SHOWCASE DADDY: Part two

[omg]

Here is what Showcase Daddy knows about baseball:

1. You shouldn't make the first or third out at first base.
2. LSU's team colors are purple and gold.

Showcase Daddy's boy is one hell of a prospect though. He's 6'2" and can throw 88 mph (okay it was 81 in the dirt but that brand of gun registers low and Showcase Charlie was saving his arm for an upcoming tournament next month but the Showcase Guys were "just drooling over him"). Showcase Daddy has even sent (all Showcase Daddy's do this) his Showcase Charlie to his very own Showcase Doctor. And although Showcase Doctor is a fine surgeon and knows the difference between the humerus and the uterus, Showcase Doctor starts talking to the boy about pitching even though he has never seen Showcase Charlie pitch and never will, has never pitched much, if at all, himself, and learned all he knows about pitching in a forty minute session at a medical conference in Reno.

Doesn't matter though because Showcase Daddy, Showcase Charlie, Showcase Guy, and Showcase Doc are one big happy family. And Showcase Charlie is one fine specimen. He Advil's up to throw those ten pitches with all his might in front of the Showcase Guys. Hey, if you threw 90 pitches the night before, no big deal. Throwing ten pitches with all your might won't lead to arm trouble, right Showcase Doc? Hey, just as long as everyone is getting paid, no problem.

Showcase Daddy is just one happy man. He has other Showcase Daddy friends too. It's like a Saturday Night Live skit:

" Well the assistant coach at Pufufny State said Charlie will step right in but my Showcase Guy said Charlie can do better than Pufufny."

" Well John Cohen at SMU said Bobby was just a helluva hitter, great mechanics, and wished his own players would do what Bobby does." (Side note: Bobby was six at the time).

Showcase Daddy will send messengers in a high school game to tell Charlie in the on deck circle how Showcase Guy told him he should hit. Showcase Daddy will even get right up against the backstop and tell Showcase Charlie's catcher to call timeout and go out to the mound to tell Charlie what Showcase Guy says about pitching.

Unbelievable. It's like dealing with pageant moms or tennis dads.

[jbolt_2000]

I have not had the pleasure of working with Showcase Daddys or Showcase guys yet, but this I see this in some Travel Ball Daddies I know.

[tg643]

I have not had the pleasure of working with Showcase Daddys or Showcase guys yet, but this I see this in some Travel Ball Daddies I know.

The same coaches you see pulling stunts in rec ball will be the fool coaches in travel up to about 14U. At about that point they can't attract players anymore. About thirteen these coaches stop fooling the kids. By fourteen the parents want their kid to have better coaching. I've never met an incompetent showcase coach. I know many competent ones personally and on a college prospect dicussion board. I've never been exposed to OMG's biases through two showcase journies.

[Jhall8]

What about your bias tg? Perhaps you're too close to the issue. Maybe you have more in common with Showcase Dad than you realize or care to admit. You don't see the flaws or the follies in the whole showcase circus, but Showcase Dad never does...... That's what makes him Showcase Dad

[d-mac]

What about your bias tg? Perhaps you're too close to the issue. Maybe you have more in common with Showcase Dad than you realize or care to admit. You don't see the flaws or the follies in the whole showcase circus, but Showcase Dad never does...... That's what makes him Showcase Dad

I know a lot of parents who have kids playing showcase ball. They are all down to earth people who are just trying to get their kids as much exposure as possible so their kids can live out their dreams. As far as knowledge of the game, two showcase kids in our area are projected by PG as 2nd-5th round prospects, one dad is a college coach and the other played briefly in the majors.

[CircleChange11]

These posts read as being very jealous and/or bitter.

Personally, I'd like to see them stopped. Either make some specific comments about real situations or stop generalizing and stereotyping a whole group of people.

[songtitle]

There's always a Showcase Daddy on every baseball/softball team.

I just nod my head and listen.

I ran into one in a local store the other day. He had no idea who I was, and he was telling me that his kid was going to start varsity (on my son's school) as a Freshman (not a chance in Hades), and he would "blow their mind", and he could hit farther "than anyone had ever seen". As he was talking, I was thinking he will be a first ballot Showcase Daddy Hall of Famer.

[skipper5]

I've never met an incompetent showcase coach. .

tg, This is interesting, as compared to most fields of employment, where there's an array on the bell curve, from studs to duds.
Perhaps the free market competition between various showcase outfits ruthlessly selects for competency, weeding out incompetency?

