Showcase Ball - Pros and Cons????

Opinions? what works? what doesn't? Stories? Fun factor? vs Legion ball? where to play? $$? how far to travel? Business or a passion? Has baseball turned into a business? Showcase events? What are the boys/players(kids) saying????? argh??

 

showcase baseball question...

Just a head's up to you, agaluknow: If you are interested in getting others to express their opinion, you need to state what your thoughts are instead of just throwing a positionless question on TBR.
Thanks....

 

Congratulations!

12 questions in one thread is a new TBR record!



I imagine everybody's experiences are different. My son played 4 years of American Legion baseball (5, if you count Junior Legion) & played 2 years of showcase ball with the Wilson Bulldogs (mainly in the fall). Both legion & showcase were great! Play as much baseball as you can!

 

What's your objective???

Here are the facts... I coached 2 years of showcase and my son has played 4 up until now. This being said i have been involved and around this for awhile. Showcase, depending on who you are with, is the absolute best avenue to get your kid exposure to the next level, if he is that caliber of player. Legion, not what it used to be, gets you the least amount of exposure due to the better players in showcase, but gives you the closest experience to what college baseball is like. They play or practice everyday from start to finish of the season. When selecting a showcase you should consider the following when selecting a program...
-Does your son need continued development
-Can he show his best stuff without practicing with the team and working on skill development a cuple times a week.
-Who can you afford to play with
-What is their success in their players movingto the next level
-What schools do they play infron of...etc

-Best development programs- CBC/On Deck
-Best exposyre programs SC Panther and Dirtbags

 

Excellent post, middleinfielder...and welcome to TBR. Based on your posts, you are going to be a great contributor.

Legion baseball can be a great experience. Most kids prefer it because they get to play with their HS buddies (or at least friends from their area.) In legion a player gets to play multiple positions--especially fun for pitchers that normally don't get to hit during the HS season. Except for their junior year, I've always believed that playing AL during the summer and Showcase during the fall is, in general, the best way to go. I realize there are different circumstances that would affect that decision, but overall it's the way to go.

And as MI mentioned, playing for an "elite" showcase team would also affect that decision. There is probably a handful that would fit that "elite" group.

 

My son played travel and then showcase ball for a total of 6 years. He truly enjoyed the experience and benefited from it, but he ranks his experience playing Legion ball for the Queen City Mustangs after graduating from HS as one of his best baseball experiences to date. He had already made his decision regarding college baseball, so exposure was not a consideration. He had great coaching and great teammates and the team-oriented atmosphere was more like his HS team...great competition, too. It was competitive, but relaxed and fun, too...if that makes sense. Here is my ranking:

Camps...if you want to get a coveted spot at a team that your are a fit for and meets your criteria. Get in front of the head coach and pitching coach (if you are a pitcher) and full staff of that school.

Showcase...if you are a top flight player looking to catch the eye of a top flight program or you have draft potential. Nice venues and great competition.

Legion....If you are a solid player who loves to play the game in your community...you can do this and go to select camps and save a lot of $$$$. I imagine most Cherryville players prefer Legion over Showcase in a big way.

 

This was our first year playing "showcase" -

Pros:

Watching my son play baseball
Watching my son play baseball against some great competition
Watching my son play baseball in some great College facilities
Watching my son play baseball all over NC
Watching my son grow and mature over the summer
Watching my son meet new friends
Watching my son play baseball

Watching my son play baseball will not last forever. As he gets a little older this fact hit me hard this past spring. This summer was just about watching him play. It was great.

Cons:

None for us

 

Another key point is where would you play legion ball?? Cherryville and Salisbury still have strong programs, however, most other programs are weaker due to the better players playing Showcase. I have been to several Legion games againist strong programs and see 0 college recruiters. They normally show up several rounds into the playoffs but are always following the better showcase venues. As, far as experience, Legion ball is as close as it gets to the next level and will always be my best memories of baseball along with college due to it being my last years of playing with allthe guys I started with.

So good luck whichever road you travel!

 

Who to play for????

If the parents can come up with the $$$, their son can probably get on the roster with almost any Showcase team. After all, $$$ is what (almost) all the big organizations are all about. The happiest parents are the ones whose sons are lucky enough to be asked to play for the South Charlotte Panthers. Thanks Coach Don!!! What a wonderful business model!!!

..Why aren't their more like the Panthers?

b/s

 

Congratulations

Congrats on being one of the ” happiest parents” HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!