Should high-level 14u teams attend Showcases?

[coachsbt]

All the 14u coaches I spoke to said that they saw only a few coaches, or none at all, at the College Showcases they attended that allow 14u teams to play. They don't seem worth the BIG price of admission. I need opinions on which ones to attend, IF ANY. I live in the Southeast.

[AlwaysImprove]

This is hard to answer. There are certainly a lot of teams that waste a lot of recruiting dollars.

There are also a few kids that are getting signed as Freshman, maybe 10-15 a year. They are definitely the rare kid, but it is happening.

I know you will see college coaches at PGF 14U nationals. They will definitely be there to see the teams that are finishing top 10. If you are at that level of a top team, it may make some sense to get some recruiting showcases.

Me personally, i would rather watch soccer than watch a recruiting showcase games.

[AlwaysImprove]

hmm. Certainly if GoldFastpitch is to be believed, and I have no reason to doubt them, then I agree.

They list 90 freshman and 11 8th graders as having verbally committed. And yes, Spazsdad, you are very correct, that is out of control. So you may want to have your high end 12 U team at recruiting tournaments

Seems every time the age jumps down another year like this, UCS fills with parents that feel their coach lied to them, or the school lied to them.

[absdad]

At that age, our DD's team did the local recruiting tournaments. These were the pretty crappy local ones, with mostly JC's and some smaller schools attending. The reason they went was to get the kids used to performing in front of college coaches. I dunno if it worked, but my kid seemed to think it killed the butterflies and the unknowns, for future tournaments where coaches were watching. Your mileage may vary.

[Pale Rider]

Given they're using baby's 1st sonograms as recruiting videos now...You better go...

Ingrid Doe
2025, SS, Power hitter

[CoachTim]

I coach a high level 12U team in Illinois and we are planning to schedule a few showcases this upcoming season (both in the fall and spring/summer). I don't expect a great number of college coaches to be focusing on 14U players but if it the tournament is well-attended by coaches they may naturally see some games. The experience is probably most helpful to allow the kids to see and play in a tournament where dozens of college coaches are in attendance and may watch you play.

[BAM2]

Being on one of those high level softball teams , at least i hope we are. We have been to showcases where there has been a lot of coaches and some not so many. On Gold fastpitch, of those freshman we have 5 that verballed ( OU, Oregon, Penn State UCLA, South Caroliana and Tennessse-8th grader) Pretty good schools. So we have a bit of understanding, recent understanding of Showcases and Colleges that come out. If your team is high profile, you will get colleges coming to see you, if it's a showcase or not. Our team has 3 girls from 10u, 6 from 12u, and almost all returning from 1st year 14's. We've had coaches at practices and regular TB games, since second year 12's, coaches that come to the facility to watche us hit, pitch, workout, condition etc...Have we wasted some money on showcases, yes, but it is a good experience for the girls. Even the girls that have already verballed are still commited to going to showcases for the good of the team. My personal opinion is narrow down your choices of schools to attend, be reasonable about your choices and tailor your visits to them. Showcases are great if your coaches don't try to win vs letting the girls play and be seen.
As a Parent, take a active role in your daughters recruiting, It's amazing how much contact you can actually have, all done with in the rules and regulations.
This is JMO and what we have gone through the past 3 years.

[ontheblack]

qualify and play PGF in HB this summer and you will see tons of 14s getting looks, followed by verbals for some of these kids during their first two months as HS freshman.

If the kids are worth looking at, its probably worth spending the money. If they are not...

[capp16]

You have to be ok with spending the money, but it is good to do to get experience. It can be nerve wracking playing while you know scouts from colleges are watching you..even if there are only 2. It gets them to be comfortable and when they get older when it really is make or break for a college, then they will have had a lot of practice at playing while being watched. Showcases are a very different feel from regular games or practices and the girls that show up can be a lot better than they're used to playing with or against so it's good for them to see that early.

[jonriv]

Try some lower leverl local showcase if experience is what you are looking for