Experience with college showcase tournaments?

My dd has no experience with college showcase tournaments. They have two showcases coming up in the next few months. What have been your experiences with these tournaments? Any suggestions for the dd or parents?

Has she contacted any of the coaches that will be in attendance? If not, it will just be a lot of time and money for 3-4 friendlies.

If she does have coaches coming to watch her, make sure her coach knows and has her on the field for as many minutes as possible. It is also recommended that she play well.

Contacting the coaches prior to the tournament is the key.

As the tournament is really just a set of friendlies, and no "championship" game that ALL of the coaches will be at...they will be roaming the fields. The odds of your kid doing something spectacular at just the perfect time when the coach you most want to impress happens to be roaming by and catches his/her eye --- well, astronomical.

If you have a college program in mind, have the kid write the coach (multiple times) well in advance to the tournament, letting them know the schedule, field numbers, jersey number, etc., as well as expressing a desire to play for the coach/team/university. The targeted coach will then make a point to come see part of the game, specifically look for your kid, and make notes.

Depending on the age of the prospect, the coach may or may not be able to respond to the letters or give you an analysis of what they saw due to NCAA regulations. Make sure you are registered in the NCAA clearinghouse, and read the rules of contact between prospective players and coaches. At U-16, you may think a coach is not interested due to no response, but in actuality, it may be illegal for them to even write you back. They can send you stuff about the university though...so if you send a letter, and you get promo material from the university..good. If you write, and the coach sees you at a college showcase tournament, and then you get flooded with university junk mail....great!!!

Most coaches will evaluate a player for one position back or forward from where they actually play. If your player is a forward, they will be evaluated as a midfielder. Every forward can score goals, or they wouldn't be a forward on a successful team...but can they defend? That's the determining factor. A defenseman can defend well and clear the ball well...but can they dribble to space and put a nice throughball into the midfield? Could they play midfield? I think you get my drift here.

Lastly, a good team manager will put together a color stat sheet of the team roster with player names/addresses/phone numbers/a picture/height/weight/desired major/current High School/GPA/SAT/ACT scores/etc. Then the manager should be roaming the fields looking for any college coaches in attendance, and handing them the sheet(s). Coaches appreciate that, and it shows that the team has an organized professional attitude.

sorry for the book...hope you got a good nugget or two from this.

10sDad wrote:Contacting the coaches prior to the tournament is the key.

As the tournament is really just a set of friendlies, and no "championship" game that ALL of the coaches will be at...they will be roaming the fields. The odds of your kid doing something spectacular at just the perfect time when the coach you most want to impress happens to be roaming by and catches his/her eye --- well, astronomical.

If you have a college program in mind, have the kid write the coach (multiple times) well in advance to the tournament, letting them know the schedule, field numbers, jersey number, etc., as well as expressing a desire to play for the coach/team/university. The targeted coach will then make a point to come see part of the game, specifically look for your kid, and make notes.

Depending on the age of the prospect, the coach may or may not be able to respond to the letters or give you an analysis of what they saw due to NCAA regulations. Make sure you are registered in the NCAA clearinghouse, and read the rules of contact between prospective players and coaches. At U-16, you may think a coach is not interested due to no response, but in actuality, it may be illegal for them to even write you back. They can send you stuff about the university though...so if you send a letter, and you get promo material from the university..good. If you write, and the coach sees you at a college showcase tournament, and then you get flooded with university junk mail....great!!!

Most coaches will evaluate a player for one position back or forward from where they actually play. If your player is a forward, they will be evaluated as a midfielder. Every forward can score goals, or they wouldn't be a forward on a successful team...but can they defend? That's the determining factor. A defenseman can defend well and clear the ball well...but can they dribble to space and put a nice throughball into the midfield? Could they play midfield? I think you get my drift here.

Lastly, a good team manager will put together a color stat sheet of the team roster with player names/addresses/phone numbers/a picture/height/weight/desired major/current High School/GPA/SAT/ACT scores/etc. Then the manager should be roaming the fields looking for any college coaches in attendance, and handing them the sheet(s). Coaches appreciate that, and it shows that the team has an organized professional attitude.

sorry for the book...hope you got a good nugget or two from this.

