"Showcase" and/or "Exposure" tournaments, what exactly are they?

[CenCal]

I keep hearing about "showcase" and "exposure" tournaments lately, mostly for 16u and 18u girls. From what I understand, they are not ran like a regular tournament, there is a lot of shuffling of players in each game and teams don't play to win?

Can someone please explain what exactly goes on at these tournaments and how they are run? Is this the type of tournament you would want to take a 16u team that goes to say, Nationals? Or are these the type of tournaments for "Select Ball" Travel teams, teams that are formed specifically for these type of "tournaments"?

If one's DD is seriously considering applying a huge amount of time to softball and wants to be able to play college ball, are showcase tournaments a necessity?

If anyone can point me to a site so I can understand this better, would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Coach JV]

Get out the checkbook! My dd is playing on a 14U ASA showcase team.
They are old fashioned dbl elimination tourneys and every team is very good.
It is a great place to participate as the competition is the best in the area.
The tournaments are not as plentiful, so you will find lots of long drives and/or short flights

 

[CenCal]

I know and understand about the old fashioned dbl elimination tourneys, I'm referring to tournaments that don"t require the teams " to win" I've had read the rules on one "showcase tournament in the southwest", in this particular tournament,lineups were not required, they did not keep score, but they do record strikes, balls and outs. If a team wishes, they may wish to leave the same batter up for all three outs. They would also start an inning with 1 br on base.

What I'm trying to get at is, are these type of tournaments suitable for a regular "A" travel team?

 

[LAdad]

(This applies in Southern California.) A lot of 18U teams play primarily friendlies and showcases, and relatively few actual tournaments. We play nearly every weekend, year-round. A friendly is four teams playing three games each, on one day; it is organized by one of the teams (sometimes as fundraiser). The goal is just to get some playing time in.

A showcase tournament is often quite large. Typically you get five games, over two days. The whole game schedule is set in advance, so there is no elimination. The idea is that college coaches will come to the showcase, where they'll have the opportunity to see a large number of teams all in one place. Because there is no elimination, if they want to see specific teams they can figure out exactly when they will be playing.

Both friendlies and showcases use two umpires per game, and keep score during the game, but neither keep standings: nobody records the final score. Games have a time limit, usually 1:30 (about 5 innings). Substitution rules are lax: We often bat the whole team, and substitution is free. Out of order batting is uncommon, but if a college coach came to see a particular player, you might give her some extra at bats. Otherwise she might have only two at bats in a game, which really doesn't show a whole lot. I've never seen a team start with runners on base, but pinch runners are used a bit more liberally than you would with stricter rules.

At 18 the players are all serious enough about it that they all do try to win; nobody likes to lose. The coach would not put people in positions they can't play either. On the other hand, because the only consequence of losing is hurt pride, with three pitchers we normally give them a game each, rather than all the time going with our #1 pitcher. For other players too we try to make sure they all get about equal time (except for positions where we have only one player). If a college coach comes for specific players we make sure they play.

There are probably some who feel that this lack of competition is pointless, but playing games is a good way to get better, certainly more fun than do nothing but practice. Because everyone gets to play, without the pressure of elimination, the team as a whole gets along much better than I've ever experienced with tournament/all-star teams when DD was younger. (But age could play a role in that, or maybe we've just been lucky.)

 

[LAdad]

Showcases aren't all they are cracked up to be. Yes, if you want exposure to college coaches, you probably have to go to one, because it is where the college coaches go (it's economical for them). But don't think that you just go there to play and college coaches stand around looking to pick up a few good players. In particular the D1 and D2 coaches come to watch players who have contacted them beforehand, gotten them interested, and have told them when and where they will be playing. Even if coaches have some idle time, they are probably hanging around the three main fields of the showcase. A showcase can have a hundred teams, so only very few get to play on the main fields. Some teams may be relegated to fields many miles away.

Coaches from local D3 colleges are a bit more likely to wander around. Most teams have some handout available with a summary of their players. You should have a recruiting coach on your team who chats up any college coach or assistant who wanders near (they are surprisingly easy to recognize). I think there must be a rule that they can't talk to parents and players directly.

On the other hand, if you ignore the college exposure, I'd say that playing in a showcase is no worse in terms of playing experience than playing in an elimination-style tournament. I think the cost is not so different either. (If you need to travel, then the cost is mostly the travel and the hotel anyway.)

 

[CenCal]

Thanks everyone! You made it so much clearer now. Thanks again!

 

[starsnuffer]

I just looked at some of the rosters for this weekend's showcase in Florida.

16u's were included, plus I recognized some names of players who have already verbaled or committed.

Interesting--you still go to them after you verbal or commit, so there is other development you get out of it (or expenses if you look at it that way, from the pessimist side). This topic could be a thread on its own!

This is why the Premier league started in California for Showcases and why the ASA Nationals are watered down now.

-W

 

[LAdad]

plus I recognized some names of players who have already verbaled or committed.

Players don't quit their TB team when they commit. On the contrary, they probably feel pretty good about the team that helped them get signed. But the team still has unsigned players so still needs to go to showcases.

What I found curious is that college coaches appear to spend a significant portion of their time at showcases watching players who already signed with them. I don't know whether that is to mollify the players so they don't change their mind, or to put the coach's mind at ease that s/he really made the right choice.

 

[softballphreak]

This is why the Premier league started in California for Showcases and why the ASA Nationals are watered down now.

-W

Could you describe the Premier league? Is this a league seeking to maintain the integrity of the competition of the sport?