Impact Games - very misleading waste of time and money!

We and quite a few other parents are really disgusted with this past weekend's Impact Games in Kinston, NC. We were sent an 'invite only' email, stating that 'approxomately 150' young men would be attending and that the 'average number of coaches and recruiters atending these events' was 50. Well there were 10 teams of 20+ boys per team - around 220 in all - so what are we teaching these high school boys about math, that 220 is approxomately 150? It's just a bold faced lie!

On the first day of this 3 day event, there were maybe 15 coaches there - not quite the 50 that we were led to believe would be there. The second day, we only saw one coach - from NC Central. Day 3, no one.

On Friday there were to be Pro style workouts, with 60's, BP, defensive evals and bullpens. For teams 6-10, rain came through and they only had the opportunity to do 60's and BP. On Saturday and Sunday, there was no effort to make this up.

Furthermore, our son was never given the opportunity to play his secondary position. Another friend's son never got the chance to play his primary or secondary positions (P & C).

If Impact Baseball has any integrity at all, they will offer refunds to the paying customers. That still won't make up for all of the wasted gas, hotel rooms and meals that parents had to pay for this weekend.

Disgusted is an understatement with this weekends 'event'...

 

We were there last year (at Elon) and that was not our experience at all. My son played all 3 of his positions, we only expected he would play 2. Had some rain the last day, but all the games were played (couple had to be shorten) Scout/coach observation does tend to trickle off at any event by the last day, IMO they have seen what they need to see, good or bad, and they move on to another event, or back to school this time of year. By the way, my son was NOT with the Dirtbags either, never has been. Sorry that ya'll didn't have a good experience......

 

Last year

I also was at Elon last year and saw maybe 30 to 40 colleges and 3 or 4 pro guys that I know. The Impct State Games at App most of the college guys left after the 2013 and 14s finished.Most of the time they see what they want the first day and leave unless they are local. Maybe your son will make the State Games and get a chance to be seen again! I

 

I spoke to another dad who also took his son to Elon last year. He said just what you guys did, that there were 50 scouts on the first day and 40+ on day 2. This event was different; just feel really mislead about the email we got verses reality.

My son is a 2013 and we will not be going to another Dirtbag event like this. We got no exposure from this and will not give any more money to this group. Bottom line, Impact was deceptive and other baseball parents need to be aware so they don't make the same mistake I did and take these guys at their word.

 

I'm assuming that you've registered your complaints with the event's organizers. Moderators, perhaps, they'd like to come on the board and respond?

If their events are falling short of the mark, people need to know it. Conversely, there might be another side to the story that needs to be aired, as well.

Something to keep in mind is that the recruiters have access to the names of the players registered for the event in advance of their making the decision to attend. They're managing tight recruiting budgets and very full travel schedules, and seeing the people they want to see is a significant influence on their attendance decision.

In line with this, some will be influenced to some degree by the relevance of the players they saw last year to their recruiting picture. In other words, if some attended last year and didn't find their attendance productive, they'll be less inclined to attend the following year.

Another consideration: Recruiters communicate among themselves, and they communicate with the organizers. Word gets spread pretty quickly about players' capabilities. This has the effect of magnifying the attendance of some.

A final aside: The recruiter from UNC-Wilmington logged 22 hours at that showcase between Friday and Saturday. On Saturday, he was there from 8:00 AM until 7 PM.

 

Sure - let the organizers respond and let the people decide.

We appreciate the efforts of the UNCW recruiter and the others that attended. I realize that Impact does not control who actually shows up to scout their events. They do however control the emails they sent out and they need to be more diligent about respecting the integrity of the assertions made therein.

 

My older son, an 09 HS grad, attended two Impact Games. Both of these events were in central NC and were attended by a lot of scouts all three days. My 2013 son attended the Impact this past weekend and it was a completely different type of invent. The talent level was as a whole was not what it used to be(my son included), the number of scouts attending was way down. I wasn't surprised to see the number of scouts diminish over the course of the weekend. I think two things may have attributed to that. 1. I think Impact tries to only invite kids who haven't committed to a college and most of the really talented kids are committing much earlier than they did 3-4 years ago with the new recruiting rules in place since 2009. 2. the location was not ideal being so far downeast, a more central location may have helped.

Prepster, it was great seeing the UNCW recruiter there. Hard to get used to seeing him in something other than Carolina Blue. That being said, I'm very happy he got the job! He's do great things there.

 

If their events are falling short of the mark, people need to know it. Conversely, there might be another side to the story that needs to be aired, as well.

Something to keep in mind is that the recruiters have access to the names of the players registered for the event in advance of their making the decision to attend. They're managing tight recruiting budgets and very full travel schedules, and seeing the people they want to see is a significant influence on their attendance decision.

In line with this, some will be influenced to some degree by the relevance of the players they saw last year to their recruiting picture. In other words, if some attended last year and didn't find their attendance productive, they'll be less inclined to attend the following year.

Another consideration: Recruiters communicate among themselves, and they communicate with the organizers. Word gets spread pretty quickly about players' capabilities. This has the effect of magnifying the attendance of some.

A final aside: The recruiter from UNC-Wilmington logged 22 hours at that showcase between Friday and Saturday. On Saturday, he was there from 8:00 AM until 7 PM.[/QUOTE]

My 2013 RHP was also in attendance this weekend. I can understand a little disappointment if you were on team 6-10 on Friday, due to the weather only 4 pitchers (all from team 6) got to throw bullpens. I'm certainly not defending the event organizers but they cannot control the weather. I did feel like my son was given the opportunity to show his skill set to the coaches that attended. I have also heard through the grapevine that several of the schools that attended this weekend were only looking for arms which could explain the low to no attendance on Sunday since those games were designed to highlight 2nd. and 3rd. positions. For the money I spent this weekend it was a bargain compared to what I have shelled out at other events only to have my son told at the end, "you are definitely a DI pitcher and if you add a mile or two to your FB I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger". Keep plugging away until you find the school that is "in love" with your player and it will all be worth it.
On another note that new pitching coach for UNCW is a great hire! My son worked with him last summer at a Diamond Stars camp in Smithfield and he was very honest in his assessment of my sons abilities. He worked on the things that coach pointed out to him and has increased his velocity as well as bite on breaking pitches.

 

I paid in advance for a two day Impact underclassman showcase that was to be held in June at Wingate. The week before the event, I emailed to find out what time to show up, get a schedule, etc... Was told the event was changed from a two day event, with games, to a one-day workout only. I said no thanks and was told refunds would be issued.

After an extended time, I checked with my bank to find out that my check was cashed shortly after I sent it in. Still no refund from Impact.

Emailed again and was told that I could only get back my amount, less the cost of the one day event that my son didn't attend. What? Paid for a two day event that was canceled and couldn't get a full refund. Said it was there policy.

After a few more emails it was apparent that I wasn't getting the total amount back. Eventually they sent back the majority of the amount minus the cost of the one day workout. Whatever....

I think the amount that was held back may be credited toward a future event. But I have no intention of ever signing up for an Impact event again.

 

When I saw that there were 230 or so kids as opposed to the advertised 150, I requested my $ back. Of course, I did not get my $ back. This was simply a fundrasier for Impact/Dirtbags. My son has attended a couple of these, but will NEVER attend another.

I think its terrible that this organization is making a profit off of kids with hopes to play college ball. They are making college recruitment for baseball unaffordable.