by Blind Squirrel » Sun Mar 22, 2015 12:04 pm
My kid went to a Louisville camp during the winter of her freshman year. The recruiting process was a very new concept to us as we hadn't thought about whether she would even play in college or who, if anyone, would be interested in her. (She decided not to return and play 14U and instead got picked up by the local 18 "Gold" team who introduced us to the idea of her being recruited 3 months earlier.) Anyway, after the camp had ended we spoke to the coach who seemed good with her but made no offer. The first thing she did say was my kid shouldn't be comparing herself to the other kids at the camp but rather should be comparing herself to the current Louisville players at the camp. Odd thing to say to a 14 year old. Seemed pretty unfair to me.
Before that camp my kid played in a Florida showcase. After the tournament the ASU coach called my kid's coach raving about her and saying things that I considered complete smoke. No hard offer was made. During a subsequent showcase tournament in Irvine at Bill Barber the Oregon coach happened to be walking by where my kid was playing. The manager approached her and asked if she was coming over to watch my kid. The Oregon coach said no but tell me about her and then watched her play. And that is essentially how she became a Duck.
One camp and being seen at tournaments, never on the best fields except at small tournaments. She never played on a team that qualified for ASA Nationals until after she verballed. Never close. She was having fun so we didn't care about anything else.
Everyone is different, has a different situation. No one right way for all.
Nutless P. Squirrel
10 years from now I'll wish I felt like I do these days.