Yep. And that is a HUGE problem with how players are trained here in North Texas. At the academy age, girls are pigeon-holed into positions according to the coach's perceived needs. At academy age! We end up with players who can do a few things very well, but are average or poor in other areas. I've listened to a plethora of coaches tell me their philosophies on why they don't move players around at the younger ages, and the translation in my mind is always the same: "We need to win meaningless games".

Yeah, I know, this is slightly off topic; but if your daughter's coach keeps her in the same position 90% of the time before she even hits U12, it is a major disservice to her longterm development. They should really be shuffled into various positions in practices and scrimmages through U17 in my opinion. And before anyone counters that a midfielder gets adequate training on both sides of the ball, that is not necessarily true. I've seen way too many mids that can't finish well and/or do not know proper timing for defensive attacks / shadowing.

10sDad wrote:Contacting the coaches prior to the tournament is the key.

As the tournament is really just a set of friendlies, and no "championship" game that ALL of the coaches will be at...they will be roaming the fields. The odds of your kid doing something spectacular at just the perfect time when the coach you most want to impress happens to be roaming by and catches his/her eye --- well, astronomical.

If you have a college program in mind, have the kid write the coach (multiple times) well in advance to the tournament, letting them know the schedule, field numbers, jersey number, etc., as well as expressing a desire to play for the coach/team/university. The targeted coach will then make a point to come see part of the game, specifically look for your kid, and make notes.

Depending on the age of the prospect, the coach may or may not be able to respond to the letters or give you an analysis of what they saw due to NCAA regulations. Make sure you are registered in the NCAA clearinghouse, and read the rules of contact between prospective players and coaches. At U-16, you may think a coach is not interested due to no response, but in actuality, it may be illegal for them to even write you back. They can send you stuff about the university though...so if you send a letter, and you get promo material from the university..good. If you write, and the coach sees you at a college showcase tournament, and then you get flooded with university junk mail....great!!!

Most coaches will evaluate a player for one position back or forward from where they actually play. If your player is a forward, they will be evaluated as a midfielder. Every forward can score goals, or they wouldn't be a forward on a successful team...but can they defend? That's the determining factor. A defenseman can defend well and clear the ball well...but can they dribble to space and put a nice throughball into the midfield? Could they play midfield? I think you get my drift here.

Lastly, a good team manager will put together a color stat sheet of the team roster with player names/addresses/phone numbers/a picture/height/weight/desired major/current High School/GPA/SAT/ACT scores/etc. Then the manager should be roaming the fields looking for any college coaches in attendance, and handing them the sheet(s). Coaches appreciate that, and it shows that the team has an organized professional attitude.

sorry for the book...hope you got a good nugget or two from this.

"Lastly, a good team manager will put together a color stat sheet of the team roster with player names/addresses/phone numbers/a picture/height/weight/desired major/current High School/GPA/SAT/ACT scores/etc." Agreed and done

"Then the manager should be roaming the fields looking for any college coaches in attendance, and handing them the sheet(s)".Why is it the managers sole responsibility to help your child get a schlorship. All the parents should share in that duty, managers have enough crap to deal with at tournaments and do have the right to watch their child play as well. If all the parents are not willing to share the "wandering" duties it is obvious they are not committed to helping their player achieve the collegiate goals. If they don't care for their own child why should the manager?

Bicycle Guru-NOT wrote:

10sDad wrote:Contacting the coaches prior to the tournament is the key.

As the tournament is really just a set of friendlies, and no "championship" game that ALL of the coaches will be at...they will be roaming the fields. The odds of your kid doing something spectacular at just the perfect time when the coach you most want to impress happens to be roaming by and catches his/her eye --- well, astronomical.

If you have a college program in mind, have the kid write the coach (multiple times) well in advance to the tournament, letting them know the schedule, field numbers, jersey number, etc., as well as expressing a desire to play for the coach/team/university. The targeted coach will then make a point to come see part of the game, specifically look for your kid, and make notes.

Depending on the age of the prospect, the coach may or may not be able to respond to the letters or give you an analysis of what they saw due to NCAA regulations. Make sure you are registered in the NCAA clearinghouse, and read the rules of contact between prospective players and coaches. At U-16, you may think a coach is not interested due to no response, but in actuality, it may be illegal for them to even write you back. They can send you stuff about the university though...so if you send a letter, and you get promo material from the university..good. If you write, and the coach sees you at a college showcase tournament, and then you get flooded with university junk mail....great!!!

