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How to make the showcase experience better?
I've seen lots of posts all over the web and on social media about how the showcase/tournament experience is a waste. That these showcases do much of nothing for the kids looking to get to the next level of play. Would love to hear some feedback from parents, players, and coaches on what would make the experience better. Would it simply be to have more scouts in the seats? Would it be actual instruction from college coaches? Would it be better concessions? Etc etc...
Comments
The question is when? At what age should they begin participating? For tournaments, I would say age 10 up is the best time to participate in tournaments and you don't have to join a travel team to do this. My sons' Little League ALL STAR team would participate in several LOCAL tournaments during the summer season and focus primarily on team practices for development. What's very important is to keep it FUN at this young age and have the team participate in higher levels of competition as they get older You need to see the coach take the team from AA to AAA to Majors by the time they are 13 years of age and tournaments is the best way to accomplish this. At 14U, the kids are getting acclimated to playing on larger baseball diamonds like 50 / 70 and finally HS / College level 60 / 90 diamonds. Their focus at 13 / 14 / 15U is to increase their baseball IQ and their physical strength in order to hit harder and send balls through the infield defenses.
Showcases are a different story. It's fair to say that nowadays scouts are looking at players starting at the 15U level and up (especially in NORCAL). These showcases are more an opportunity for scouts to evaluate the players and provide feedback as to their strengths, weaknesses and offer suggestions for development since they know what (Colleges / Universities) are looking for. Hopefully your team's head coach will have a relationship with these scouts and direct discussions are more possible. Again, if your son is interested in playing College baseball, showcases are a must nowadays. If your player is simply looking to have "fun" with baseball then hopefully make the 9th grade freshman HS team but expect to get cut on JV simply because there are tons of players focusing on Varsity level in hopes to make college teams after graduation. The competition is fierce.