College recruiting questions

[Unregistered]

Where is the advice, never mind correct advice? DB's like Perspective and his buddy from the south shore don't know squat about college recruiting and yet they insist on pushing the big money option that supports the big club koolaid. Notice how all they do is attack any information that runs counter to the way the clubs say things work. There is never any advice or insight offered that actually explains the hows and whys behind it all. All they do is pound home the idea that families need to attend showcases. It is a constant drum beat. Travel... travel... travel. Notice how there is never any real insight or advice on what to do once you do all that travel. Now consider that the clubs really need parents to be willing to travel so that they can maintain their league obligations and position their brand. Convincing the parents that the showcases are a vital step in recruiting is not just philosophical it is really an essential element of how these clubs sell themselves and establish their worth. The truth is showcases are not essential in the way they sell them. Your child doesn't need to spend years travelling to showcases to get discovered. 1 or 2 will usually suffice and that is only after your child has made a connection with a specific coach. Beyond that going to a whole bunch of showcases is just a way to sooth parental anxiety. It makes them feel like they are doing something productive when they really aren't because the way things actually work recruiting is all on their child and what they do in between the tournament to promote themselves.

One of the biggest things things to learn about showcase tournaments is, the player really only need do them in the U17 year. All the other age groups at a showcase are very lightly watched by college coaches.

[Unregistered]

One of the biggest things things to learn about showcase tournaments is, the player really only need do them in the U17 year. All the other age groups at a showcase are very lightly watched by college coaches.

This really depends on gender and level.

For girls targeting d1 schools u16 is the important year. By u17 the sidelines are mostly empty except for coaches checking in on commits.

[Unregistered]

Where is the advice, never mind correct advice? DB's like Perspective and his buddy from the south shore don't know squat about college recruiting and yet they insist on pushing the big money option that supports the big club koolaid. Notice how all they do is attack any information that runs counter to the way the clubs say things work. There is never any advice or insight offered that actually explains the hows and whys behind it all. All they do is pound home the idea that families need to attend showcases. It is a constant drum beat. Travel... travel... travel. Notice how there is never any real insight or advice on what to do once you do all that travel. Now consider that the clubs really need parents to be willing to travel so that they can maintain their league obligations and position their brand. Convincing the parents that the showcases are a vital step in recruiting is not just philosophical it is really an essential element of how these clubs sell themselves and establish their worth. The truth is showcases are not essential in the way they sell them. Your child doesn't need to spend years travelling to showcases to get discovered. 1 or 2 will usually suffice and that is only after your child has made a connection with a specific coach. Beyond that going to a whole bunch of showcases is just a way to sooth parental anxiety. It makes them feel like they are doing something productive when they really aren't because the way things actually work recruiting is all on their child and what they do in between the tournament to promote themselves.

Oh, BTDT. Don't you get it? You are countered because of your relentless agendas. Do you really think parents of kids on top teams at U14 through U18 that travel a lot have no idea about how everything works? Would less travel be good? Sure or maybe. Do these parents think their kid just shows up anonymously at a showcase and gets a full ride to Stanford? Of course not. Not anymore than you believe NEFC was critical in the least for getting your deal from Duke or helping you figure out your choices that you had settled on probably 5 years ago. What parents and college coaches do want is the kids playing in the most competitive environments reasonably available. That's not a novel idea. It applies in all sports and even in competitive non-sports endeavors. Have you considered taking your road show to another state forum? Maybe you can snooker some out-of-staters with your bottomless well of poison. Enjoy the beautiful day, BTDT.