Most coaches will evaluate a player for one position back or forward from where they actually play. If your player is a forward, they will be evaluated as a midfielder. Every forward can score goals, or they wouldn't be a forward on a successful team...but can they defend? That's the determining factor. A defenseman can defend well and clear the ball well...but can they dribble to space and put a nice throughball into the midfield? Could they play midfield? I think you get my drift here.

Lastly, a good team manager will put together a color stat sheet of the team roster with player names/addresses/phone numbers/a picture/height/weight/desired major/current High School/GPA/SAT/ACT scores/etc. Then the manager should be roaming the fields looking for any college coaches in attendance, and handing them the sheet(s). Coaches appreciate that, and it shows that the team has an organized professional attitude.

sorry for the book...hope you got a good nugget or two from this.

"Lastly, a good team manager will put together a color stat sheet of the team roster with player names/addresses/phone numbers/a picture/height/weight/desired major/current High School/GPA/SAT/ACT scores/etc." Agreed and done

"Then the manager should be roaming the fields looking for any college coaches in attendance, and handing them the sheet(s)".Why is it the managers sole responsibility to help your child get a schlorship. All the parents should share in that duty, managers have enough crap to deal with at tournaments and do have the right to watch their child play as well. If all the parents are not willing to share the "wandering" duties it is obvious they are not committed to helping their player achieve the collegiate goals. If they don't care for their own child why should the manager?

1. Because colleges coaches in general do not care to deal with parents at that level. At an official visit sure. On a scouting trip or by email, absolutely not.
2. How long do you think a coach will stay at your game when approached by 18-20 parents all promoting thier kid? They are gone and will not be back.

my2cents wrote:

Bicycle Guru-NOT wrote:

10sDad wrote:Contacting the coaches prior to the tournament is the key.

As the tournament is really just a set of friendlies, and no "championship" game that ALL of the coaches will be at...they will be roaming the fields. The odds of your kid doing something spectacular at just the perfect time when the coach you most want to impress happens to be roaming by and catches his/her eye --- well, astronomical.

If you have a college program in mind, have the kid write the coach (multiple times) well in advance to the tournament, letting them know the schedule, field numbers, jersey number, etc., as well as expressing a desire to play for the coach/team/university. The targeted coach will then make a point to come see part of the game, specifically look for your kid, and make notes.

Depending on the age of the prospect, the coach may or may not be able to respond to the letters or give you an analysis of what they saw due to NCAA regulations. Make sure you are registered in the NCAA clearinghouse, and read the rules of contact between prospective players and coaches. At U-16, you may think a coach is not interested due to no response, but in actuality, it may be illegal for them to even write you back. They can send you stuff about the university though...so if you send a letter, and you get promo material from the university..good. If you write, and the coach sees you at a college showcase tournament, and then you get flooded with university junk mail....great!!!

Most coaches will evaluate a player for one position back or forward from where they actually play. If your player is a forward, they will be evaluated as a midfielder. Every forward can score goals, or they wouldn't be a forward on a successful team...but can they defend? That's the determining factor. A defenseman can defend well and clear the ball well...but can they dribble to space and put a nice throughball into the midfield? Could they play midfield? I think you get my drift here.

Lastly, a good team manager will put together a color stat sheet of the team roster with player names/addresses/phone numbers/a picture/height/weight/desired major/current High School/GPA/SAT/ACT scores/etc. Then the manager should be roaming the fields looking for any college coaches in attendance, and handing them the sheet(s). Coaches appreciate that, and it shows that the team has an organized professional attitude.

sorry for the book...hope you got a good nugget or two from this.

"Lastly, a good team manager will put together a color stat sheet of the team roster with player names/addresses/phone numbers/a picture/height/weight/desired major/current High School/GPA/SAT/ACT scores/etc." Agreed and done

"Then the manager should be roaming the fields looking for any college coaches in attendance, and handing them the sheet(s)".Why is it the managers sole responsibility to help your child get a schlorship. All the parents should share in that duty, managers have enough crap to deal with at tournaments and do have the right to watch their child play as well. If all the parents are not willing to share the "wandering" duties it is obvious they are not committed to helping their player achieve the collegiate goals. If they don't care for their own child why should the manager?

