College showcase tournaments are a critical component of the recruiting process for 1,000s of youth soccer players each year. Showcase events are one of the primary avenues that college coaches utilize to discover and evaluate prospective recruits.
Continue reading for some key advice to youth players on how to maximize each college showcase weekend. The tips below were compiled from detailed conversations with college coaches from all over the country.
1) CONSISTENCY
One of the most important things college coaches look for during a showcase is for a recruit to be consistent the entire weekend. The importance of starting the weekend strong in Game 1 is vital to try and get that same staff on your college list to watch part of your second game as well, but just as important for a recruit is to play even BETTER in Game 2 if you hope to land on that program’s recruiting board after the event. Similarly, if a player starts out very strong in Game 1, and the staff returns to see your second game and you do NOT play well in that game, that could severely effect your overall chances of ANY future interest from that college staff.
2) GAME DAY PATTERNS/IMPORTANCE
• FRIDAY: Coaches watch games ALL DAY and based on the performances of the recruits they see on Friday, will decide if they will see the recruit again on Saturday. (some staffs will also swap coaches on Friday/Saturday games so both get to see the recruit). This is where the CONSISTENCY becomes important.
• SATURDAY: Saturdays are typically the busiest and longest day for college coaches since they are combining seeing SOME recruits again, while also trying to see recruits on their list that they might have missed on Friday. Saturdays are typically the day a recruit has the chance to make the biggest impact to a coaching staff.
• SUNDAY: In normal years, this is the day with the least amount of coaches attending games, and if you are unfortunate enough to have a game later than noon or so, almost every coach is either at the airport already or started driving home. (except local college staffs). This does not mean you should not take these games seriously and not be 100% focused. Every single moment you are in front of a college coach is VITAL to your recruiting process and you must play better than the last time they saw you play. However, attendance on Sundays (or Day 3 of a showcase) is typically much lower than the first two days of the event.
3) HOW TO MAKE THE BIGGEST IMPRESSION ON THE FIELD
In the end, PLAYING TIME DOES NOT MATTER to college coaches if you make the most of the time you DO get! College coaches understand the ‘politics’ involved in club soccer and will typically never dismiss a player just because they do not start, or didn’t play the majority of the game. With that said, there are 3 consistent ways to make the biggest impression to college coaches –
• SPEED: Both in open spaces and foot speed in tight areas
• COMFORT ON THE BALL (90% pass completion is a huge part of this)
• WORK RATE (If you do NOT walk off the field exhausted every time you play, college coaches will notice this).
(*For Goalkeepers* – College coaches will typically try to show up for your PRE-GAME OR HALFTIME WARM UP – so BE FOCUSED. Multiple keepers earn offers during warm ups + a great ID camp alone.)
