By Patrick Ebert

In many of my interview features I have focused on the importance of Perfect Game showcase and tournament events for the players that attend the events and to the baseball personnel that scout and cover the events.  While these events give young baseball players an unbelievable stage to showcase their talents in front of countless Major League scouts and college recruiters, there are many ways in which the players and the managers for the respective teams can improve the information provided to those that cover the events.

In fact, some teams aren't even taking the time to get their rosters in.

In this day and age of information, information is exactly what is important for so many scouts and recruiters that are watching the young, talented baseball players that take the field.  Major League Baseball teams may be looking for certain qualities, while each and every college may have a different list of qualifications that they are looking to fill.  Few programs have as stringent of requirements as the Harvard baseball program, and recently I was able to speak with Harvard Head Coach Joe Walsh about some of the things he looks for in particular while scouting such events.  I also was able to speak with Braves Scouting Director Roy Clark on some of the specific information he looks to receive when scouting young players as well as the Head Coach of the Midwest Blazers, Andy Stack.

Recruiting young talent for arguably the most prestigious academic institution in Harvard University is no easy task.  Anyone that intends to go to Harvard has to attain extremely high academic standards, and finding such a talented young mind that is also athletically inclined is no easy task, particularly when Harvard does not give out athletic scholarships.

Joe Walsh, the Head Coach at Harvard, is entering his 11^th season for the Crimson, leading his team to five Ivy League titles.  Walsh is a very active member of the coaching community, being involved with the college summer Cape Cod League since 1988, as well as conducting numerous baseball clinics and camps throughout New England.  He is not only responsible for coaching the Harvard baseball team, but he is also responsible for recruiting the talent necessary to field a successful program.  "In recruiting kids to play here at Harvard it's very difficult given the high academic expectations," Walsh said.  "We don't have any scholarships to offer and there's not a lot of kids that qualify in the country that can play on the level that we want to."

To play on that level Coach Walsh has always made a point out of playing the best teams in the nation outside of his conference schedule.  In recent years Harvard has played teams like UCLA, Stetson, Tulane, Oklahoma State, Rice, Ohio State and Michigan to make sure his players play against some of the best teams in the nation.  "We've had some success, and our success can be measured by the strength of the teams that we've played," Walsh said, a tactic that is also the key for the success of players that attend Perfect Game showcases and tournament events.

Walsh has had several notable players  play for him in recent years, including pitcher Ben Crockett, now with the Rockies organization, who was the starter for the Cape Cod League All-Star Game in 2001 and was among the league leaders in strikeouts during the summers of 2000 and 2001.  John Birtwell was named the Tigers minor league pitcher of the year in 2002, while Trey Hendricks, a high school teammate of Josh Beckett, hit .296 in the Diamondbacks system during the 2005 season.

And the list isn't restricted to just players, but front office personnel.  Former Harvard shortstop David Forst is currently Billy Beane's assistant general manager for the Oakland Athletics, and is one of the brightest young general manager candidates in the game.  Peter Woodfork, who was Forst's double-play partner at Harvard, is the director of baseball operations for the Red Sox.  Jeff Bridich, a member of the class of 2000, is the director of minor league operations for the Rockies.  "We have a lot of recent alums that are working their way up on the administrative end of baseball that we're equally proud of,"  Walsh said in regards to the players that have passed through the Harvard baseball program.  "We're talking about guys that are in their 20s that have jobs that a lot of guys haven't gotten until their 40s and 50s."

As the sole recruiter for Harvard, given the restrictions he has to work with, the information provided to him from Perfect Game is very important.  "Perfect Game's recommendations complement what I see as a recruiter and head coach.  (The information they provide) is huge for us.  We have to cover the country.  There could be a player in Utah that could help me playing in an event one weekend and a player from Southern California that could play for Harvard playing somewhere else the same weekend.  I use the information to