Alex SwensonRecruiting Advisor| This is a digital version of Alex

Most families are doing camps and showcases backward.

11 Apr 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:05

In this advisory YouTube monologue, a former Division‑I coach, scout, and recruiter explains why many parents rely solely on camps and showcases, which often yields little exposure for their athletes. He stresses that without proactive outreach to college coaches before events, athletes are unlikely to be noticed. The speaker advises parents to (1) communicate with the schools and coaches who will attend the events, (2) know which decision‑makers will be present, and (3) vet each showcase or camp to ensure it offers genuine game‑or‑competition exposure rather than just passive attendance. He offers to send a personalized recruiting plan to viewers who comment “pro,” positioning the advice as a proven, actionable strategy for navigating the recruiting process.

Chapters

I was talking to a parent recently and their athlete was going to camps and recruiting events, but nothing was really happening. They were kind of spinning their wheels and hoping that somebody noticed them until we changed their recruiting strategy, especially before those events and outreach and having communication with those college coaches. Because nobody knows about you before that event, there's a very low likelihood that anybody's going to notice you at all. As a former D1 coach, scout, and recruiter, I had a list of athletes that I knew who I was going to watch going through this. So make sure you're communicating with the schools and coaches that are going to be at those events. So you need to know who's going to be at those events and make sure you're vetting these showcases and camps because I know you get emails all the time, come to this and come to that. All right. Make sure you know the schools that are going to be there, the decision makers are there, and that they're going to be able to see your athlete's skill sets in game or in competition. If you're looking for more of a proven plan, if you're not sure what to be doing through this recruiting process for your sport and your year, comment pro down below and I'll send you a personal plan. Good luck.