Thought for the day

ccprospects (Anglers)

Does anyone have any information about the CCProspects (Anglers) baseball organization?

 

http://eteamz.active.com/ccprospects/

http://www.thisboardrocks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=135172&highlight=Prospects

 

Showcase

Pro Style Workout
60yd dash - raw speed evaluation
defensive work out- ability to field your posistion
Arm Strength- Shown during defensive workout and for pitchers in the pen
Batting Practice- Ability to make consistent hard contact. Ability to display power. Ability to show a solid swing process.


The Pro Style Workout used at showcase events is designed to evaluate baseball "Tools". The coaches are looking for players who can show they have "Tools" that will play at their level. The "Make Up" factor will not be important unless you can demonstrate that you have a tool or tools that they feel can play at their level of competition. If you show you have the tools or tool then they will bore in on make up as well. There are alot of great kids that hustle etc that do not have college level tools.

There are 3 different groups at a showcase event.
Group #1- Players that display tools or a tool that causes them to stand out above group #2 and #3 players. If you have 100 kids at a showcase there will usually only be a handfull of players that fall into this group.

Group #2- Players that do not have a tool or tools that cause them to stand out above all the rest of the players at the event. The vast majority of the players present will fall in this group.

Group #3- Players that do not have tools that cause them to fall into group #2. They will stick out for not being capable of playing with this group of players. There will usually only be a handfull of players that fall into this group.

When college coaches go to a showcase event they are looking for Group #1 players. They are looking for players that show a tool or tools that play at their level. These players will stand out in the pro style tryout. These players are the ones that benefit greatly when attending these events.

The fact is the vast majority of players at a showcase event will be Group #2 players. Within this group of players are the GAMERS. That is my term for the following guys. When he goes to a showcase he does not show Group #1 speed. But he can flat out run the bags. He has great baseball instincts on the bases and understands how to use them. He does not show a cannon for an arm. But he hits the cut off man everytime and is very accurate. He gets rid of the ball quickly and always seems to make plays. He is an average fielder but always makes the routine play in game situations. He doesnt show well in bp but in games he always delivers. In other words these GAMERS are the guys that dont show great baseball tools but they are very good baseball players. These guys are not going to stand out at a pro style workout.

These players must be seen sometimes several times by a college coach in order for their ability to play the game is appreciated. For instance. A player with Group #1 Tools - How many times does he have to show that he can play the game in other words his tools also play? Now how many times does that Group #2 player have to show what he brings to the table in order for it to be appreciated? In short the Group #2 player has a tougher road.

If you are not a Group #1 player what do you get out of a showcase pro style tryout? How many times have you heard this. "We went to the showcase but we have not heard anything." "I thought he did pretty good but no one has called." "He did just as good as the other kids." Yep thats about right. There you go. Unless he stood out above the rest that is exactly what you will be saying after the showcase. There are alot of very good baseball players that do not have tools that make them stand out above everyone else. Especially at a pro style tryout.

So what do you do?
Get an honest no Bull evaluation of your sons tools and what level they can play at. Hey if Im selling winter coats Im not going to go to Miami and set up a store. So you have to market yourself to the people that are looking for GAMERS. Guys that do not stand out above everyone else but guys that can play the game. Guys that are hungry to work hard get better and really want to continue their baseball careers. Guys with these same attributes but have Group #1 Tools are not in need of the same help as Group #2 players. You need someone working for you. Someone getting your name out there. Someone getting these coaches that your ability suits to come watch you play. And you need to go to them as well.

I believe one of the biggest mistakes people make in this whole deal is they market their kid in front of the wrong people way too often and dont market their kid in front of the right people enough. It does you absolutely no good to be seen constantly by State-U's all the time if you are not a major college player and hardly ever in front of the level of play you can play at. Hey sometimes the only difference is a few tenths of a second. Or a couple of mph's or maybe a couple of inches. The same kid that ends up at a CC in a year or two could be an absolute stud. How many times have we seen the kid drafted out of a small college and heard "I wonder why he didnt go to State-U'? Maybe he matured later? Hey some kids are the best they are ever going to be at 18. And some kids are not even close to being the best they can be at 18. The key is stay in the game as long as you can because you just never know. And play as long as you can. Get a college degree. You have the rest of your life to get a job and go to work.

 

Let me flip to the other side

There seems to be a theme in several of these posts almost like college coaches are snobby and kind of turn their noses up to average skilled players. Let me throw a couple of ideas out there from the other side.

1) If we're talking about Division I recruiters here is my take. (I'll make several points throughout this)
- First ACC and SEC schools only recruit the best players NATIONALLY! That's really all that needs to be said. 99 percent of players aren't good enough to play at these schools. Don't get frustrated with these recruiters. They are the best. They have pressure to win at their jobs. Why would they recruit anything but what they deem the best.
- Second, Mid major DI's ie SoCon, Big South etc. These guys may take a chance on some players. Some tools are a must! 4-6-3 said it earlier. You have to be able to show that you are physically gifted enough to play at that level, Otherwise, kids would be brought into a bad situation.

