I agree that 9th graders are definitely not being recruited. Going to showcases at this age is good for three reasons: 1) to get some experience navigating the showcase world 2) to get film and 3) to get you butt kicked by good players every now and then to help set where you may stand and also get better by playing against good players.

As to which is the best, I found the gigantic showcases with hundreds of kids are less beneficial. Many of them are the ones emailing you A LOT! The invite only ones tends to be much better but they tend to be … invite only. UA and National All Star Games are very good but also very political. Then there are ones like 1% and Apex that market like crazy but are more flash than substance. Look for showcases where head coaches are offensive/defensive coordinators are the head coaches.