Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
New Balance All-America games are 1/3 of the cost of American Select. These games used to be called the Under Armour All-America Games. The senior game for this event is televised live on ESPN and the best players across the country participate in it. American Select is a pure money grab unless your daughter is on the top team, which is black for LI.

Irrelevant here. It is not a 2029 graduation year event, so it is no alternative for what's already being offered. It also attracts no attention unless you're a 91 fanboy.

Further, please allow me to offer a bit of advice with regard to listening to those "it's just a money grab" voices you hear after EVERY event is offered. I can DEFINITIVELY say that that my daughter's acceptance into these exhibitions/camps/showcases/select teams has absolutely put her in front of the right people and has led to being recognized and considered for a key position on her school's team and for some other important things.

You are completely out of your mind. But you are probably trying to justify the thousands of dollars you spent on these events. No college coach is looking at 2029s. None. They are working on 2025 and will start to heavily look at 2026s this summer. Signing up for the all American select team in 7th grade is a money grab. Plain and simple. If you think your high school coach is giving your kid playin time based on her selection for the 2029 all Long Island games you are out of your mind.. Most likely your daughter is getting playing time because she is a good player. Her selection to to the all Long Island games has nothing to do with it.

While nobody has ever made the argument that colleges are watching 7th graders, you could absolutely take a look at the sports recruits page of any D1 committed 12th grader and see that they were collecting resume bullets all the way back in 2017. These things matter. They pave the way and get your foot in the door.

Also, you can't dismiss the fact that being a return participant/applicant for one of these programs has an effect on participating again in the future for the years that do attract college attention. Being a participant now does absolutely get you preferential treatment for future endeavors, both within that program and within its affiliate networks.

Whether it's a school coach or a select team coach, sometimes already being validated by another program helps make the decision between two prospects.

No matter your position on the worthiness of these events, they certainly have more merit than sitting on the couch and playing video games as you mutter that everyone else is wasting their money. Experiences are experiences.

If you want to spend thousands on these events in 7th grade then go for it. I have no issue with what people spend their money on. My point was simple. These events at this age have no value when it comes to recruiting later on. No college coach is going to care you got selected to the All American select games in 7th grade. And your point kind of solidifies my argument. If getting selected one year gives you preferential treatment shouldn’t it just be the best players selected? My kids continually get “invites” to Apex games etc. They have never even tried out.

College coaches are paid to be at these events. And if you notice it’s always assistants at these events. It’s a side hustle for them because they don’t make any money. That’s how they market it. This is my 4th kid in travel. Based on my experience there’s way more value in spending money on propspect days as they get older. Your kid will get a much better look than a few minutes of playing time on a team with a roster of 25. And like I said…..they aren’t looking at any 7th, 8th or even 9th graders.

It’s like anything else- if your kid is on TGA this year, she’s more likely to be on TGA again next year, partially because “they got it right” by flagging her as the best at the position, partially because she’s someone the team can already rely on as a loyal participant in the program and she’s given them no reason to look elsewhere. Same applies to all of these select teams. It’s an error in logic to assume that a girl who was reinvited isn’t also a good selection.

APEX is the bowels of girls lacrosse. You put four girls through travel and didn’t realize that? Their spam is not an invite. A true “invite” for these types of showcases involves complimentary participation and doesn’t occur frequently at this age.

The Apex comment was sarcasm. Obviously you aren’t very bright. Carol Rose and her friends from Steps literally own this event(and the 2 biggest lax events over the summer) They are laughing all the way to the bank. The black rosters are literally 98 percent yellow jackets. I know multiple girls who weren’t selected when with top guns, jesters etc and then switched to yellow jackets and then magically made the black team the next year. She will never put a top guns person on the black roster due to her longstanding feud with Shannon Smith. The same applies for the all Long Island games (another carol rose/flg owned event)

And again you are still deflecting. No college coach is looking at your 7th grade girl. And no college coach will care that your daughter was selected to the black team in 7th grade.