Visiting Puerto Rico: What I Observed During Showcases
When I visited Puerto Rico for the first time, I didn’t really know what to expect or what I would find at the ball field other than beautiful weather. I had been to Panama two summers prior and I thought it would be something similar to that, however in some ways, my experience was different. I did notice that unlike many high school athletes in the states, Puerto Rican players prepared differently when performing at showcases both mentally and physically. I wanted to share some of the observations I experienced on my recent recruiting trip to Puerto Rico and explain how I think our Northern American high school athletes can benefit from the way the Puerto Rican culture prepares for and performs at showcases.
I have been a part of my fair share of showcases from individual colleges, and groups of colleges, to showcase organizations, and whether you are for them or against them I don’t see them going away any time soon — so might as well get the best you can out of them! Below are some of the key things I observed during the showcases at Puerto Rico.
Warming up
As I walked up to the various fields, the players were already starting to warm up. I observed meaningful warm ups with the intent to prepare for the day. They didn’t jog out to centerfield or jog around looking lost and not knowing what to do — they were well coached and had intent behind every warm up drill. Instead of jogging around, the players’ warm ups were geared around preparing their footwork — moving laterally and moving quickly from the very beginning. Not only were they warming up, but they were also in a way practicing athleticism. I’ve often seen many of these exercises be performed at the college level, but hardly ever at the high school level. However, the intent to prepare was something I have rarely seen before at any level. I questioned myself, “How can I improve at better preparing our players before practice and before games?”
After the players were finished warming up, the coaches gave them about 5–10 minutes to do whatever stretches they preferred and to start preparing for the 60-yard run. I didn’t expect much considering the 60-yard run was something I’ve seen many times before, but what impressed me most was that not only were some players doing extra stretch work, but also most of them were working on starts in a very efficient manner. For example, they would get in a stance then pause, then sprint about 30-yards, then do the same thing for 20-yards, 10-yards, then work their way to about 5-yards. They would do that about five times, until they felt their start was perfect. (Let me also point out that high school juniors and seniors in Puerto Rico are 15–17 year-olds). Another thing I observed was the amount of collaboration being done among the players. Each player had their own technique and they were talking about how they “start” and share their ideas back and forth as if they were combining minds to try and come up with different ways in becoming better. Again, pretty impressive if you ask me.
They ran the 60, then it was time to warm up the arms.
Catch play
Sure enough kids were bringing out weighted balls and plyo balls to throw. From what I observed, they didn’t follow any certain type of program, but they were preparing with same amount of energy and intent like they did during warm-ups.
Outfield portion
During the outfield segment, they did three throws to third and three throws to home. I would say about 75% of them had absolute cannons! There were some small framed players weighing in about 140–160 pounds throwing lasers all over the field. While fielding the ball in the outfield, each player showed patience in approaching the ball. Quite frankly, I don’t remember any of them “crow hopping.” Simply stated, they had crisp and precise footwork.
Infield portion
Moving into the infield portion. Like many of you know, this is where players take two ground balls at them, a forehand, a backhand and a slow roller. (Let me also point out that they were playing on a field that was not in the best of shape. Unlike most parts of Northern America, Puerto Rico has their fair share of hurricane disasters, with their most recent one appearing in 2017). Two things struck me most— body language and positioning. If a player missed a ball because of a bad hop (which I rarely saw), they would get frustrated, but it was at themselves for missing it. They never looked at the webbing of their glove, nor did they just stare at the giant crater in the ground where the ball took the terrible bounce — they owned their mistake. Their body language showed “no excuses, I have to be better, give me another.” The second thing that stood out, was their positioning to field the ground balls. Because of the uneven ground, they had to remain in an athletic position for as long as they could and constantly keep their feet moving. I noticed that they read hops unbelievably well and also seemed like they were in a position to make the play no matter the hop, which I noticed is the exact opposite in many high school athletes here in the states. I have been to many showcases, highschool games, and practices and noticed that the shortstop (supposedly the best infielder on the team) is in a stagnant fielding position — committing to the ball before they read the hops. Sometimes it appears as if high school fielders here in the states move in stages or checkpoints to field a ball, whereas Puerto Rican players were “flowing through the ball” even with bad hops.
Hitting
Last but certainly not least (and also my favorite to watch) is the hitting segment. I noticed that every kid swung a wood bat and most of them were hitting hard line drives to the gaps. Their miss hits were high fly balls or hard ground balls with top spin. I believe one of the reasons the Puerto Rican players square up balls so much is mainly because they were always practicing with wood bats, which has a smaller sweet spot and can really show you where your swing is. When you hit with a wood bat, I like to think of it as constant feedback, meaning you know right away if it was a good swing or a bad one. Ultimately, it can be easier to correct the “feel” of a swing as well swing adjustments pitch to pitch.
That’s great Chase, now what?
Based on my experience in Puerto Rico, I came up with three suggestions I would implement into a high school program if I was at a small school or lack the resources or coaches thereof.
Suggestion 1: If you have players that go to showcases or you recommend them to go to showcases, simply put, prepare them. Too many times have I seen players appear lost without their team or coach at showcases. Prepare your players to warm up, and get ready for each event with intent and energy. Some college coaches are watching how players prepare. Sometimes all they need is structure, so give them an exact routine to do once they show up to these showcases.
Suggestion 2: Get your players on a structured throwing program. If you don’t like weighted balls or plyo balls or j-bands (this is a different conversation in itself) that’s fine, but give them a structured program. Let them know how long it takes. I see high school players a majority of the time being rushed because they lack structure with their throws.
Suggestion 3: Buy some composite wood bats to hit with in practice. If you are limited on resources or coaches, wood bats can help coach a swing when you are not there. A wood bat can also be a reality check and show you how good a hitter really is.
Remember, I am not here to criticize what high school coaches do, but only encourage you to keep going! Keep coaching your players up! Keep finding ways to get them ready for college. As a college coach, I can tell you that I know how much time investment you have put into your program and players and I know a majority of college coaches appreciate all your efforts! I only hope to provide some information as well as some thoughts from my experiences that might spark ideas within you as a coach. I believe your ideas can and will move the game forward in a great direction.
