Steve:

Before too much time goes by, I just want to drop a quick note to tell you what a great program you and your staff ran this past weekend.  The presentation on Friday night was absolutely wonderful. Requiring those young men to appear in suits gave the event the dignity it deserved.  Ernie Young was perfect, especially when he hung his gold medal around his neck.  Ernie was beaming with pride and I firmly believe that having an Olympic Gold medal winner talk to these student athletes was extremely impressive.  And then I could have listened to Clint Hurdle all night long.  What a motivating individual.  How lucky those players for the Rockies are to have him as a coach!

Saturday's events were great.  Very, very organized was how I described it to my wife, who could not attend.  If something went wrong, I certainly did not see it.  Our games were on time and ran smoothly.

Saturday evening's talk by Coach Sofield was extremely informative.  He's certainly not for everybody, but his comments were worth the cost of the showcase.  If just one or two of Coach Sofield's points sink in with these athletes, they will be better both on and off the field.

There's a huge push by our high school coaches to not appear at showcases.  This position was confirmed by several other parents that I spoke with this weekend from other high school teams from different states.  In fact, since my son was missing his high school baseball practice on Friday to get to Tucson, he had to tell the coach a fib, just so he would not get into trouble.  The coaches constantly preach, "if your son is good, he will be found."  That may be true, but there's no harm in making sure he's found!  One other factor that is missed at an event like this weekend's showcase, is that my son was able to see for himself what great talent there is in this great country of ours.  Most of those athletes this weekend believe they will get a shot at making it in the big leagues, but a showcase like yours allows me as a parent to once again preach about the significance of a college degree.  I told my son that the Baseball Factory had 20+ former baseball players at the event and for the most part, they all attended college while playing baseball.

Finally, the fact that there was no "winner" for the tournament made the showcase much more relaxed.  Everyone was going to play on Sunday.  Everyone was going to be given a chance to show what they can do.  When someone was sitting on the bench, you did not have a parent grumbling in the stands like I always hear at a tournament.

If invited, my son and I look forward to next year's Under Armour Pre-Season All-American Tournament.  I look forward to working with your program as my son continues with his goal of playing the game we all love.

Great job to you and your staff!

Baseball Factory Parent