Yes doing showcase if the rain ever stops and if it stops getting cancelled. Lots of kids attend but it is a great experience and lets you know where you stand for your year.
Just a question from someone who didn't attend the Run with the Best. Our friend said everyone got emails which they should for that amount of money but were there any individual emails. They only received threads for prospect days. Isn't it just less expensive to just contact the schools you are interested in and find out the dates of their prospects camps yourself. Anyone can attend a prospect day if they show interest in the school. When you contact a school directly you can also get information on hs grades and sat scores needed to actually get into your school of choice. And not to be a wiseass - just trying to find information - did any of the coaches say how many spots/scholarships are still available for the different age groups for the colleges that attended and were watching the boys. My son received thread emails from several schools from another tournament he attended who were upfront and honest about open spots for his age group before we signed up for the prospect days and some did not offer any information. It was nice to see some honesty out there and not just someone grabbing for my wallet.
Great event. Not everyone received emails to prospect days. Its a fact. Had a decent amount of friends (not acquaintances) attend event. Some received emails others did not. Those who did, did not receive emails from the same schools that my son did. Coaches at recruiting meeting specifically spoke about dates as to when they can actively contact a player and when they can not. They both said first step they can initiate is inviting to their prospect day. Once that is initiated then the process can move forward. The fact that coaches who were at the event sent out prospect day info to some players and not all in my book shows interest. It was not a cattle call of invites. Did not receive 25 invites but 5 to 6 for decent programs. In regards to the number of players they are looking for I think that this wouldn't have been the proper venue for that. The other thing is coaches are always looking for the best players to fill their roster. Yes this was a pay to attend event but it was well run and worth it in my book.
I think there are different levels of interest. Invite to Prospect day is a start. A personal email stating "we saw you play an are interested in you, you should come to our camp" is the next level. After that if the coach says, I can't call you but please call me... And then when a coach calls your HS coach and says we like this kid he needs to come to our camp is yet another level of interest. That being said, if you like the school and there's any level of interest from that school, I think you have to continue to pursue it.
Mine is committed already so I will share a few thoughts. You are only being recruited when a coach calls your coach and asks you to call him. If that call goes well they will ask you to visit the school.
Prospect days are a good start, but please be clear that prospect days make the coaches money and they want as many kids there as possible. It might make everyone feel good to get the prospect day emails, but the truth is my kid (again already committed) received many of them and some, said we saw you play at xxx, when he wasn't even at xxx event.
Best way in my experience-
understand your kids level and look for schools that fit his play level and academic level. If your kid is a great player but having B and C grades, probably wouldn't waste time on Ivy. SO just be realistic about both.
Then email those coaches in advance of the events you attend and then follow up with an email after those events. Give your club coaches a heads up on the schools you want, if they are interested, they will call. If they are not, you have your answer.
It is extremely frustrating going to these events and then hoping your kid did well enough to get recognized by some school. You need to be proactive...my two cents, best of luck to all your boys.
Good advice all the way around.
Prospect days can be great or a waste of time, but depending on schedule they can also be a great way to get some good coaching so the value really depends on your son's overall situation.
Some schools actually do use them as serious evaluation tools, and as we all know you can't always showcase your skills in a tournament based upon the flow of the games, did the right coach happen to be watching at the right time, etc.
That being said you are absolutely correct, you will know when a school is interested . They will contact either your club coach or high school coach. Our son just did the Prep School Showcase on Sunday and on Tuesday we had an email from his club coach with feedback from several schools.
The other thing with prospect days is that your schedule and the schools might not match up which is true with our son this summer so he is doing two prospect days sort of on a flyer because he wants to be seriously considered by those two schools, and since he is being looked at by 6+ right now we have at least some sort of validation that we are not out to lunch in regards to his current ability to play in college.
I agree, if top schools are calling your son's coach and expressing interest, you're heading in the right direction. Without question, it is validation on what level your son can play at. They aren't calling your son's coach for therapy, they're doing their job.
