Tournaments/Showcases

In the past month or so I have been to 4 tournaments/showcases, I will rate them on:

Fields|Talent|Bang for Buck|Organization

 

IMG Academy Showcase

Fields- 9

Talent- 7

Bang for Buck- 8

Organization- 8

While these are all a bit different IMG was ran best just because all of the games were taped. Disney (Puma) dropped the ball on this one. Every game needs to be taped so coaches can go back and watch full game tape on a player they are looking to spend upwards of $160,000 on in scholarship.

Disney Cup

Fields- 8 due to the fact that there were some turf fields

Talent- 8

Bang for Buck- 7

Organization- 7

IMG offered water, Gatorade, electrolyte gummies, recovery snack bars while Disney did none of this. However Disney had non academy teams at the tournament which was good, I would have liked to see the academy and non academy teams put into mixed groups as appose to the academy teams put in their own category.

Boston College Showcase

Field- (Football Stadium Bubbled Turf) 8

Talent- 6.5/7

Bang for Buck- 8

Organization- 7

Boston College showcase did a good job in 2 days to get local schools there to scout talent. Every kid got a solid look and coach to player ratio was worth it. The field was the football turf which is bubbled. It made for a good environment.

Infosport Combine

Fields- 6.5/7

Talent- 7

Bang for Buck- 7.5/8

Organization- 8

Infosport Combine has really upped its numbers and even included women this year, which was great to see. The fields could have been better but at least they were all grass. My criticism would be that each team needs at least 2 coaches because 18 players are a lot to watch by oneself. The talent over all was good obviously I am comparing it to the pro ranks and not Academy level, the first half of the All-Star game was good quality. Players are always missed in these environments but the coaches that were involved were of high quality from MLS, NASL, USL there was great representation.