[Unregistered]

oh, btdt. Don't you get it? You are countered because of your relentless agendas. Do you really think parents of kids on top teams at u14 through u18 that travel a lot have no idea about how everything works? Would less travel be good? Sure or maybe. Do these parents think their kid just shows up anonymously at a showcase and gets a full ride to stanford? Of course not. Not anymore than you believe nefc was critical in the least for getting your deal from duke or helping you figure out your choices that you had settled on probably 5 years ago. What parents and college coaches do want is the kids playing in the most competitive environments reasonably available. That's not a novel idea. It applies in all sports and even in competitive non-sports endeavors. Have you considered taking your road show to another state forum? Maybe you can snooker some out-of-staters with your bottomless well of poison. Enjoy the beautiful day, btdt.

stfu db

[Unregistered]

Oh, BTDT. Don't you get it? You are countered because of your relentless agendas. Do you really think parents of kids on top teams at U14 through U18 that travel a lot have no idea about how everything works? Would less travel be good? Sure or maybe. Do these parents think their kid just shows up anonymously at a showcase and gets a full ride to Stanford? Of course not. Not anymore than you believe NEFC was critical in the least for getting your deal from Duke or helping you figure out your choices that you had settled on probably 5 years ago. What parents and college coaches do want is the kids playing in the most competitive environments reasonably available. That's not a novel idea. It applies in all sports and even in competitive non-sports endeavors. Have you considered taking your road show to another state forum? Maybe you can snooker some out-of-staters with your bottomless well of poison. Enjoy the beautiful day, BTDT.

Too funny, now that it is pretty clear that the consensus is that showcases aren't the only means to get recruited by lets change the goalposts to pump up travelling from another angle and let's talk about how important travelling is for player development. Notice the theme. The drumbeat. Travelling is important. Travel.. Travel.. Travel. It is a bunch of crap because up until we had the formation of national leagues a few years ago hardly anyone travelled out of the region before the age of 16 and yet players were still able to develop well enough to recruited. This must be the new talking point that everything is so watered down now that you have to travel all over the country to find a decent game? The sad part is there are plenty of competitive games to be had in our own back yard, the problem is the clubs aren't scheduling them because they are too busy promoting their different country club leagues. Novel concept, why don't they try playing each other before they start asking families to go all over creation, that would solve the problem.

[Unregistered]

If you look at most college rosters, 90-95% of them are made up of players that are either from the state the school is in or a bordering state. This is particularly true of the schools most of the kids around here go to. The only exceptions might be the Ivies because of the degree of difficulty getting in or the very top ranked programs that recruit national level players.

[Unregistered]

Too funny, now that it is pretty clear that the consensus is that showcases aren't the only means to get recruited by lets change the goalposts to pump up travelling from another angle and let's talk about how important travelling is for player development. Notice the theme. The drumbeat. Travelling is important. Travel.. Travel.. Travel. It is a bunch of crap because up until we had the formation of national leagues a few years ago hardly anyone travelled out of the region before the age of 16 and yet players were still able to develop well enough to recruited. This must be the new talking point that everything is so watered down now that you have to travel all over the country to find a decent game? The sad part is there are plenty of competitive games to be had in our own back yard, the problem is the clubs aren't scheduling them because they are too busy promoting their different country club leagues. Novel concept, why don't they try playing each other before they start asking families to go all over creation, that would solve the problem.

I hear you - and so does my car with a zillion miles on it. Problem is there has been a greater stratification of team/club quality over the years, along with the addition of who knows how many "premier' clubs that are glorified travel teams. So if you're playing at a "top" club, do you want to stay home and crush almost all of your opponents, or travel a bit and face good competition? There's no easy answer, but I think until U14 travel should be very limited. No wonder kids burn out.

[Unregistered]

If you look at most college rosters, 90-95% of them are made up of players that are either from the state the school is in or a bordering state. This is particularly true of the schools most of the kids around here go to. The only exceptions might be the Ivies because of the degree of difficulty getting in or the very top ranked programs that recruit national level players.

Actually, if you look at a lot of the rosters they are close to 50% international, at least on the men's side.

