Introducing 2016 HSBN Media Day
The High School Baseball Network (HSBN) has created another event that will excite coaches, players, parents, fans and scouts. It will connect the local community, and perhaps, revolutionize high school baseball in South Florida. The HSBN Media Day is meant to kick off the 2016 high school baseball season in grand fashion.
It will take place over two weekends. The first weekend, January 23rd and 24th, will be for all Miami-Dade teams and Broward teams south of I-595. It will be hosted by Nova High School at Pat McQuaid Field. The following weekend, January 30th and 31st, the event will shift to American Heritage-Delray and will be for all Palm Beach teams and Broward teams north of I-595.
Yes, that is two weekends of excitement that will see every team in South Florida hit the field. Event organizers, collegiate and MLB scouts, players, and coaches are all excited about the first such media day of its kind in the entire nation.
“I think the concept of Media Day for the tri-county area is another home run for HSBN,” said legendary Nova Manager Pat McQuaid. “It will give the opportunity for coaches to showcase their teams to scouts and the media before the season starts. I think every team will want to impress with their Infield/Outfield. Nothing better than a little friendly competition to jump start the season.”
All coaches, players, and programs have been invited to participate in the event for free.
“Our goal has always been to promote players and programs, and to provide pro and college scouts information and access to players so more players,” said HSBN Vice-President and Director of Operations Anthony Uttariello. “This event being free, while allowing thousands of players to be seen by college and pro scouts, falls directly in line with our philosophy, and we are excited to continue to bring new and innovative ideas to South Florida high school baseball.”
The weekend will begin with teams arriving at the field where they will first report to the registration tables. There HSBN representatives will be taking head shot photos of each player while verifying other player profile data to be displayed on each player’s free profile pages on the HSBN websites.
After registration, teams will move to the secondary field where they will warm up and run a 60 and 25 yard dash. The 25 yard dash is a revolutionary new concept formulated to gather a better idea of how quick players run in short bursts, good for judging home to first and stolen base speed.
Once the secondary field work is done, its on to the main attraction. The team will move to the main stadium field to showcase their best Infield/Outfield in a 12-minute session.
From the field, it is on to the cages where teams will have a 20-minute batting practice session.
The best part of the field and cage work for the players will be the dozens of area Major League Baseball and collegiate scouts in attendance. The concept of being able to identify players at a free event before the season starts is especially attractive to scouts.
“High School Baseball Network is a great asset for not only the baseball community, but also for players and parents,” said area Boston Red Sox Scout Willie Romay. “This organization has done a great job of bringing awareness and attention to South Florida high school baseball. The Media Day weekends they have created provides us scouts a good opportunity to see a large amount of players before the Spring season.”
College coaches are equally excited about the opportunity to see all players in South Florida over two weekends.
“This event will be beneficial to the entire South Florida baseball community,” said Broward College Manager Ben Bizier. “This is a forward-thinking, innovative project that I expect will become a tremendous resource for us college coaches year after year. Broward College’s pulse is dependent on South Florida high school baseball, and this event will give us a chance to branch out and create additional relationships with teams and players throughout the Tri-County area.”
Although the field and cage work is beneficial, it is not the end of the day for these players and coaches. From the cages, select players and coaches will enter the media room, where they will discuss the upcoming season with members of the media. ESPN, Major League Baseball, Baseball America, and local newspaper and television outlets have all been invited to the event.
After the media session is through, players and coaches will receive wristbands that will allow them to stick around for the rest of the weekend and enjoy the festivities for free.
In addition to all of that, the two, two-day events will also be filled with guest speakers starting at noon and running every two hours, in 10 to 20 minute sessions. The speakers will range from area pro and college scouts, to doctors, to recruiting experts. All will be there to help answer parent and player questions in their area of expertise.
Local vendors will be setting up booths, and the two host schools will be running their concession stands throughout the weekends for fans who would like to spend the entire day celebrating high school baseball to start the 2016 season.
“American Heritage is very happy to be a part of HSBN’s Media Day,” said Heritage Manager Carm Mazza. “It is just another example of how hard HSBN works to do the best for high school players in our area.”
Admission to the event will be $10 for adults and children over the age of eight, for each weekend. The admission price will allow fans to come and go throughout the weekend to see their favorite teams, check out the competition, and attend all guest speaker events.
Pro or college scouts, and teams or business owners who would like information on setting up a booth at the event, direct your questions here.
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