This is really aimed at HS showcase teams. Really 16/18U. I saw a kid pitch the other night that I haven't seen in action for a few years. She has grown tremendously and velocity has picked up really nicely. Soph. I have spoken with the dad for many years since he coached DD2 in basketball and I was the commissioner of his rec ball age group. I called him up to ask how things were going with their current team situation and his DD's progression. They are on a team in a Tx organization that has gotten so huge that players like his DD could get lost in the shuffle, but in reality she shouldn't be. She does not have P5 aspirations, but could dominate at the mid major level based on projections. He indicated that he wasn't too excited about their current team since some of the better players bolted during the fall. Of course P parents want a good defense to back them up right?
We talked about a program that has been around for many, many years. In fact I am looking at a 2nd place golf fundraising trophy that helped support this org from 2006! I asked him if his DD would have a chance to be on the real deal Gold team within that large organization or would she be relegated to one of the secondary teams? Most likely one of the 8-18U teams that would be forgotten. Why not join this other organization that competes against ALL of the real deal Gold teams and will get recruited to a college that would fit her goals and skills? Don't get me wrong, kids from this org has gone P5, but it's just not a "sexy, shiny" organization like a lot of these somewhat newer ones are with their fancy schmancy social media feeds and all the bells and whistles that parents get enamored with.
I told the dad to contact this coach so he could watch her pitch in her HS game, so he could put his eyes on her rather than waiting from some organizational tryout. I called in a favor to tee up the introduction and now it's in the dad's court. My point in all of this. Don't get blinded by the shiny uniforms with the glitz and glamour of social media like a mosquito being attracted to the buzz lights that will zap you. Take a logical approach to the team selection and college choices. Does the team play a competitive schedule? Do they play in the Power Pools? Don't get caught up in the wins and losses. These type of teams will compete against the best teams, but will lose to them too. They may have a .500(because they play National top 20 teams every weekend) record but they will finish top 10 in the state at least in Texas. States will vary.
We talked about a program that has been around for many, many years. In fact I am looking at a 2nd place golf fundraising trophy that helped support this org from 2006! I asked him if his DD would have a chance to be on the real deal Gold team within that large organization or would she be relegated to one of the secondary teams? Most likely one of the 8-18U teams that would be forgotten. Why not join this other organization that competes against ALL of the real deal Gold teams and will get recruited to a college that would fit her goals and skills? Don't get me wrong, kids from this org has gone P5, but it's just not a "sexy, shiny" organization like a lot of these somewhat newer ones are with their fancy schmancy social media feeds and all the bells and whistles that parents get enamored with.
I told the dad to contact this coach so he could watch her pitch in her HS game, so he could put his eyes on her rather than waiting from some organizational tryout. I called in a favor to tee up the introduction and now it's in the dad's court. My point in all of this. Don't get blinded by the shiny uniforms with the glitz and glamour of social media like a mosquito being attracted to the buzz lights that will zap you. Take a logical approach to the team selection and college choices. Does the team play a competitive schedule? Do they play in the Power Pools? Don't get caught up in the wins and losses. These type of teams will compete against the best teams, but will lose to them too. They may have a .500(because they play National top 20 teams every weekend) record but they will finish top 10 in the state at least in Texas. States will vary.
