The real point here is that somebody has to take a stand against mid-week school day recruiting events if the NCAA doesn't want to.
Simple question : Why?
If your family decides that your student-athlete should not attend a particular midweek event, just don't attend. No harm, no foul. You still have all of those Saturday and Sunday events that are ever-present to satisfy your recruiting agenda.
Why do you believe that this event was interfering with school? Perhaps the schedule was in the afternoon and evening under the lights at Mitchel Field.
It's not so much a condemnation of the 175 ...
BOTC disagrees - the IMLCA absolutely wanted this National 175 event to be condemned. If you do not believe us, name another midweek option that would have been impacted by this decision. Name just one.
Remember that BOTC has no vested interest in the National 175 events and as a result it is not that we are advising the community on behalf of a sponsor. Instead, we are cautioning the community about the slippery slope that allows the IMLCA to control their coaching attendance outside of the NCAA guidelines.
Why should this tournament/showcase have to validate their dates with a coaching organization? What's next? Checking with the New [lacrosse] and New Jersey coaching blocks to see if they have to protect their own local recruiting events?
... but a pre-emptive strike against the dozens of other showcases that would no doubt spring up on Mondays-Thursdays thoughout the school year if nobody does anything to put a lid on it and confine it to the weekends.
Having coached premier level athletes for years, I can tell you that it is NOT uncommon to have 120 minute practices three times per week (soccer) in order to get ready for a single weekend game. Exactly what is the difference between running a one evening, 4:00pm-10:00pm camp under the lights and weekly training?
Having said that, if Corrigan Sportsw and the IMLCA now go ahead and try to schedule a mid-week recruiting showcase, that would be the ultitmate hypocracy.
BOTC thinks that it is a terrible sign that the IMLCA has forbid their Division I and Division II coaches from attending a midweek showcase yet :
- Division III coaches are permitted to attend
- a Press Release announcing their own IMLCA Tournament deal with Corrigan Sports is released less than 48 hours later.
However, if they don't, then we should probably all thank them for trying to keep the recruitng madness contained to the weekends.
You keep asserting that this has everything to do with a WEEKDAY schedule. In fact, nothing is further from the truth. Let's make it plain for your understanding.
IMLCA is going to stage their own recruiting events with Corrigan Sports. The IMLCA is going to exert pressure that their member coaches should ONLY recruit at their own sponsored events. This will be an attempt to CONTROL the Division I and Division II money flow for scholarships (which is why they do NOT care about the Division III coaches). By controlling the money flow, the IMLCA is trying to make a move on the market by controlling both the scholarships and the recruiting tournaments.
While there is certainly no evidence of such, doesn't one start to think that this sets up a pay-for-play model where recruiting tournaments will be charged for IMLCA sponsorship?
