You’re a good player, thinking about your future. Your coaches tell you to keep working hard and you’ll have a chance to play at the next level. Your parents support you, they travel miles and miles in support of your love of the sport. Everyone hopes it all leads to a happy ending. Truth be known, none of the people above, including you, really knows what lies ahead. There’s no black and white, it’s mostly grey, and it’s a big puzzle which comes together one piece at a time. It’s a journey, and for Florida kids, it’s a tougher puzzle to solve than if you lived in one of the hotbeds. How do you match up against good competition? How do you feel when your patented move gets stuffed by a more skilled player? How do you react? Do you take that experience, learn from it and beat that player the next time? The staff at Florida Lacrosse News is full of parents and coaches who have traveled the road mentioned above. We all hoped the answers were as clear as the final score of a game. Ever watch The Voice on NBC? For those who do not know, The Voice is a reality show where hopeful singing performers audition in front of four coaches, any one of whom who may choose to help guide the prospects to stardom. Sometimes two of the coaches want a singer and two do not. Who’s right? Who’s wrong? Which singer had a bad day, was chosen by no one, yet has the talent to win next year? Sound familiar? Let’s consider a couple of additional items for aspiring laxers: Are you a good student? Are you a good teammate? Are you coachable? Finally, as a Floridian, how do you get noticed by the coaches of the great academic colleges with top notch lacrosse teams? There are many recruiting avenues and not any one is the answer. In fact, if you love the game, you will be a road warrior, playing all over the country. You’ll play with a travel team, you’ll play at individual showcase events and you will play with your high school team. One of the best venues for getting some answers started last year and is returning in January to Boca Raton. It is the Prep School Lacrosse Showcase Camp. Relatively inexpensive (no major travel unless you live in Pensacola or Tallahassee) and filled with excellent competition (over 60% of the players are from the north), it is loaded with top coaches including head coaches Lars Tiffany of Brown, Matt Kerwick of Cornell, Mike Murphy of Penn and George McCormack of Williams. Assistant coaches included in the instructional staff are Brian Praetorius of Trinity, Gus Brakeley of Middlebury, Drew Bezek of Hamilton, Derek Witheford of Union, Mike Silipo of Ithaca and Max Silberlicht of Bowdoin. These gentlemen will be on hand for two days of casual conversations and superlative teaching. You will get to know them and they will get to know you.  With a player to coach ration of about 20 to 1, it’s hard to beat. Most likely, the next piece of your personal puzzle will be put into place. The camp is held over Martin Luther King weekend at St. Andrew’s School in Boca Raton and click here to the link for the registration.  For younger players,  the camp is a great head start and for the older players, it is one more opportunity.  As of mid October, there were just over 40 openings. In addition, if you wish to be invited to the formal showcase in Connecticut in June (which requires your coach’s recommendation), the folks who run the camp will give you strong consideration if they like how you performed at this camp. Last year, less than one in four applicants were accepted to the Connecticut camp. This is one of the best camps we have seen, and FLN believes you will think it was worth the time and effort. Good luck! http://www.preplaxshowcase.com/page/show/1287621-florida-2015