Showcases for 14U
- Thread starter uncdrew
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- Sep 3, 2015
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As long as the colleges come out. Most were a waste of time and did not have much activity at 14u.
The ondeck events and PGF seemed to be the best for recruiting in 14u (norcal), for 16u and 18u you need to be on the right fields and playing the best teams to maximize exposure. Schools come out to watch their commits and other coaches just want to watch good teams play.
Be on a team where the coaches communicate about recruiting and things are transparent. DD was on 4 different teams from 14-18u and we saw 4 different recruiting styles.
My DD played on an ok A team in 14u, one year of 16u on a better team, and 18u with an even better team. Being on a good team makes a difference in my opinion.
Having gone through this during covid, it seemed as if the kids who had gone to camps had an advantage, due to the coaches actually having seen the players in person.
This years zoom was the best recruiting event I’ve seen, BLD chino hills was the place to be with more than a dozen coaches at each game. Probably due to the in person recruiting ban being lifted. Those 6 weeks from June to the end of July is where it’s at, even though TCS nationals were a dud.
There are a lot of good players out there and the competition is fierce.
Ups and downs, lots of communication then things go cold, surprise interest that comes out of nowhere. What a ride.
My DD is a 22 and has recently committed.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The ondeck events and PGF seemed to be the best for recruiting in 14u (norcal), for 16u and 18u you need to be on the right fields and playing the best teams to maximize exposure. Schools come out to watch their commits and other coaches just want to watch good teams play.
Be on a team where the coaches communicate about recruiting and things are transparent. DD was on 4 different teams from 14-18u and we saw 4 different recruiting styles.
My DD played on an ok A team in 14u, one year of 16u on a better team, and 18u with an even better team. Being on a good team makes a difference in my opinion.
Having gone through this during covid, it seemed as if the kids who had gone to camps had an advantage, due to the coaches actually having seen the players in person.
This years zoom was the best recruiting event I’ve seen, BLD chino hills was the place to be with more than a dozen coaches at each game. Probably due to the in person recruiting ban being lifted. Those 6 weeks from June to the end of July is where it’s at, even though TCS nationals were a dud.
There are a lot of good players out there and the competition is fierce.
Ups and downs, lots of communication then things go cold, surprise interest that comes out of nowhere. What a ride.
My DD is a 22 and has recently committed.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Went to PGF games this year. I know PGF is not a showcase but this is what I observed. 16u and 18u on Monday 12:30 (first games at HB) on every field at every game college coaches were watching. Some more than others. One game had 12 to 15 coaches watching. They like the pool games because they know who is going to be where and what time.
Went and DD participated in PGF at 14u the following week. If there were college coaches there, they were disguising themselves very well.
I guess showcases are better but you need to go to a all14u showcase. If you are going to play in a showcase that has 16u being played also you will not see coaches.
SO, here is what the coach/org. is going to tell you: Its important for these players/teams to participate in these showcases to prepare them to play in front of college coaches in the future, blah blah blah. How does it prepare them? Trying to figure that one out.
Went and DD participated in PGF at 14u the following week. If there were college coaches there, they were disguising themselves very well.
I guess showcases are better but you need to go to a all14u showcase. If you are going to play in a showcase that has 16u being played also you will not see coaches.
SO, here is what the coach/org. is going to tell you: Its important for these players/teams to participate in these showcases to prepare them to play in front of college coaches in the future, blah blah blah. How does it prepare them? Trying to figure that one out.
- Nov 18, 2013
- 2,258
- 113
At 14U you can do it for the experience. Don’t expect to see any coaches. Even before the recruiting changes there weren’t many coaches at 14U games.
I wouldn't get caught up in the word showcase. IMO the bottom line is if your DD has ambitions of playing in college she needs to play on a team with and in the tournaments against other kids with the same aspirations. If you do that the coaches will be there.
Thanks all. Yes, these "showcases" are at least twice as expensive, and are a 14U division with 16U and 18U playing at the same time. It seems very, very obvious to me that the people putting on these showcases tacked on the 14U part to make more money. I can't imagine a college coach needing to see random 13 year olds and then wait and hope they still play softball 5 years later.
- Nov 18, 2013
- 2,258
- 113
Coaches are following 13 yo’s. They’re just extremely limited in how they can interact with them. Showcases aren’t a priority yet, but it’s a good time to start becoming familiar with the recruiting process and take a look at a couple campuses. Nothing serious, just enough to get the wheels spinning to figure out what they want to do.
radness
Possibilities & Opportunities!
- Dec 13, 2019
- 7,270
- 113
New things bring new experiences.
Showcases are generally guaranteed amount of games to play, like 5
pre-scheduled games.
Compared to
Some tournaments that are keep playing only if you keep winning.
Sometimes only get 2, 3 games.
At pgf 14u premier this summer the nor cal Grapettes had colleges watching games throughout the week.
Arizona
Berkley
Fullerton
And others plus D3's
Talent brings coaches.
Showcases are generally guaranteed amount of games to play, like 5
pre-scheduled games.
Compared to
Some tournaments that are keep playing only if you keep winning.
Sometimes only get 2, 3 games.
At pgf 14u premier this summer the nor cal Grapettes had colleges watching games throughout the week.
Arizona
Berkley
Fullerton
And others plus D3's
Talent brings coaches.
I took my 14U team to several showcases last year. Most of our games had college coaches watching. Nothing major but at least 2 or 3. We also played in a couple of fairly large (for our area, 120 teams) 14U only tournaments that weren't a showcase and saw a dozen or so college coaches at each doing some window shopping. Is it the norm? Probably not. But then again, these aren't normal times.