1. Because colleges coaches in general do not care to deal with parents at that level. At an official visit sure. On a scouting trip or by email, absolutely not.
2. How long do you think a coach will stay at your game when approached by 18-20 parents all promoting thier kid? They are gone and will not be back.

It should not be the manager's job, and I've rarely seen a manager do it. They have enough to do. You usually see what appears to be one parent who volunteers to pass out brochures, not 18-20.

To be sure, passing out brochures doesn't require a coach to "deal with parents" basically they get handed a brochure, and give their name and school so that the team may keep a list of who came by.

ballhead wrote:

my2cents wrote:

Bicycle Guru-NOT wrote:

10sDad wrote:Contacting the coaches prior to the tournament is the key.

As the tournament is really just a set of friendlies, and no "championship" game that ALL of the coaches will be at...they will be roaming the fields. The odds of your kid doing something spectacular at just the perfect time when the coach you most want to impress happens to be roaming by and catches his/her eye --- well, astronomical.

If you have a college program in mind, have the kid write the coach (multiple times) well in advance to the tournament, letting them know the schedule, field numbers, jersey number, etc., as well as expressing a desire to play for the coach/team/university. The targeted coach will then make a point to come see part of the game, specifically look for your kid, and make notes.

Depending on the age of the prospect, the coach may or may not be able to respond to the letters or give you an analysis of what they saw due to NCAA regulations. Make sure you are registered in the NCAA clearinghouse, and read the rules of contact between prospective players and coaches. At U-16, you may think a coach is not interested due to no response, but in actuality, it may be illegal for them to even write you back. They can send you stuff about the university though...so if you send a letter, and you get promo material from the university..good. If you write, and the coach sees you at a college showcase tournament, and then you get flooded with university junk mail....great!!!

Most coaches will evaluate a player for one position back or forward from where they actually play. If your player is a forward, they will be evaluated as a midfielder. Every forward can score goals, or they wouldn't be a forward on a successful team...but can they defend? That's the determining factor. A defenseman can defend well and clear the ball well...but can they dribble to space and put a nice throughball into the midfield? Could they play midfield? I think you get my drift here.

Lastly, a good team manager will put together a color stat sheet of the team roster with player names/addresses/phone numbers/a picture/height/weight/desired major/current High School/GPA/SAT/ACT scores/etc. Then the manager should be roaming the fields looking for any college coaches in attendance, and handing them the sheet(s). Coaches appreciate that, and it shows that the team has an organized professional attitude.

sorry for the book...hope you got a good nugget or two from this.

"Lastly, a good team manager will put together a color stat sheet of the team roster with player names/addresses/phone numbers/a picture/height/weight/desired major/current High School/GPA/SAT/ACT scores/etc." Agreed and done

"Then the manager should be roaming the fields looking for any college coaches in attendance, and handing them the sheet(s)".Why is it the managers sole responsibility to help your child get a schlorship. All the parents should share in that duty, managers have enough crap to deal with at tournaments and do have the right to watch their child play as well. If all the parents are not willing to share the "wandering" duties it is obvious they are not committed to helping their player achieve the collegiate goals. If they don't care for their own child why should the manager?

1. Because colleges coaches in general do not care to deal with parents at that level. At an official visit sure. On a scouting trip or by email, absolutely not.
2. How long do you think a coach will stay at your game when approached by 18-20 parents all promoting thier kid? They are gone and will not be back.

It should not be the manager's job, and I've rarely seen a manager do it. They have enough to do. You usually see what appears to be one parent who volunteers to pass out brochures, not 18-20.

To be sure, passing out brochures doesn't require a coach to "deal with parents" basically they get handed a brochure, and give their name and school so that the team may keep a list of who came by.

It differs from team to team, on my 95's team we have a parent that walks around handing out college pamphlets to the coaches that are sitting around the field and then she takes either a business card or jots down the information on her ipad of college coaches that came and watched our game. Then at the end of the weekend she sends the information to the coach. so he can track what coaches attend our showcases. This is done by just a parent volunteer not our manager, she has enough work to do.

DD's team stunk it up so bad that it is doubtful that any college coach would have any interest in any of the girls anyway. If you cannot string together three passes in a row, it's gonna be difficult to impress anyone.