Should I attend a showcase?

Collegiate Exposure showcases and college camps are expensive. There’s no two ways about it. I’ve seen prices at low as $300 for a week-long showcase and as high at $5,000. It varies from sport to sport, from location to location, and who’s running the showcase has a lot to do with it.

As a college coach, I recommend that every kid who’s serious about playing sports in college participate in at least one showcase. It’s a great chance for prospects to connect with coaches. But the problem with attending showcases in not the cost or the coaches on hand. The most common problem is that participants are not prepared for what to expect and not realistic about their own circumstances.

Some parents will say that showcases are hit or miss. If the right coach sees you at the right time, you might find the right fit. If they don’t, better luck next time. As a college coach, I say that every showcase can be a hit if your kid is prepared.

Try to find showcases at which players have direct communication with college coaches. If the college coaches are just watching from the sidelines, there’s no guarantee that any of them will ever even look at your kid. Some showcases offer a format in which the college coaches on hand are coaching the showcase. This might happen in a drills-and-skills session. This might happen in actual competition. Either way, hands on is better for the players and for the coaches.

When a prospect has the chance to interact with a prospect, take advantage of their coaching and their expertise. Don’t talk about their school. Talk about the sport. Talk about what they’d like you to do to improve. And, after you’ve developed that relationship, ask the college coach if they have a feel for what level of collegiate athletics is appropriate for you.

When asked what level is appropriate for the prospect, most coaches will be honest. If they like the prospect, but the prospect doesn’t meet their recruiting needs, they might be willing to contact a coach at the appropriate level on behalf of the prospect. College coaches have friends at every level that we like to help.

This summer I worked a three-day camp in Philadelphia. Since that camp, I’ve spoken to over a dozen other coaches about players at that camp. Some reached out to me, some I reached out to, so I bumped into at another event, all of them were looking to either help me or be helped by me. It’s what we do.

If every coach who worked that camp talked to a dozen other coaches about that camp, that means that hundreds of coaches learned about players from that camp. Word travels. Trust me.

And if the coach you are working with is interested in you, they’ll let you know. Silence is not an effective recruiting strategy. When you ask a college coach about your level and they respond with, “I think you’d be great for us,” they’re interested.

Aside from the recruiting end of exposure camps, kids are also getting exposed to new contacts, new competition, new friends, and a new place. Don’t discount that part of the experience. If you ever went away to a sports camp, you remember your experience.

Exposure camps can be hit or miss for kids with unrealistic expectations and no direction. But if you show up ready to work, informed on the process, and ready to learn from the experts, the camp will be a hit.