[Unregistered]

Too funny, now that it is pretty clear that the consensus is that showcases aren't the only means to get recruited by lets change the goalposts to pump up travelling from another angle and let's talk about how important travelling is for player development. Notice the theme. The drumbeat. Travelling is important. Travel.. Travel.. Travel. It is a bunch of crap because up until we had the formation of national leagues a few years ago hardly anyone travelled out of the region before the age of 16 and yet players were still able to develop well enough to recruited. This must be the new talking point that everything is so watered down now that you have to travel all over the country to find a decent game? The sad part is there are plenty of competitive games to be had in our own back yard, the problem is the clubs aren't scheduling them because they are too busy promoting their different country club leagues. Novel concept, why don't they try playing each other before they start asking families to go all over creation, that would solve the problem.

No changing the goalposts, BTNT. We've been through this discussion with you hundreds of times over the past 5 years. Why don't you just craft a post as a sticky so everyone can be warned all the time. Because everyone else is complaining and he negative testimonials have been flying in hand over fist. Thanks for your vigilant work.

[Unregistered]

It truly depends on what showcase you attend. It is correct that the kid has to do the leg work prior to the event. He has to send out a cv and let these coaches know he will be there and when he will be playing. My son did it. He had coaches come and watch him to because his cv sparked interest and they wanted to see him for themselves.

Most college know exactly who the players are in their area that potentially fit their program because they trade information with other coaches specifically to build that knowledge. That's how recruiting is done. Its their job. A player reaching out and expressing interest is usually what prompts them to react because most won't chase a player that isn't interested or likely to come to their school. It is a waste of time and energy. Its the player initiating the contact that actually starts the process. The hard part about that is actually getting the coaches attention because they get bombarded by emails.

[Unregistered]

Anyone else who has been here more than 5 minutes find BTDT just a touch tedious? What a colossal bore. I wonder if his kid does all that traveling with the national team for recruiting exposure or for some other reasons. There's your answer, BTDT.

[Unregistered]

Most college know exactly who the players are in their area that potentially fit their program because they trade information with other coaches specifically to build that knowledge. That's how recruiting is done. Its their job. A player reaching out and expressing interest is usually what prompts them to react because most won't chase a player that isn't interested or likely to come to their school. It is a waste of time and energy. Its the player initiating the contact that actually starts the process. The hard part about that is actually getting the coaches attention because they get bombarded by emails.

Agreed. Unless you are a NT level player, it is likely the player does most of the work in recruiting. You end up "recruiting" schools you are interested in and not the other way around. The D3's tend to heat up spring of JR year and those are the folks that may jot down numbers at showcases. Not so much for D2 and D1.

[Unregistered]

Actually, if you look at a lot of the rosters they are close to 50% international, at least on the men's side.

Is travelling to far flung showcases going to change that?

As an aside, does anyone know how the financial aid works with international students? My sense is that is one of the big reasons for this happening because FA doesn't count against scholarship limits. Typically programs with either a high number of FA or Merit Aide recipients indicates a low funding level. Doing a little research might enhance a player's attractiveness to a coach.

[Unregistered]

Anyone else who has been here more than 5 minutes find BTDT just a touch tedious? What a colossal bore. I wonder if his kid does all that traveling with the national team for recruiting exposure or for some other reasons. There's your answer, BTDT.

His kid is special (really). His argument is that most are not (true). And the requisite travel for a vast majority is really a waste of time and resources (maybe).

Tedious. Yes. Not as much as others on there though.

[Unregistered]

Is travelling to far flung showcases going to change that?

As an aside, does anyone know how the financial aid works with international students? My sense is that is one of the big reasons for this happening because FA doesn't count against scholarship limits. Typically programs with either a high number of FA or Merit Aide recipients indicates a low funding level. Doing a little research might enhance a player's attractiveness to a coach.

Don't know but at colleges in general there is a huge explosion of foreign students, many of whom pay full freight. That makes them attractive to schools (and possibly coaches) - frees up more money to distribute elsewhere and cover the insanely high cost of college.