Showcases get you seen. Clinics get you known.
The strategic mix most families miss in recruiting
“More than 100 college coaches will be there!”
That’s what convinced a family to spend $1,000 on a major showcase last summer.
They paid for travel, hotels, and registration fees. Their daughter played five games in three days. Multiple coaches watched from the sidelines.
Total direct interaction with college coaches: Zero minutes.
Meanwhile, another family spent $200 on a single-day college clinic.
Their daughter worked directly with five college coaches. She experienced their coaching methods. They watched how she responded to instruction.
Total direct interaction: Three hours.
Both events served their purpose. But only one family fully understood what they were actually buying.
What showcases do well
Major showcases are essential to recruiting. There’s a reason they exist and why coaches attend them.
In three days at a showcase, a college coach can evaluate 50+ players across multiple positions. They can see how players compete against varied competition. They can build watch lists efficiently, without spending weeks traveling to individual high school games.
For players, showcases create breadth of exposure. You might catch the attention of programs you hadn’t even considered. You can see how you stack up against regional or national competition. You get multiple looks in front of different coaching staffs.
This is valuable and necessary. Every recruiting journey needs showcases.
But showcases have clear limitations that most families don’t always account for.
What showcases don’t do
With games running every hour across 12-16 fields, coaches can’t give every player their full attention. They’re scanning for standouts. Building watch lists. Making quick evaluations.
They’re not getting to know you. They’re not necessarily seeing how you respond to coaching.
You’re being evaluated, not recruited.
There’s a difference.
The families who struggle in recruiting are the ones who think more showcases equals more recruiting success. They chase every event with “50+ coaches” in the marketing material, hoping sheer volume of exposure will create opportunities.
If this is your only strategy, you’re relying too much on luck.
The missing piece
College-run clinics create what showcases can’t: direct interaction.
When a coach from a program on your target list actually works with you for three hours, they learn things they’d never see in a showcase game: How you respond to instruction. Whether you ask good questions. How you handle feedback. Whether their coaching style fits your learning style.
And you learn equally valuable things about them: Do you like how they coach? Do you connect with their personality? Can you see yourself playing for them? Does their system fit your game?
This isn’t just recruiting, it’s relationship-building. This is the foundation of actually making a decision you’ll (hopefully) stick with for four years.
The optimal mix
The most successful recruits use both strategically.
Early in recruiting (8th grade-freshman year): Heavy on showcases. You’re building your target list, getting on watch lists, seeing which programs start asking your club coach about you. Cast a wide net.
Mid-process (freshman-sophomore year): Balance showcases with targeted clinics. You’re narrowing your list to 10-15 programs. Now you need deeper interaction with those specific schools. Attend clinics run by programs you’re serious about.
Late process (sophomore-junior year): Selective showcases where your target schools actually attend, plus campus visits and continued relationship building. You’re proving yourself to programs already tracking you.
Most families do 100% showcases at every stage. They’re missing opportunities to build the relationships that actually close commitments.
What this looks like in practice
You have a target list of 10 schools. Six of them are attending a major showcase. Three of them run summer clinics. One offers an ID camp.
The showcase is still worth attending - six of your targets will be there. But if you only go to the showcase and skip the clinics, you’ve missed chances for three hours of direct coaching from programs on your list.
The showcase gets you seen. The clinic gets you known.
Both matter. But most families overvalue being seen and undervalue being known.
Before you register
Look at your summer event calendar. For each event, ask: “What is this event actually designed to accomplish?”
Showcases accomplish breadth of exposure. That’s what they’re built for. If you need programs to see you play, go.
Clinics accomplish depth of interaction. If you need programs to know you as a person and player, go.
Tournaments accomplish competitive evaluation. If you need programs to see you perform in meaningful games, go.
None of these are bad. All of them serve a purpose. The mistake is thinking one type does everything.
A $1,000 showcase is worth it if multiple programs on your target list will be there, and you need exposure.
A $1,000 showcase is a waste if none of your target schools attend, and you’d be better served spending $400 on two clinics with programs you’re actually serious about.
Before you register for your next event, ask: “What am I trying to accomplish right now in my recruiting process?”
Showcases are essential. They’re also insufficient on their own.
Do both. Strategically.