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Oct 3, 2019
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So, I was a spectator at a showcase recently. I am not a coach or a scout. But I was struck by just how little real talent attends these things. Yes, the girls play well, and they don't. They get strikeouts, they strike out. They catch balls and they drop balls. My question is, what is a scout supposed to see there that is going to make a difference to any one of these girls? I have heard, that mostly the scouts go there with a few players in mind that are already on their radar. If it's true that so few girls actually get to play college softball, is it not then logical to think that these showcases are being put on simply to give those few girls a stage? How many other families are paying for those girls to be able to do this? I wonder, if girls only played high school ball and the expensive tournaments and showcases were not a priority, wouldn't it raise the level of high school ball in general? Wouldn't many families go back to living normal lives and maybe even being able to afford real vacations with their children? What if the high school teams became the Summer/Fall ball teams too, and played teams in areas closer to home? Wouldn't college coaches find a way to find the really talented girls anyway? I don't get it. It seems that the tail is wagging the dog and maybe, it's not about the girls at all. Just wondering...
 
May 27, 2013
2,353
113
It would be difficult for college coaches to scout HS teams as most HS teams play in the spring when college teams are also playing. Also, HS ball varies greatly from school to school. It would be so difficult for college coaches to attend HS games as they‘d be missing talent elsewhere. Showcases feature a lot of talent in one general location.

As far as talent at showcases go - it all depends on which ones you attend and your field placement. The well-known showcases like IDT, D9, Scenic City, etc will have high-level talent on the main fields. It will be extremely competitive. There are also many, many showcases that are low-level. If college coaches attend it’s usually the schools local to that specific area looking at players who reached out to them. The formerly mentioned showcases will be crawling with college coaches looking at players who have hit their radars.
 
Jan 31, 2015
249
43
So, I was a spectator at a showcase recently. I am not a coach or a scout. But I was struck by just how little real talent attends these things. Yes, the girls play well, and they don't. They get strikeouts, they strike out. They catch balls and they drop balls. My question is, what is a scout supposed to see there that is going to make a difference to any one of these girls? I have heard, that mostly the scouts go there with a few players in mind that are already on their radar. If it's true that so few girls actually get to play college softball, is it not then logical to think that these showcases are being put on simply to give those few girls a stage? How many other families are paying for those girls to be able to do this? I wonder, if girls only played high school ball and the expensive tournaments and showcases were not a priority, wouldn't it raise the level of high school ball in general? Wouldn't many families go back to living normal lives and maybe even being able to afford real vacations with their children? What if the high school teams became the Summer/Fall ball teams too, and played teams in areas closer to home? Wouldn't college coaches find a way to find the really talented girls anyway? I don't get it. It seems that the tail is wagging the dog and maybe, it's not about the girls at all. Just wondering...
First of all, showcase tournaments are a *boondoggle* for coaches since they are mostly *stay-to-play* tournaments which essentially fund the coaches trips.

Second, at least in my state, high school ball is a joke since most rosters have few TB players.

Third, showcase tournaments allow coaches to see many prospects from many different teams around the country in one week/weekend that have been on their radar already; i.e. don't expect your DD to be *discovered* at a showcase tournament w/o having your DD already gotten the coach's attention. Not saying it NEVER happens but that's not the norm.

Finally, not all showcase tournaments are created equal but even going to the best of the best ones doesn't guarantee your DD will be in the bracket and on the field where the coaches will see her, since the big tournaments have the best of the best teams playing on the primary fields in brackets that maximize the big time coaches time.
 
Jul 22, 2015
851
93
So, I was a spectator at a showcase recently. I am not a coach or a scout. But I was struck by just how little real talent attends these things. Yes, the girls play well, and they don't. They get strikeouts, they strike out. They catch balls and they drop balls. My question is, what is a scout supposed to see there that is going to make a difference to any one of these girls? I have heard, that mostly the scouts go there with a few players in mind that are already on their radar. If it's true that so few girls actually get to play college softball, is it not then logical to think that these showcases are being put on simply to give those few girls a stage? How many other families are paying for those girls to be able to do this? I wonder, if girls only played high school ball and the expensive tournaments and showcases were not a priority, wouldn't it raise the level of high school ball in general? Wouldn't many families go back to living normal lives and maybe even being able to afford real vacations with their children? What if the high school teams became the Summer/Fall ball teams too, and played teams in areas closer to home? Wouldn't college coaches find a way to find the really talented girls anyway? I don't get it. It seems that the tail is wagging the dog and maybe, it's not about the girls at all. Just wondering...
If you attend an 18u showcase, almost every girl on the field who wants to play in college will find a place to play. If a girl is good enough to make an A level team at 18u then the odds are very high that there is a place for her to play somewhere between D1 and D3, NAIA, and Juco. Compare that to HS games, where mid-sized to small schools are lucky to have 2-3 girls who even want to play in college. I know that in our area it's hard enough to get girls to play HS ball during the season and would be impossible to field serious fall and summer teams.
 
