Lids Missouri Bulls draw players with exposure to colleges and scouts

The Boys of Summer series explores three popular options for summer baseball in Southeast Missouri -- the American Legion, Babe Ruth and traveling prospect teams. Be sure to read Wednesday's story on American Legion baseball and Thursday's story on Senior Babe Ruth baseball.

When Glenn Campbell and Mitch Wood started the Lids Missouri Bulls summer baseball organization in 2009, there was one main objective in mind, and it wasn't winning.

There was a bigger objective -- to start an organization devoted to giving amateur talent across the area the proper exposure to collegiate and professional scouts.

"We did it because we want the serious kid that wants to be exposed to college coaches and wants to play the best talent that's out there in the Midwest. That's the reason we did it," Campbell said. "All the Legion programs around here are good programs. The Babe Ruth programs, I know all those guys very well. ... The bottom line is I'm not saying we're necessarily better than those guys, but I can tell you this: We will get kids exposed to college coaches -- that is a fact -- way more than the other programs can because they don't travel much."

The Bulls have played a role in sending 43 kids to compete at the college level, including two -- James Naile (2010) and Adam Grantham (2012) -- who were selected in the MLB Draft.

Glenn Campbell ~ Submitted photo Glenn Campbell and Mitch Wood look on from the dugout during a Missouri Bulls game last season.

"We go to these areas where we know there are going to be 25-30 scouts, pro and college, and we put the best talent on the field. Hopefully that talent shows up and these kids can get recruited," Campbell said. "... That's truly the reason we started, and that's truly the difference between us and some of the other local programs."

Campbell is the executive vice president of Hat World Inc., which includes Lids retail stores, an athletic headwear company he co-founded in 1995. A graduate of Notre Dame, Campbell moved back to the area eight years ago when his son was a freshman at Notre Dame. The area's lack of college attention was glaringly obvious to Campbell, so he approached Wood with a simple solution.

"I said, 'There are some talented high school kids in this area. Let's put a program together. Let's hold a tryout and find the best kids,'" Campbell said. "At that time, all I sort of knew was the Notre Dame landscape and maybe the Central and Jackson landscape."

Wood's familiarity with the area broadened the initial base of the organization. The longtime Oran baseball coach was a graduate of Holcomb, so he immediately went to work by calling a handful of schools around the Missouri bootheel. The result was the Bulls' first team, a 16-and-under squad composed of freshmen and sophomores.

Six years later, Wood now serves as the director of player development and believes the Bulls offer the best opportunity for players to advance to the college level.

"The biggest thing I saw in our program was that we've progressed and are starting to know the tournaments that we need to go to in order to get our kids looked at," said Wood, who coached the first Bulls squad. "We don't have all Division-I kids, but a lot of our kids can play JUCO, Division-II or Division-III. We try to find those places and match those kids up."

Getting the attention of college coaches required the Bulls to gain respect by winning on the field. When the team's first class graduated in 2011, eight players went on to play college baseball, according to Campbell.

Glenn Campbell ~ Submitted photo The Missouri Bulls Braden Cox talks with assistant coach Trenton Moses during a game earlier this season.

"We had to get that respect," Campbell said. "That's why I tell these kids, 'When you come into this organization, you're playing for all these kids that have built this program up to a level where we show up to a tournament in St. Louis or Nashville and people know who we are.' Coaches come to see what we have to offer.

"In the beginning, it was tough because you just had to get the respect from some of the travel programs, but now we've sort of built a nice reputation out there."

Todd Pennington is in his fourth season as coach of the Bulls' 17-and-under team, the oldest team in the organization. Pennington also spent four years coaching in the Cape Girardeau Legion system and has seen what summer baseball in Southeast Missouri has to offer.

"My job is to communicate to colleges and maybe give these kids a little bit of my experience. That's something I enjoy, and that's why I do it," Pennington said. "I get to give them experience and maybe get them to a level where they get to have the same opportunities that I had when I played."

Pennington is one of a handful of experienced coaches involved with the Bulls organization. Oran graduate Matt Bucher is the fielding coach for the 17-and-under team, while Advance graduate Trenton Moses serves as the team's hitting coach.

"I am thankful we've been able to attract the coaches we've been able to," Campbell said. "... We've got some local high school coaches coaching some of the teams. We're lucky that we've attracted those kind of coaches."

