Technically the McCook, Illinois Showcase presented by True Lacrosse.

Take in the pictures from a whirl wind 48 hour recruiting trip.

Likely near Purdue.

Huge facility upgrade in 2012 made the event more enjoyable for players, parents, and college coaches.

Forgot to ask the photographer if they were selling True sublimated hoodies.

Casual stick work before another game. Good to see Team One and True guys in the same line. The neon green and black helmets are over powering.

Can't say enough about the facility upgrade. I will say that we were interested in renting this building for our trip to Illinois in March. Their prices would make a sailor blush.

Wing play was different each draw depending upon who was officiating your game.

This sophomore was one of the more exciting players to watch all weekend. His highlight tape is below the gallery.

Sunday night's dinner consisted of a $30 pizza which took over an hour to arrive. Between the two of us, we could only eat half. Then we forgot it in the refrigerator the next day.

Sunday morning, we drove up to McCook. Morning afternoon, we raced back to Indiana for the first practice of the 2012 season. It's a full day of lacrosse.

So much Hoosier red/crimson/cardinal included in the True highlight tape. Thanks for looking out, True.

As promised, the most electric 5’4″ middie in the state of Illinois. Can’t wait to see where his game has progressed by senior year.

This year’s event was head and shoulders above last year’s event due in large part to the facility. True went from the out house to the penthouse in one year. There were still some close calls on the sideline but that can happen anywhere.

The talent pool improved dramatically in that there were less players that clearly didn’t belong on both ends of the spectrum. Less drill killers and less D1 products. Last year there were maybe 5 D1 athletes present. This year there were less than 2 D1 athletes (LSM and M), which is a perfect scenario for us an MCLA school.

The lack of D1 coaches present and the abundance of D3, D2, and MCLA guys in attendance speaks to that number. The worst scenario for a college coach is to travel to a recruiting event presenting players they don’t want. (We loved working Maverik Showtime but there’s no reason for an MCLA team to be there.)

The college fair gave us an opportunity to speak with players and families. We had two coaches from Indiana and we spoke with prospective players from start to finish. Last year, I was by myself. I never would have made it this year without help from Coach Nelson. That’s more the power of Indiana in the midwest than IU as a lacrosse program, but we’re working on that. Most of the players that came to our table had no idea about the recruiting process, the MCLA, or lacrosse at Indiana. While we are certainly there for IU, we also go as ambassadors to the MCLA. The more people we can educate about the MCLA, the easier it will be for IU down the road.

I would encourage other GRLC schools to come next year. We’ll be back especially if it’s loaded with Loyola and New Trier kids.

(More Indiana kids have to go up to this event. Big mistake not to attend. Think whatever you want about True commercializing the club scene, but if you have an opportunity to play in front of 70 colleges coaches on two fields, you go. Proud of the Bloomington kids for making the journey.)