTW, Many teams attending that event are at this event looking for top underclassmen to take to Jupiter.

I'll be blunt here! If someone is a very talented player he WILL get unbelievable exposure at the Underclass events. His name will be on the map as a prospect and he will be followed closely by many people. I think lots of people know that. There is absolutely nothing that happens at these events that gets overlooked.

Hope that answers the question. I've tried to give an honest answer.

I absolutely appreciate that answer. One thing I have found since my son hit High School; it is sometimes hard to get a straight answer.

Thanks for the info.

quote:

Originally posted by PGStaff:

I'll be blunt here! If someone is a very talented player he WILL get unbelievable exposure at the Underclass events. His name will be on the map as a prospect and he will be followed closely by many people. I think lots of people know that. There is absolutely nothing that happens at these events that gets overlooked.

While I can't say that there were many/any schools at the game my son pitched in at the WWBA Underclass. I have not doubt that his performance put him on the map. (he had a pretty good game ) What PG says is true, if you do well you will get plenty of interest from schools.

My son had the benefit of playing with teams both as a freshman and a sophomore. For us there were many benefits to attending the WWBA Underclass. Great competition, great exposure and a great first experience of being on the national stage.

quote:

I'll be blunt here! If someone is a very talented player he WILL get unbelievable exposure at the Underclass events. His name will be on the map as a prospect and he will be followed closely by many people. I think lots of people know that. There is absolutely nothing that happens at these events that gets overlooked.

PG - are you referring to the PG underclass showcase events held around the country ( my son is signed up) OR are you talking about specific tournaments?
Thanks.