Aside from camps held by a specific university, showcases are the next best thing to get recruited–all the high-level teams play in them and coaches swarm to the events. As a high school athlete wanting to play in college, these are the tips you should follow to get noticed and stand out to the coaches especially if they are there to see you.

Be a leader (and understand the game)!

When Assistant Head Coach at Illinois Wesleyan, Matthew Kemp, is looking at recruits, he told 2aDays he looks for “leadership qualities along with technical and tactical understanding as well.”  So be a leader and motivate your team with your voice–even at a showcase. Technical and tactical understanding comes with time and isn't even close to as simple, but it's clear if you have the understanding you will stand out. All top-level players have it and it's something that can be worked on mostly through the study of film learning to understand the game?

Related: Rate Illinois Wesleyan University

Know your fundamentals 

Coach Kemp also mentions that it's great to see a player smash one from thirty yards…but how many times are you going to see him do that? He says he would much rather see the simple actions done right multiple times. This makes sense logically as well–as a coach is going to much rather see a player open up space by picking the right pass multiple times than a player who might just have gotten lucky with a shot. By all means, if your specialty is long shots, go ahead and hit a couple, but don't do actions like that just to stand out.

Related: Rate your Coaches, Facilities, and Campus Visits

Remember the little details

The last thing that really stands out at showcases is the small things. It sounds contradictory, but small actions mean everything. How do you respond after your team has been scored on? What is your body language? How are you talking to your teammates? How are you talking to the referee? How are you interacting with the other team? These are all the little things that mean something to coaches. It speaks to your character and how you will act in the future–and coaches care about who you are as a person, not just an athlete.

These are the tips you should follow while you're at a showcase if you are trying to stand out: Have a voice. Have an understanding of the game. Do the simple things right. Finally, do the small things right especially when it comes to who you are as a person.
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* Originally published on August 22, 2022, by Scott Abramson