by hit4power » Mon Oct 25, 2010 8:36 pm
I hate to be the only one replying on this because there are some sharp, experienced parents on HB who could contribute their experience
I can't comment definitively on individual showcases as we haven't been to any. But my gut tells me that the coaches from the programs you mentioned in your first post (SEC, Big 10 etc) do not attend these kinds of events as a general rule because that is probably not where they have historically found the talent they are looking for. If you go to the websites at these schools and read the player bio's you'll see that most played for the better, established 18G programs regardless of what part of the country they came from. I'm sure there are exceptions to that, but IMHO being successful in a strong 18G program is part of the "math" in getting on the radar screen of these top college programs.
I would also not agree that being seen by as many coaches as possible is an effective strategy. I know of a few kids who got recruited in "drive-by" situations where the coach was there to watch another player or just happened by and something caught his/her eye, i.e, the kind of thing that might happen if your kid is attending lots of tourneys or writing lots of coaches. On the other hand, most everyone I know (other than the very top talent) who has been recruited had done a lot of homework on what kind school (public, private, size, location, type of programs, D-I, D-III, etc) they wanted to attend and focused their efforts on a small(er) number of schools that fit their desired profile, i.e., went to their camps, got to know the coaches and players as best they could, etc. etc. In other words, I don't think "mass marketing" a player and hoping for a connection works that well.