Some great advice and I thank you but what do you call a college coach that calls a high school coach to ask about a kid or that he has received email saying that they saw him play which I know for a fact that they were at the tournament. To me I call that expressing interest in the kid. They wouldn't call a coach if they were not interested in recruiting him. Not knocking anyone that plays travel but I know kids from my town that went on to play D1 and only played for their hs teams not travel. So my statement is right that you don't really need travel to go to a D1 school. I hope everyone's kid gets looks from D1 schools if that's what you as parents want for your kid. From what I know is that if you approach a coach he will not talk to you about you kid but if you introduce yourself then they are allowed to talk to you and that came out of the mouth of the college scout. If I'm wrong then I would like to hear from you.
Look, I never said you couldn't get recruited D1 only playing HS. I said the ability to do so is very difficult, unless A: you play for a top program, or B: the kid is just "that" good. I'm not involved with any travel team, just been through the process a few times.
With regard to approaching Coaches at tournaments, I wouldn't do it. That's what your travel coach/hs coach or Director is for. They can freely walk up to them and say, Hey did you see #21? What do you think? Kid is very interested in your program. If your son emailed that Coach prior to the tournament, the Coach may have been there to watch #21 play. Again, for most kids this is a long drawn out process. You and the kid need to be very proactive and out work the other kids and families in the process. Again, if your son is the next Rabil, they will find him. I get it. For everyone else, you had better understand the process, embrace it, and work it. In today's recruiting environment you are competing against really good players on a North American level. There are only approximately 740-760 D1 slots per grade per year. Does playing on a good A level travel team, in competitive tournaments, help you in this process? In my experience, definitely. Don't believe me? Go to lax power, look up recruits per grade, breakdown number of recruits from LI. Further, see how many kids from LI at your son's position have been recruited in his year and year above. Not that many kids, and most are travel. Think of all the kids that play attack or goalie just on LI. Then see how many are D1 commits. Not that many... Process in very difficult, and getting more competitive every year!!!
