Did anyone go to that thing in PA last weekend? If you did - how was it? Did a lot of coaches show up? Or should we just hold on to our money.
Hold on to your money if what you are asking is: Is it worth it from a recruiting point of view?
Yes, I'm wondering if it's worth it. And also wondering if we made a mistake. My daughter applied and was invited then changed her mind because her two BFF's have parents who are a little quicker on the up-take than I am and opted out. We therefore opted out. I was wondering if it was the right decision. From what I have heard so far - it was not impressive and did not meet the hype. Is that true? I don't think we will need to attend one of these next year.
These things are a waste, generally speaking, from a recruiting point of view. I strongly believe, having had one kid go through the lax recruiting process recently and others through regular college searches, that the best way to do this is find a handful of schools that you think fit your daughter academically, socially and from a lax point of view. Do it just like you would with a non athlete. Put together a list of stretch, match and safety schools. It's a little more complicated in that one school might be a stretch for lax, but a match academically, as well as the other way around. So I would find a few in each category and start focusing in on those schools. Attend as many on campus clinics/camps as geographically and financially feasible. If you have crafted the list well, several of those situations will pay off. No money towards these other "recruiting camps" unless you have it to burn and you think your daughter will just "enjoy the experience".
The other point I would highlight is to try to get someone with influence (club coach, high school coach, former player) to help place your daughter in a top group at the college camp. If it is one of the bigger ones, there are definitely two tiers. One is for the "real" recruits, and the rest is for making money. If your daughter isn't in the group with the coaches from the target school, it probably also is a waste of time.
My 2 cents.
The Elite 120 is worth it in my opinion. My daughter is committed to a top 10 program and that is where she was first noticed by several schools in January of her freshman year. Well attended by coaches, established now, and top players attending for the most part (if they have not already committed).
