OK, what's with this Showcase Scenario?

GunnerShotgun said:

Bracket games in Showcases are idiotic specifically if pool play influences seeding (or if you even get into bracket play).

If they do want to have bracket games for competitive reasons (I still don't' understand what that means) then it should be a blind draw and pool play should have nothing to do with bracket play.

We just played in a PGF showcase in the Midwest where the Top 3 seeds in each Pool got to go a single elimination tournament on Sunday. Every coach was playing to win their pool games (short lineups, managing the clock).

You can't have it both ways.

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I would say that the majority of TB coaches totally forget why they are at a showcase. Some even post their records/scores on websites. Seem to be chasing that National Showcase Championship. Last weekend had a TB coach ask why in the world I pulled my 2018 pitcher when they could not hit her. Said they could not have beaten us if I had not switched pitchers. He then when went on to say how difficult it was for him to get players recruited.

CMMom1740 said:

That's really nice. Hopefully, they keep the showcases small enough so that there aren't like 50 catchers and 75 pitchers all vying for a few coaches' attention. That is a neat idea. Haven't heard about anything similar to that around here as of yet.

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It's a great program. Yes, the showcases are relatively small, maybe on average 50 teams (30 - 60 college coaches depending on the tournament) and the fields are all at one location so its easy for the coaches to move around from one team to the next. While there are some D1 schools there (Stanford, GA, Auburn) most of the colleges are D2, D3, NAIA, and community colleges.

We played Boulder IDT this week. Coaches everywhere for the pool games. Played 4 bracket games on Sat and only saw 4-5 coaches all day. That is a very competitive tourney and the coaches drastically tapered off. I am with the theory that the bracket is more for the TB coaches/ teams, than the college coaches. I do like having to bracket at the end of the event though.

So, judging on what I'm reading, it seems that having a mixture of showcase and tournament results in confusion and blurred boundaries. TD's really ought to seek to maximize players' exposure to college coaches during the time in which they are available (so Friday/Saturday from what I'm gathering). Maybe there should be a shift into doing something more camp-like or maybe just "Friendlies" where you don't exchange lineups, etc... Maybe some intensity is removed, but TB coaches could perhaps relax a little and let the showcasing happen. Maybe forget Sunday bracket play altogether.

riseball said:

I would say that the majority of TB coaches totally forget why they are at a showcase. Some even post their records/scores on websites. Seem to be chasing that National Showcase Championship. Last weekend had a TB coach ask why in the world I pulled my 2018 pitcher when they could not hit her. Said they could not have beaten us if I had not switched pitchers. He then when went on to say how difficult it was for him to get players recruited.

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I even see coaches boasting about their record in pre-tourney scrimmages. I understand it though with travel ball has gotten where they're competing as much to attract future players to their programs as exposing current players in the tourney.

MNDad said:

I even see coaches boasting about their record in pre-tourney scrimmages. I understand it though with travel ball has gotten where they're competing as much to attract future players to their programs as exposing current players in the tourney.

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I think there are two distinct schools of thought. Chase plastic while getting your get players "seen" to get them recruited. The other is to strictly focus on the recruiting process and not worry about the won loss record and the plastic.

Had several players playing in a showcase this past weekend and so, I went to look at the list of attending coaches. To my surprise, several of those coaches listed were also listed to be in Colorado. Then, I noticed that some of the coaches listed aren't at those universities anymore.

CatchersMom2017 said:

DD's team was in St Louis this weekend. Very few college coaches wandering around I'm told. Most excitement was when the team almost had a bench clearing brawl. I guess 3+ players hit by pitch and the other coach talking smack to our players, our coach telling him to NOT talk to his players made for an exciting time. DD said she saw 1 community college coach in the stands and laughingly said she was there to see the fight. lol

On the plus side DD got to meet and hang out with her college roommate and is even more excited for August to come.

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We were in St Louis this weekend and I didn't see the fight. But I did see around 15 college coaches. We saw 3 D1 coaches. Some NAiA, D2. Wasn't bad for first year tournament.

CatchersMom2017 said:

DD's team was in St Louis this weekend. Very few college coaches wandering around I'm told. Most excitement was when the team almost had a bench clearing brawl. I guess 3+ players hit by pitch and the other coach talking smack to our players, our coach telling him to NOT talk to his players made for an exciting time. DD said she saw 1 community college coach in the stands and laughingly said she was there to see the fight. lol

On the plus side DD got to meet and hang out with her college roommate and is even more excited for August to come.

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That is where my players were playing. I missed this post but agree that only a few college coaches were seen around. Most that my players saw were assistant coaches.

Softball scholar said:

We were in St Louis this weekend and I didn't see the fight. But I did see around 15 college coaches. We saw 3 D1 coaches. Some NAiA, D2. Wasn't bad for first year tournament.

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Was also in St. Louis. I heard some shouting and a coach yelling "Don't talk to my players!", but we were getting ready for our own game so didn't see anything else.

A fair number of college coaches in attendance on Saturday, only a few seen on Sunday, and didn't notice any on Monday. Will see if this grows into a decent alternative to Colorado.