Jun 11, 2012
741
63
Many college coaches are as interested in how a player deals with failure as they are in how they deal with success. And usually the coaches are there to watch a handful of players who have been in contact with them.
HS ball in my area is rough. My small town had a great team when DD was a junior/senior but most years they are just ok and at least half of the kids only play for something to do. Many kids are multi sport athletes in HS to keep active but only really love one of the sports
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,133
113
Dallas, Texas
My question is, what is a scout supposed to see there that is going to make a difference to any one of these girls?
Once you know what "good" means, it is easy to pick out the talent. The coaches usually scan the field, and see if anyone stands out. If someone does, they hang around to see them bat.
is it not then logical to think that these showcases are being put on simply to give those few girls a stage?
Showcases aren't for the known "good" players. The showcases are for the other players to have a stage.

How many other families are paying for those girls to be able to do this? I wonder, if girls only played high school ball and the expensive tournaments and showcases were not a priority, wouldn't it raise the level of high school ball in general?
Comparing HS ball and TB is like comparing apples to oranges. They are two different types of teams which have two different purposes.

Wouldn't college coaches find a way to find the really talented girls anyway?
If there only 20 college teams in the US, you would be correct. But, there are hundreds (thousands?) of college teams.

College coaches tend to chase the same 100 players. But, come the end of July, when they learn that Sally Southern California is taking her 75 MPH riseball to Alabama, the other coaches start scrambling for players.

The trick for most college coaches is to find kids who will (1) sign with the college and (2) help the program.

I don't get it. It seems that the tail is wagging the dog and maybe, it's not about the girls at all.
Exposure tournaments are usually a boondoggle. TB is a legitimate way to increase the skill of the players.
 
Oct 3, 2019
364
43
I guess my point was, if travel ball took a bit of a back seat to high school, and emphasis was redirected to building high school programs, the level of competition there would increase, not to mention the rivalries among the schools when they might play towns and cities in their own counties. If towns don't have large soft ball programs, how are girls suddenly available to fill travel teams? I'm saying, couldn't the entire premise be flipped so that high school wasn't dismissed and looked down upon and was made to be more competitive? Money directed to travel could be redirected to the high school programs instead and would go a long way to improve their facilities, hire some assistant coaches, etc. No one dismisses high school football as being inferior, do they? And those teams require dozens of players.
The other point I was trying to make was that, unless it's a high level showcase, where all girls are college material at some level, there are many low level showcases where literally a small handful of girls might have scouts there to observe them, scouts that have already been contacted by the girls. These showcases are being funded by teams of girls that have little chance of being scouted. What would one of these girls have to do to grab the attention of a coach and what chance that they would be watching right at that moment? If a lower level team is attending a showcase and have one or two studs at most on their team, let's face it, that team is funding the trip for those two girls to have an opportunity to get seen, missing school and costing their families a lot of money in travel expenses. Sure, perhaps the others could catch the eye of a JUCO coach but, really? Seems one might be able to walk on at a JUCO if a decent player. If a high school player was dominating in high school and standing out, I think they'd be found regardless of a showcase or not, especially if the programs were at a point to be taken seriously. And, the girls might have more time to direct to their studies which is very important as well to colleges. As it is, girls are literally missing days of school to travel to tournaments and getting home late on a Sunday for school the next morning? There seems to be something wrong with this equation. I know this is really going outside the box and it's unlikely the wheel is going to be reinvented, but let's be honest about the reality. Thousands of girls, families and teams, are funding showcases for a chosen few.
 
Oct 3, 2011
3,478
113
Right Here For Now
Multiple reasons some of which have already been stated. some other ones are these. As cynical as it may sound, TB has now become big business for the most part. Those of them making money will not relinquish control of the almighty dollar.

Second, many girls are foregoing playing for their HS teams due to the coaching. Many coaches in my area have zero experience and are just doing it to pick up extra money. The ones that do as far as strategy and bas of knowledge goes, are teaching old school mechanics of just about everything from throwing to a swing taught 40 years ago. Since they insist on their players doing it "their way," many refuse to play for them.

Third, others aren't playing due to the "team atmosphere." Whether it's turning a blind eye towards bullying, other players not working as hard as the TB players would like, other players not caring about winning as much as the TB players, other players not caring if they improve as much as the TB players, etc. etc.

Finally, for the most part TB players play TB because they want to play and compete against a higher level player. When they are playing HS ball, they are usually playing against mixed teams and the competition isn't there.

Now I'm not saying that playing HS ball is right or wrong. You asked why many TB players don't and these are the reasons that I hear most often in my area. Thus, it's not going to go back to the days of HS ball being the all important team and colleges expanding their athletic budgets to hire scouts so they can send them all over the country to scout talent.
 

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