Understanding the role of club teams, travel teams, showcases, travel tournaments and other exposure related teams and activities.

When I started PrepSearch in 2007, my goal was to provide college sports recruiting education to families who weren’t receiving all the information or the complete picture. I also wanted to promote greater access to sports, especially as the “pay-to-play” model grew more prevalent. When I was growing up, we were encouraged to play as many sports as possible, and there were far fewer barriers to participation than there are today. As a former student-athlete, college coach, and parent of an elite student-athlete, I’m deeply disappointed by the way club teams, travel teams, showcases, tournaments, and other exposure-related activities have shaped youth sports, middle school, and high school athletics.

For the sake of clarity, I’ll group club teams, travel teams, showcases, combines, travel tournaments, and other exposure-related activities together. These programs encompass a wide range of athletes and sports, all of which have intense competition for college recruitment. Just to provide some context, here’s how I’ll categorize the sports linked to these activities:

• Club teams are most commonly associated with team sports like volleyball, track, and soccer.
• Travel teams and Travel Tournaments are most closely tied to sports like basketball, lacrosse, hockey, baseball, and softball.
• Showcases and combines typically involve sports such as football, soccer, volleyball, lacrosse, and track.

The issue I have with this landscape is the significant cost of participating in any of these activities. The biggest problem is that there are countless talented students who never get the opportunity to develop their skills or get exposure to college coaches simply because their families cannot afford the fees and expenses required. By late elementary and early middle school, we’re seeing a divide: some kids play sports for fun and camaraderie, while others are playing with the goal of winning and potentially competing at the high school or collegiate level. More on this later.

With all the expense, time, and stress involved in competing on club teams, travel teams, and other exposure-related activities, here’s a hard truth that many parents don’t discover until it’s too late: The role of club teams, travel teams, showcases, combines, and tournaments is NOT to proactively promote your son or daughter to college coaches. I’ll say it again: If you’re like me, spending thousands of dollars each season, countless hours driving across the country, and staying in hotels to expose your child to elite competition, you are NOT paying these teams or activities to actively reach out and contact college coaches on your behalf. This is where you may want to consider using a program such as PrepSearch, a recruiting Advisor, or recruiting service.

Let me share how my daughter, Kaam, got started with club volleyball. Our family’s experience is typical of many. Kaam started playing soccer at a young age and quickly picked up basketball. She began playing travel basketball at age six and continued through fifth grade. By the time she entered middle school, she was still playing basketball because she loved the game, but she also tried track and volleyball because her friends were on those teams. As a parent, I can honestly say that, at this point, Kaam’s participation was about fellowship and camaraderie with friends first, and winning second.

This brings up an important question: Is your son or daughter competing for the experience, or do they actually want to win? For our family, Kaam’s academic performance came first before any sports involvement. We set a standard: a 3.0 GPA with no grade lower than a B. We instilled this early during her travel ball years, and it paid off when Kaam reached high school.

Back to Kaam and our club experience. Kaam tried volleyball for the first time in seventh grade because the team had a no-cut policy, and many of her friends were on it. About a quarter of the way through the season, I received an email from a local club volleyball coach. She worked at the largest volleyball club in the area and mentioned that a scout had seen Kaam in a seventh-grade game and thought she had potential to play volleyball at a high level. While we had been focused on basketball, Kaam was a natural at volleyball and was excited about the opportunity to explore club volleyball. Our family had never even heard of club volleyball, as we were so immersed in travel basketball (where Kaam was already playing up an age group).

Kaam attended an information session for club volleyball, and the rest is history. She made the 13-1 team in her first year and never played basketball again. Like many parents of children in elite sports, we assumed that participating in competitive activities was a requirement if Kaam wanted to play in college, which she did. But we were only partially right. Elite competition was certainly necessary, but no one was actively promoting the players to college coaches. Other parents joined club volleyball hoping it would boost their kids’ chances of making their high school varsity teams. If that’s your goal, then club sports will provide elite training, competition, and environments.

Given that Kaam wanted to play beyond high school, participation in club volleyball was a commitment we made for our family. It also benefited her high school career since she made the varsity team as a freshman. I’m sharing Kaam’s story as one example of how participation in club sports can raise visibility and provide opportunities for college recruitment.

So, what are the benefits of having your child participate in club teams, travel teams, showcases, and other exposure activities?

If you can afford the costs and are willing to accept the time commitment, here are some of the key benefits:

• An opportunity to showcase an athlete’s skills, athleticism, and potential to college coaches.
• Increased visibility: You won’t get this kind of exposure just from the high school team.
• Access to year-round training and elite competition.
• In many cases, the coaching at these programs may be better than what the high school offers.
• Direct exposure to hundreds of college coaches in one location: This is the most significant benefit for athletes with the potential to compete at the collegiate level.

There’s much more I could cover, but I strongly believe that families need to make informed decisions, especially given the high cost of participation and the lack of proactive promotion to college coaches. As a general rule, I tell my clients that their child must begin engaging with college coaches through communication, campus visits, and other outreach at least a year and a half before graduation to maximize the time and money spent on club teams, travel teams, tournaments, showcases, and other exposure events.

To learn more about PrepSearch and how I’ve helped over 1,700 students attend college through sports since 2007, please explore the rest of my website. For more information about my seminars for high schools and clubs, or to inquire about my recruiting advisory services, feel free to complete the contact form on my website at www.prepsearch.net.

If you know a prospective student-athlete in grades 8-12 who could benefit from additional free exposure to college coaches, have them download the new PrepSearch app today! It’s available in both the Apple App Store and Google Play Stores.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.prepssearchappsapp

https://apps.apple.com/app/prepsearch-app/id6738037970

EM