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Reply to "Etiquette regarding showcase teams?"

I know there are a few bad apples out there, but I believe they are few and not the norm. Most of the opposing coaches we deal with love the game and do what they do as a labor of love. Some do take a stipend from it, but charging for a valuable service and getting paid by people who did not have guns put to their heads is hardly anything to get upset about.

On our team (Virginia Cardinals), the coaches take no compensation whatsoever. We raise the money to run the team and no player fees are assessed -- so replacing one player with another wouldn't line our pockets anyway. Players and parents are given a sheet of rules of conduct and team expectations. Live by those rules and you are with us for the summer/fall cycle. We believed when we took you on that you would produce. If we were wrong, that's our problem.

We exist to take a kid through the recruiting process. Leaving aside the integrity aspect of things, we see no reason to take on a kid later on in the cycle, when it's too late for us to get him into the process and to have success. What we want is not to lay claim to 50 players a year, but to have a 100% success record with the few guys we do commit to.

Last year, our first in operation, we had 9 2011 players we committed to. As of now, 7 of them have college roster spots waiting for them next year. We are still working on the other 2. We're proud of having a 78% success rate and believe that compares pretty darned well to any other team you'll find. But we still believe that we'll reach the 100% success level before next fall arrives.

This year, we have 14 2012 players on our roster. One, who was with us last year as well, has already verballed. I honestly believe the other 13 will get to that point well ahead of the November NLI signing period. It's conceivable some of our 2013 guys will have verballed by then as well.

I do know of one team that makes liberal use of "cameo appearances" (fill-in players) and then lays claim to those kids' successes even when they had nothing to do with it. When a single team starts talking about having 25 guys committing out of a single class year, you know somebody's cooking the books. Other teams tout their successes but do not disclose how many kids they take on who never reach their goals. Those are the ones where you have to worry about being replaced mid-cycle, because touting the high number of success stories is how they attract players.

But as I say, these teams are the exception and not the rule by any means. At worst, they are the cautionary tales that suggest that players and parents should ask questions and get meaningful answers before they make their team selections.
Last edited by Midlo Dad
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