Why do coaches love “showcase” players?

Have you ever been to an event or showcase where college coaches and professional scouts are focused on only a few players?

Do you ever wonder what those players do differently than you?

I can’t tell you how many emails I get and conversations I have where players and parents complain that they aren’t getting any attention like “so and so” but they perform much better in the game.

They always tell me “I’m not a showcase player, I’m a gamer.”

Why do coaches like showcase players?

Whether it is right or wrong, coaches like and are attracted to players who perform well at showcases and have tools.

They like to see guys run fast, throw hard and hit the ball a long way.

Have you ever thought about WHY coaches want guys who can do those things?

Being a solid baseball player in games is important, BUT if you don’t have the physical tools, your in-game performance will diminish at higher levels.

Think about it like this, the higher level of baseball you play, the faster the game gets. Players get bigger and stronger. Because of this, the game gets faster and the field seems “smaller."

Your job as a player is to make the field small and the game fast….THAT is why tools are so important.

If you have a strong arm, you can throw someone out from deep in the hole or from deeper in the outfield.

If you can run fast, you can make balls that are normally hits become outs OR make a sure double into only a single because you cut the ball off.

If you hit the ball hard with a ton of exit velocity, the position players have less time to react to the ball, giving your ball a better chance of finding the outfield grass.

The same thing holds true for pitchers. No matter what someone tells you, pitchers MUST HAVE velocity along with off speed pitches in order to get good hitters out. You want to give the hitter as little time as possible to react. An 82 MPH fastball just isn’t going to cut it in pro ball.

This is why it is so important to make sure you are training correctly.

When you are training, make sure you are doing things to increase your toolset. TRAIN EXPLOSIVELY. Lift heavy weights and perform plyometric movements. When you throw, make sure you are using max arm speed. When you swing, swing as hard as you can.

The great thing about it is, if you train for explosiveness, velocity and bat speed, those tools WILL increase.

Every day, make sure you have a plan to improve and attack that plan.

Baseball is a great sport because players with great work ethics can surpass more physically gifted players who are lazy!

Let me know in the comment section what your (or your son's) daily plan is. How are you training?

You can go to the full article and comment section by clicking here.

-Tad

Tad Reida 
[email protected] 
765-432-8076