Originally Posted by Anonymous
My son went to this last year and here is my take on the event - do with it what you will. At this age it is a bit of a money grab but it cant hurt your son to go; it can only help. He is not going to get scratched off some master recruiting list if he doesn't get picked for JR. If you have the money, go. If you cant really afford to take this trip than my advice is not to sweat missing it. In the interest of full disclosure, my son did not get picked for JR, but he has been selected for other events and is already being recruited (very early stages) for d1. He was an undersized defenseman when he went down there (still is, a bit), and this event wants the poles to be big and super-athletic and not necessarily skilled if they are going to send them to JR at this age. Not a single pole on my son's team got selected for JR, yet he and several others on his team D are all going on recruiting visits for D1 programs this fall, so don't think you are hurting your son's chances if you feel he hasn't hit his spurt yet and want to hold off. Lots of 15 year olds will be down there - trust me. So here are some things to consider from someone who was there: 1) the overwhelming majority of kids who get selected to JR are nominated by their HS coaches. This event only sends a smaller percentage
2)there will be some great players there, and some kids who were done a disservice by being registered by daddy. 3) it is extremely well organized and well run but the drills are very offensively focused and quite frankly, oversold on the info page. They didn't do half of what they said. 4) if you play for 3D, you have a great shot at making JR (that is the only cynical thing I will say) 5) there are several team venues for recruiting coming up in your son's future including adrenaline cup, nxt invitational, as well as individual showcases such as freshman showcase (next year for your boy) and some great ;local ones to introduce him to the showcase format, so don't sweat it and try not to get caught up in the rat race. 6) it will be a typical showcase-type event - no passing and silly shots (tough on attackmen). 7) if you really want to go, and are driven to have your boy get selected to JR, then hedge your bet and go with a weaker region- a lot of kids did this. It isn't cheating per se, but you really do want your kid to be measured against the more skilled players. that will serve him better in the long run
In conclusion, if you have the throw-away money, go. it cant hurt. but neither will abstaining until he develops a bit. Good luck and I hope this helps
Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
Are there any 2019 parents on here who took their son down to Florida for 3d Blue Chip last year? I have a 2020 and am wondering if 8th grade is silly to spend the time and $$$ traveling for this. Any insights or advice would be appreciated.

P.S. My son is a good player on an "A" team but is age-appropriate and really hasn't hit his growth spurt yet.


We went last year and I though tit was a waste of time. My son's club team played all of the top teams this past summer so comparisons were made then. I will not take my 2021 son down in the future. Just my experience.


If you got an invitation to Showtime, do not go to Jake reed. Much better exposure, and local.