[CircleChange11]

All of the stuff "Showcase Daddy" does at the HS level, "Rec League Daddy" did too ... only rec league daddy was the "boss" so he did whatever he wanted.

Rec League daddy visits the mound, calls the batter down to the 3rd base box, etc ... only when the batter is rec league son. When it's somebody else, they get barked at from the dugout. Rec league daddy stands by the son watching each warmup pitch as if it were 3-2 2-out in g7 of the WS. When it's someone else rec league daddy sits on the bucket barking out something related to rocking and firing and/or throwing strikes.

See how stupid that sounds?

Showcase daddy exist because HS coach permits it. But, the HS coach would have to remove Showcase kid from the game a(perhaps) as a consequence for Showcase daddy's antics ... and HS coach may not be willing to do that. Showcase daddy and Showcase son might just leave the team and then where would HS coach be?

Ther are so many ways to spin these scenarios. Can we just stop creating strawmen to beat down for easy victories?

[tg643]

tg, This is interesting, as compared to most fields of employment, where there's an array on the bell curve, from studs to duds.
Perhaps the free market competition between various showcase outfits ruthlessly selects for competency, weeding out incompetency?

It's not a business a person can get into and have a chance at succeeding without credibility and contacts. The first questions to ask are what venues will the team play? Is anyone in the organization a pro scout (because the scouts know the college coaches). Where have you been placing players. Do you have contacts at these programs (players top choices)?

There was a new organization put in place in our area two summers ago. Even then the people at the top were a former ACC All-American/pro, a successful East Coast recruiting consultant, a former local D1 coach and a current local D3 coach. The head coach had been a head coach in another organization. There were a few kids on the back end of the roster who might have been oversold to fill out the roster the first year. But even these kids are all playing college ball at the D3 level. Three are pro scouts at some level. I can see this organization being very successful as it grows and develops it's reputation.

Showcase teams aren't about getting players on teams that play in the CWS. it's about helping the player find the right fit athletically, academically and socially. If a kid has a throw it off the wall to see who's interested approach he better be a jaw dropping stud. My son had a list of colleges. While he attracted other programs he's at one on those colleges from his list.

About Perfect Game: If a player attends a PG showcase and isn't a stud he'll blend in. Even my son's 6.75 sixty blended in at PG. 6.5 and 6.6's catch eyes. What my son got from PG is he could stay on the field with the top players at his age group. It was a confidence builder. A lot of kids have false confidence because they never looked over the other side of the hill to see how the rest of the competition looked. Then they're shocked to find they're not all they though they were.

[omg]

All of the stuff "Showcase Daddy" does at the HS level, "Rec League Daddy" did too ... only rec league daddy was the "boss" so he did whatever he wanted.

Rec League daddy visits the mound, calls the batter down to the 3rd base box, etc ... only when the batter is rec league son. When it's somebody else, they get barked at from the dugout. Rec league daddy stands by the son watching each warmup pitch as if it were 3-2 2-out in g7 of the WS. When it's someone else rec league daddy sits on the bucket barking out something related to rocking and firing and/or throwing strikes.

See how stupid that sounds?

Showcase daddy exist because HS coach permits it. But, the HS coach would have to remove Showcase kid from the game a(perhaps) as a consequence for Showcase daddy's antics ... and HS coach may not be willing to do that. Showcase daddy and Showcase son might just leave the team and then where would HS coach be?

Ther are so many ways to spin these scenarios. Can we just stop creating strawmen to beat down for easy victories?

Circle,

I don't want to spend much time picking apart your logic. Obviously, not all dads whose kids are showcase/travel/facility fall into the stereotype. Obviously, not all Showcase Guys are boneheads. Obviously, not all Showcase Charlies are me-first, zero concept of team play guys.

But it just takes one.

Many, obviously, have seen these folks though. You even acknowledge this when you say "Showcase Daddy exist..." and "Showcase Daddy....Rec league Daddy..."

Nobody is being bitter. There is no straw man here.Just making conversation and pointing out the phenomena. And it is a Catch-22, you're right, from the hs coach's viewpoint. I do my very best to work around it but it is just relentless and, as others have pointed out, bizarre.

[mudvnine]

Just making conversation and pointing out the phenomena. And it is a Catch-22, you're right, from the hs coach's viewpoint. I do my very best to work around it but it is just relentless and, as others have pointed out, bizarre.

"omg", what is it that you are upset with, and having to "work around" with your HS team players?

