What is a showcase?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When an event is described as a showcase, what does it mean?

Like what exactly does it include? Is it a training? A scrimmage?

Thanks!

the purpose of it is supposed to be that college coaches are watching your kid. Usually everyone gets more equal playing time. It's about the individual athlete not the team.

College soccer (men or women) is a non-revenue sport. That means that coaches have a very, very small travel budget. It's very hard for them to go outside of their driving limits to see a player. Showcases have evolved as a way for colleges outside of the top 10 programs to send their coaches or part time scouts to a single location and see multiple players from different areas all coming to one location in person instead of just on film, as well as validate coach recommendations. We're fortunate to live in an area with multiple colleges at various levels and many high level teams whether you believe in ECNL, GA, NL, EDP, whatever, so we get more visits to the area. Other areas outside major metro areas don't and showcases help solve that problem by pushing the cost to parents to take all their kids to a single location rather than 50 college coaches to 100 locations each.

+1. Well said and 100% spot on.

For parents that think college showcases are scams, time suck and a waste of time, then don’t go. The last time I checked, the U.S. is a free country and no one is forcing you to do anything.

They are a complete waste of time for lower brackets, losing teams and for boys---pre-Junior year in high school. I have a Senior now going to play in college next year. I can tell you that virtually nobody was looking at Sophomore boys this time of year--or even winter. The few exceptions are kids on National radar--the truly elite playing at professional academies.

My sophomore's team is doing two showcases this winter. One is very far away and I think a total waste of time and $$. The other one is at least driving distance (though far) so I consider it just like a regular tournament.

Fwiw, my Senior has D3 coaches that were still reaching out to him this Fall. And we know of so many D3 schools/boys that don't even commit until spring of Senior year.

For girls, it's different. Boys develop physically so much later that many colleges now view it as a waste until they see them at 17/18 years old. My son didn't even have his growth spurt until 16.

If you go to the MLS Next Flex tournament where the best players from around the country are competing all in one place, you'll clearly notice which games the college scouts are watching and not watching.

They aren't crowded around the U15 and U16 sidelines on their little stools.

Our DS didn't receive an offer until March of his senior year. His team was split with 50/50 seniors and juniors. For the seniors most of the showcase tournaments were too much too late - they already had their applications in - for the Juniors they were useful. Ultimately showcase tournaments can be a good way to get film to share with coaches, it can be a way to be seen by regional coaches. Our son ended up making connections through his coaches network - but having so much film to work with to share was very helpful so he really could put together a short film that showed all the skills they were looking for.

[Anonymous]

For those of you saying it's a waste for U16, did you just not go?