Everything you're writing makes sense. The one thing you have to remember though is that the mid-low level D1 schools are also there to watch their targets. The top 20 schools are not the only ones going to tournaments. The bottom line is that attending showcases and ID camps is significantly more important than tournaments.
You're right on many points - but I disagree on one thing - the mid-low schools are there, but the majority are on the 2024 sideline right now - except the young, stary-eyed dreamer assistant coaches.
I completely agree that camps are the way to go. We've hit a bunch, and it made it really easy to see which coaches were a good fit and which to scratch off the list, regardless of how interesting the school may be. There was one school my daughter really liked for the academics and the major she's interested in; she came off the field and said, "there's no way I can spend 3 hours a day, 6 days a week with that coach. I'll be miserable. I can't go here."
Yes, my daughter (2024) had similar experiences where she just didn't like a particular coach or the way the current players interacted with ID camp attendees. With close to 1,000 D1 2024 commitments nationwide to date, I have to believe that, for the most part, they are close to being done with 2024s.
If I can pass on some unsolicited advice (having gone through the process as a parent for the past years and as a coach for several years) I think the best thing for all 2025 parents to do is to come up with a list of schools for your daughter to target by this Summer. Hit those ID camps and showcases those coaches will be at all Winter, Spring and Summer. While doing that, pay close attention to the commitments at those schools. You can easily fond those on laxnumbers.com.