The cost of playing for the Bulls greatly exceeds its alternative options.

The price tag is anywhere between $500 and $1,200 per player depending on the age group, and it covers tournament fees, uniform expenses, coaches' expenses and training at Balls and Strikes in Cape Girardeau. Travel expenses are not included, but Campbell insists the program isn't only for people who can afford it. Campbell said the organization is devoted to resolving issues with any player needing financial assistance.

If a player is serious about playing college baseball and is willing to sacrifice to work hard and compete at a high level, then Campbell believes his organization is the perfect fit.

"We haven't made a penny in six years of this thing. In fact, this might be the first year we break even," Campbell said. "... Are we the most expensive option in this area? Yes, no doubt about it, but if you look in St. Louis and Indianapolis, those are between $2,500 and $5,000 [per player]. We're way lower than that, and we haven't raised fees in six years."

Campbell also believes the value of receiving a college scholarship goes above and beyond the fees required to compete with the Bulls.

"If a kid's willing to put the work in, I would say 95 percent of the kids that play for us who wanted to play college baseball have gotten a scholarship," Campbell said. "The one thing I want to make sure people understand is we do not promise kids college scholarships because that'd be a lie. There's no way we can do that. ... We go to these tournaments, summer showcases, but we're not out there trying to win trophies. We're trying to get kids exposed to college coaches, and that really is the gist of what we're doing."

Wood believes the traveling aspect provides players with insight on what to expect at the college level.

"When you go to play college baseball, that's what they feel like you're there for, and on top of that, you've got to go to class and do some certain things," Wood said. "There's a lot of discipline involved with that, but I feel like that's what we do when we take these kids to different venues and let them get the chance to see some things. It prepares them for some of life's adventures."

The Bulls compete in weekend showcases, playing anywhere between 40-45 games a season, and there is no postseason.

"To me, it's not the quantity of games. It's about the quality of games. Another difference for us, you've got the Senior Babe Ruth state tournament and Legion tournaments going on right now. Their goal is to win districts and go to state, and that's the allure to bring them to those programs," Campbell said. "... I'm not saying we don't try to win because we absolutely are competitive. I hate losing more than I like winning, but at the end of the day, we look at each other and go, 'Who cares?' Nobody is going to remember a game in Springfield, Missouri, five years from now. Nobody's going to remember. They'll remember if the kid throws 135 pitches and hurts his arm.

"A 40-game schedule, we feel, is a very good schedule. Some of these programs go 60-70 games. We'd rather practice throughout the week, play five games a week and call it a day."

The Bulls' 17-and-under team is currently 10-13-2 on the season, but the level of competition is evident. The Bulls defeated the Charleston RiverDogs summer collegiate team in a 7-4 decision before routing the Charleston Fighting Squirrels Senior Babe Ruth team in a 14-0 decision on Sunday. They also defeated the SEMO Pirates Senior Babe Ruth team in a 17-6 decision on Monday.

"We're not out there trying to wreck the local baseball," Campbell said. "We're trying to expose kids that are serious about the game to the best talent, and they're seeing some pitching they've never seen in high school."

Pennington understands the Bulls' organization isn't for everyone and knows there are other options that better fit players' needs.

"There's a lot of travel involved. There's a lot of time involved. Everyone's got their own things they need from baseball, and every one of the venues -- Babe Ruth, Legion or travel baseball -- has benefits that each person wants to get out of them," Pennington said. "I wouldn't say any of them is better than the other. It just depends on what the kid wants to do."

The Bulls now operate nine teams based on age and continue to add more each year. Some players have been with the organization since it started, and others join in their final high school years.

As long as players keep showing interest in playing at the college level, Campbell believes the Bulls will only continue to grow.

"There should be different levels of baseball because there are different levels of talent, and some kids want to play baseball during the summer because they just want to play," Campbell said. "At some point, kids either get very serious about the game or they don't. That might be at 9, might be at 10, might be at 12, but when they do, they need an option where if they're serious about pursuing it beyond high school that they can get exposure to the different colleges that are out there. ... We've only got so much time and so many dollars to recruit, so we take the kids to where the coaches are. We don't expect the coaches to come to where we are, if that makes sense."