WAIMEA — Dallas Correa and Kaimana Perreira-Alquiza are heading to Tucson, Ariz. for the 2011 Under Armour Pre-Season All-American game, Jan. 14-16. That invitation came last week and Dallas, a senior catcher with the St. Louis High School baseball team,
WAIMEA — Dallas Correa and Kaimana Perreira-Alquiza are heading to Tucson, Ariz. for the 2011 Under Armour Pre-Season All-American game, Jan. 14-16.
That invitation came last week and Dallas, a senior catcher with the St. Louis High School baseball team, said going to the pre-season game is a chance for scouts to see how the best perform before the season starts.
Kirk Correa, Dallas’ father, said 300 players are selected from 10,000 players that are evaluated from various showcases and tournaments around the country.
Players from the UA Pre-Season All-American game have an opportunity to play in the 2011 All-American game in June that will be broadcast on television, Kirk said.
“We started with one of the baseball showcases here on Kaua‘i,” Dallas said. “Kaimana and I were selected from that showcase to play on a national team in Los Angeles. From that tournament, we received the invitation to play at the All-American game.”
Kirk said having an opportunity to play at this level is a great thing for Kaua‘i players, some of whom were doing workouts on their own in anticipation of the upcoming Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation baseball season which opens in March.
“Kaua‘i kids have a hard time getting to the college level,” Kirk said. “On the average, most colleges have 11.7 scholarships to give out to stock a 35-man roster. It’s hard for a player to get a full ride scholarship. Most players get partial scholarships because of the limited amounts, and colleges tend to look for state players because it helps in reducing the amount of housing the athletes. This puts Kaua‘i players at a big disadvantage.”
Perreira-Alquiza, a senior second baseman with the Waimea High School program, said he’s gotten some phone calls from Arizona, but that’s where it stands.
Getting an opportunity to play in Tucson will expose him to some of the coaches from that university.
“Right now, I’m looking at the University of California San Diego,” Dallas said. “I’m also looking at some of the smaller schools and working toward playing baseball past high school. Right now, there are no serious offers on the table, just a lot of phone calls and e-mails.”
Dallas said he just got home Wednesday for the Thanksgiving weekend and plans on working out with Perreira-Alquiza in preparation for the January trip. He returns to O‘ahu on Sunday.
For those interested in pursuing the Under Armour path, there is a national try out scheduled for Jan. 31 at the Central O‘ahu Regional Park with the Premium Video Program starting at 9 a.m. and the National Tryout at 1 p.m.
Visit baseballfactory.com for more information on the options available to youth aspiring to pursue baseball.