If it's losing a talented player from your team so he can play during the HS season with his "Showcase Team", or that his "Showcase Daddy" is a pain in the arse, I get that....but other than that, I'm not following you on your complaints with other coaches or organizations.

Could you be a little more succinct on what it is that has you spending so much time bemoaning something that has been part of the HS baseball landscape for many years now....with the exception of players not playing for their HS teams, which is quite disturbing to me on several levels.

[tg643]

What about your bias tg? Perhaps you're too close to the issue. Maybe you have more in common with Showcase Dad than you realize or care to admit. You don't see the flaws or the follies in the whole showcase circus, but Showcase Dad never does...... That's what makes him Showcase Dad

Thank you for your obnoxious, uninformed assumption. I don't think you understand the difference between travel ball and showcase ball. Showcase ball is about getting kids to college ball. There's nothing to pound your chest about. It's a mentally strenuous process unless a kid is a top shelf jaw dropping stud. To help you understand the definition my son hit .524 his junior year of high school at a large classfication school. he ran a 6.75 sixty. He threw 89 from the outfield. In the description of being rated a top twenty outfield recruit in the metro area he was called a magician in the field. He was not a jaw dropping stud. At Perfect Game he blended in.

Once into college ball the mental strain starts all over again. Baseball is a thirty hour a week job. The NCAA only allows twnety hours per week for a sport. It does not include optional workouts (try missing them), travel and time spent away from campus while on the road. Missing classes is a given. Then, oh yeah, there's fifteen hours per week of classes, homework and an attempt at a social life. At the D1 level unless a kid is a jaw dropping stud he probably won't get much playing time freshman year. 50% of all D1 college baseball players transfer to play someplace else. If they transfer to another D1 they have to sit out a year. In the summer they're expected to play for a summer collegiate baseball team.

What is there to get all puffed up about? The kids who do this do it for the love of the game. At the major conference D1 level all of them are hoping to be drafted at some point. More than half will be wrong. My son had two major injuries and missed the entire recruiting season after junior year. That was nothing to get puffed up about. It was a major concern he would be healthy enough to play a after four months on crutches and two surgeries. He started at DH his senior year three weeks after tossing his sling away.

I started scouting programs when my son entered high school. Now my son is in college baseball. I've talked to a lot of D1 parents. I've never talked with a D1 players parent who wasn't thrilled to death about any kid who made it that far even if he's on the bench.

I've been through this twice. My daughter played college softball. She did all the same things with no hope of playing professionally on the back end. Even my son figures there's a 99% chance his first full time paycheck will not be in baseball. It's about the love of the game. I did it too. The only time I ever cried playing sports was sitting in the dugout after being eliminated in an NCAA regional knowing once I took the uniform off I would never put it back on again.

[real green]

Showcase on the surface makes a lot of sense and seems to work well from my very outside prospective. I could see how some bubble kids of families that can't or are not willing to pay for the Showcase get the raw end. IE - Less exposure at the HS level.

Again these are the bubble kids that probably wouldn't stand out at the Showcase. Like every other level, the top 10 and the bottom 10 are obvious, it's the ones in the middle that the little things can make a difference.

Again out of the top 1000 HS Seniors in the US, the top 100 will be found no matter what.

[tg643]

Showcase on the surface makes a lot of sense and seems to work well from my very outside prospective. I could see how some bubble kids of families that can't or are not willing to pay for the Showcase get the raw end. IE - Less exposure at the HS level.

Again these are the bubble kids that probably wouldn't stand out at the Showcase. Like every other level, the top 10 and the bottom 10 are obvious, it's the ones in the middle that the little things can make a difference.

Again out of the top 1000 HS Seniors in the US, the top 100 will be found no matter what.

Unless a kid is a jaw dropping stud and wants to play college ball he better have a plan. If he sits and waits to be foound chances are he won't play past high school. The player needs to choose a list of schools and figure out how he's going to get in front of them. For my son that avenue was his showcase team. Other options are individual showcases and attending weekend prospects camps at specific colleges. Had my son wanted to play college ball locally he could have attended three local weekend camps at three local colleges. It would have cost $600 total. While Legion works for some kids in our area it was dying.

My son was "discovered" at an individual showcase camp requiring the approval of a pro scout to participate. Before attending he had written the discovering college program of his desire to play there. His showcase coach had written a recommendation. A pro scout sent a recommendation. My son then sent video of his swing and running the sixty. Then they "discovered" him. He did this for about twenty five colleges.