2) If we're talking Division II recruiters here is my take.
- What people don't understand is it is not always as cut and dry as parents or high school coaches make it. For example, my son is good why are fifteen schools not recruiting him? A lot of what DII goes after is simply driven by NEED first. Most DII's in NC and SC are private. All of those private schools have small scholarship amounts. Most of them are half of what the NCAA allows for DII. When a DII in NC offers you money, they want you, period!
- DII's have to KNOW that the kid is going to be what they need. Otherwise, they're flushing much needed scholarship money. A lot of times DII's will put kids on what I like to call a "Wish List". It may take a little time to get to this list, because they are trying to fill NEEDS first. If the situation presents itself then the kid will be recruited.
- Coach 27 made several great points earlier about showcases. The best point, and what happens a lot of times at this level is development. When was the last time all of you went and saw a game in which the school that you felt your son should be recruited by played? I bet, in most situations, people assume their son can play at X school. I hear a lot of times where a dad says, "Well so and so is at this school, and my son was as good as him in high school". True, possibly, but the kid that is at X school may have developed, had a higher upside, etc. GO SEE THE TEAM PLAY, then tell me whether or not your son can play there. Then atleast you can make a VALID assessment.

Let me end with a few points- A little scattered - about showcases

- It's seems to me that this topic is a very double edged sword. When we talk about a kid that is recruited by a school. We tell him, Weigh all of your options out, don't rush to make a decision, find out info about the school and program, what is the roster size, where do you fit in, this team has a bad rap for overrecruiting. But, a recruiter is supposed to go to a showcase and be able to see this kid one time and answer a lot of these same questions about the player? That is insane? When a recruiter goes to a schowcase he bookmarks. If it's the first time that a coach sees a kid he probably makes notes about each of the kids. Obviously, there will be kids that a coach does not like, for whatever reason. Just like there will be schools that a kid doesn't like for whatever reason. Hopefully, the coach will be able to see the kid more than once. I know a lot of recruiters, all of them go to many many events. They try to see as many kids as possible.

- Overrecruiting. Sometimes a college doesn't know what will happen with his team. A kid may flunk out, transfer because it is not the place for him, or just end up wanting to go to another school. Coaches cannot predict the future. What they can do is put a certain kid on the afore mentioned "Wish List". Call him regularly, and if money opens, then make a move. No one wants to overrecruit. No one on this board wants their son to be one of the overrecruited. A lot of times, a kid won't be contacted until someone knows that someone is going to leave, be drafted, etc. Most schools try to bring in a solid well rounded class each year. This helps with the transition of the team as it graduates players. Hopefully, your son will be bookmarked and be seen throughout the year.

- The 70/30 rule applies here. What I mean by this is a kid should take time to hone his skills 70 percent of the time he spends with baseball. He should showcase or play 30 percent of the time. This applies for development and health reasons. I'm not going to get into the health reasons, but the development part is huge. One thing that will catch a coaches eye more than anything is IMPROVEMENT! If a coach sees you three and four different times and you continue to improve. He is going to say, "Man this kid just keeps getting better!" Talk about an eye opener for recruiters.

- The vast majority that Coach 27 talked about is seemingly the "underappreciated". Don't let your son get in that mindset. Don't let him hear you say that. It's only negative, and it creates a poor me feeling, that a kid doesn't need to enter college with and definitely doesn't need to enter another showcase with.

- Overbearing parents are the biggest turnoff in the history of the world! Don't be that person. I know your son is important to you, and he means the world to you, but be approachable, and be able to answer questions from coaches without the excess sentimentality.

Hope this gives some insight. If you want to ask me some specifics shoot me a PM.

 

Thanks Coach!

I appreciate you taking the time to come on here and give your advice. I do feel that too many times people worry about being seen more than working at getting better. But thats probaly a different thread.

As far as your point "when was the last time you went and watched a game" is right on the money. I took my team several years ago to watch a college game. They were amazed at the ability of the players. They were blown away basically. I have watched D-2 D-3 and jucos many times over the years. Those boys can play. This summer we played a juco team. They ran out several guys on the hill that were tremendous and the posistion players were top notch as well.

So many times we hear "what level can my son play at"? Have you ever took the time to go to a game? That would really give you an idea wouldnt it?

Again thanks for sharing and giving us this information from the inside. I dont know anywhere else where you could get this type of information in this manner.

 

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This says it ALL

OUTSTANDING.....this is TBR at it's best. Thanks Coach.

 

Thank you very much Stretchlon. That explains more than probably any post I have read. Thanks.

 

ANDRO - Thank you!!!

Points well made and hopefully appreciated by parents going thru the recruiting process.

Hopefully everybody understands there are basically 3 parts to the process. #1 Does the school have a need? #2 Can the school project your son might fill that need? #3 Can your son compete on the field and progress academically (Stay eligible).

#1 "Driven by need" try to analyze the needs of the schools your son is interested in. Does their rosters show that the school will need players in the position your son plays. If they don't have a need don't feel slighted by their lack of interest. In fact all of the coaches my son dealt with in the recruiting process were very up front when asked "Do you have a need for so and so position?

#2 Andro made a very important point - GO SEE SOME TEAMS PLAY. Every parent struggles with what level should their son look to play at. And every parent including myself looks at our own kids through Rose Colored glasses whether we like to admit it or not. If you'll see some JUCO, D3 and or D2 ball being played most will be amazed at the quality of athlete and the skill level these kids possess. Colleges will open their seasons in early February and their schedules are up already, or will be shortly on their websites with plenty of games on Saturday, and Sundays. Make some plans to see the level of ball being played.

#3 Can your son play ball and stay elligible academically at this school? Be aware that he most likely have some sort of morning workout (Agilities, weight training, swimming, etc. in the mornings - then classes -then in the afternoon Team workouts, individual workouts, Bull Pens to pitch) and that is in the Fall semester. In the Spring 3 to 4 games a week combined with the fact that some of these are away games a require travel time. Can he manage his time and succeed academically at the schools you are looking at.

 

He is the man..I am the boy

Wish i could ge the credit One Putt...BUT...the real post was by Andro. Many thanks to him from all of us.