Winds Of Change Sweeping Through Broward Summer Baseball – Part II

Although money may be an overriding factor when players and their families decide which summer program to join, there are other factors that have just as big an effect on those decisions. Recruiting has grown to never-before-seen levels in Broward County. Not the recruiting of a high school player to another high school program – that’s for another day. No, this recruiting involves getting players college scholarships.

In Broward, much like how summer baseball has changed over the years, the recruiting process has changed as well. Back in the 80s, one or two players being drafted was considered a success. Now, high school players from the county are being drafted at regularly, and more players are going to college on baseball scholarships than ever before. The new summer format is partially responsible for the spike in recruiting figures.

Richie Palmer is runs the South Florida Elite Squad, a program many believe is tops in the county. Palmer understands that recruiting is a big piece to his program’s summer puzzle.

“The tournaments we look for in the summer are those where we know colleges will be in attendance,” Palmer said. “We keep in close contact with a ton of university’s so they are very often calling us finding out what events we plan on attending so they can come and watch our players. We also have them calling us asking us to go to certain tournaments that they will be at. In this case, we send out an email, and the amazing parents we have in the program will pack up and hit the road without any problems, helping our players get more exposure.”

The South Florida Elite Squad just wrapped up its most successful summer ever. Eight championships were won across the program’s various age groups. Among the titles were two that stood out, the 16-and-Under Championships, in which Elite won the gold medal, and the WWBA National Championship in East Cobb, Ga. The combination of these championships helped Elite garner a No. 1 ranking in the country by Perfect Game USA.

The accolades did not stop there as the 17-and-under team set a record by winning four championships in a row. The 16-and-under squad went 43-7, rolling off two separate winning streaks of 18 and 15 games. The Elite players themselves also gained national attention, with four members attending the Under Armour All-American game at Wrigley Field. The game was televised on MLB Network.

Even with all the accolades, Palmer maintains his biggest joy is watching his players sign on the dotted line.

“We don’t consider ourselves just a college program. We consider ourselves a college-placement program. There is no championship we could ever win that will replace the feeling when a college coach calls us and tells us that he’s going to make an offer to one of our players.”

The high school coaches who worked with the Elite Squad this past summer include Jorge Miranda from Coral Glades, Sergio Ambros of West Broward, Matt Cleveland of Coral Springs Christian, Onel Garcia from Somerset and South Broward’s Joe Giummule.

Another program responsible for the new summer structure is the Pokers. The team was taken over by general manager and co-owner Ryan Combs just over a year ago. Combs also became a member of the high school head coaching community this summer when he accepted the vacant job at Pompano Beach. Combs has coached at the college level, and he has relied on his experience as a college recruiter to help formulate his philosophy for the Pokers.

“When I coached in college, we only went to see a few guys during the spring, but as soon as the summer circuit started, the entire coaching staff would go to tournaments together and visit several fields to find the guys we needed to see,” Combs said. “The new summer tournament structure saves colleges a lot of time and a ton of money.”

The Pokers sent 18 to 20 players on to college this year, and they were led by two Nova High standouts, Troy Massaro and Trenton Monaghan. Massaro, a pitcher, topped out at 91 mph and caught the eyes of scouts at a tryout in Lakeland. He recently committed to the University of Central Florida.

On the coaching front, the Pokers had not only Combs but another coach who took a high school head coaching job over the summer in Ryan Stuart. He accepted the top position at Taravella after being a longtime assistant at the school. The position opened up after Jason Stein took over as the school’s athletic director.

Stuart gained some experience this past summer as a head coach when he led the 17-and-under Florida Pokers team. The team played in seven tournaments, six of which were in 18-and-under divisions. Monaghan (Air Force), Shawn Gallagher (Navy) and Greg Feinberg (preferred walk-on, Georgia Tech), were among the players who Stuart worked with on this squad.

Summer has now given way to fall, and that means that players are back to competing for their respective high school programs. Summer baseball in Broward County has changed. Whether the change was for the better is up for debate, but one thing is certain: Baseball players are baseball players no matter what uniform they wear, and as long as the games keep being played, it can’t be all that bad.

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