Do the elite 9th graders still play 14u in CA?

[ssarge]

16U is a phenomenal place to be seen, depending on who you are playing for.

So is 18G. If you are a freshman good enough to PLAY on a competitive 18G team, recruiting is probably the least of your worries. It's going to happen for you.

(I will state that while college coaches might increasingly attend 16 nats rather than 18G, this is mainly because there is nothing to do at 18G nats except babysit your committed players. Virtually everyone playing in that tournament is already committed, and I think there are some conclusions to be drawn from that. HOWEVER, once most college coaches have a commitment from a player, they would prefer to see them copmpete at the highest possible level.)


These questions always seem to be posed as if there is one size that fits all. Everyone's situation is different. Just like early commits. A great idea for some, not the preference for others. Neither is right or wrong.

Figure out what meets your particular objectives, and then execute against that. If you are the only one in the world for whom the strategy works, who cares?

Regards,

Scott

[Blind Squirrel]

Look, my point was not to minimize the recruiting opportunities afforded kids playing 16U. My point was to disagree with the notion that younger elite players are not seen if they play on lesser 18 Gold teams. And the bigger, more important idea is the one Sarge spoke of. Namely, that there is no single right approach for all kids in all situations. That goes for recruiting, playing up, playing for a top team, etc.

I've said it before WRT recruiting. Put yourself in a D1 coaches position. Their careers are directly affected by their ability to get the best players they can. I would find a way to have a kid scouted that I thought might be good enough to help my team. Even if that kid wasn't playing on a top team and it meant driving 20 miles to a satellite field. Are there no high quality players on second tier teams, players easily good enough to play on many D1 teams? And when it comes to elite players (originally mentioned in the post I responded to), I would think that it would be worth my time to know who they are, whether they appear interested in my school and if so, worth my time to have them scouted.

John