National Draw in New Jersey

[skywalk07pinkie]

I went to the National Draw in New Jersey this weekend on Saturday and Sunday. As many people know, it was cancelled due to rain and flooding. Saturday and specifically Sunday, were the playdates for rising Juniors and Seniors. On Saturday, my team was lucky because we played our first game before the first lightning delay and our second game was the only game played between lightning delays. I know that many teams didn't even get to play a full game because lightning struck during their first game. Sunday was cancelled all together. I understand that the weather is unpredictable, but this is the last tournament before July 1st when college coaches can call their recruits. I am a rising Senior, so I feel a little anxious. Many girls must be feeling the same, since many have never even been seen by the coaches before. I am not in the same position, but it is still scary. Does anyone else feel like something should have been done? Maybe the directors could have let the teams with mostly rising seniors play on the upper fields that were not soaked with water. Why couldn't we have played? I went to the fields on Sunday morning to pick up our team's tent, and of the 5 fields I could see, none of them were under water and no lightning was striking. It wasn't even raining. The whole situation stinks because this is one of the most highly recruited tournaments of the year. There were 20+ coaches at our first game, but none at our second because of the lightning delays. I am little frustrated with the whole situation and I think more should have been done for the rising Seniors and Juniors at National Draw since the underclassmen were able to play on Friday and Saturday. It is not anyone's fault, but this whole recruiting situation is now even more hectic then it already was.

[lilaxgurl23]

It was tough. I was on a team that was only scheduled to play one game on Saturday and it was against an '08 team, so there wasn't exactly a lot of competition to watch/play against. I was a little bummed to say the least when I got up at 7 to make it to the fields by 8, only to find out that they were cancelled as I was leaving my hotel.

Not much you can do though. With 285 teams participating in the tournament, it's extremely hard to reschedule things and have everyone know about it when people are staying at places all over from NJ to PA. Also, it had rained hard the night before and I believe a girl was even taken away on a stretcher on Saturday, so it was more practical and easier just to cancel the rest of the tournament to prevent liability issues. Taking the time to re-line the fields and re-assign games would just take forever as well. So, I don't really think there is much else they could do. The fields weren't playable enough to ensure the safety of the players and there just wasn't enough time to wait it out. Mother Nature just ran her course, I just wish they would be able to give refunds to teams like mine who only played one (or in some cases part of one) game after traveling for numerous hours. Not to mention I didn't get a chance to visit the vendors :hot:

Anyways, I heard a rumor they might try to re-schedule games the Monday after the ASE. I don't think it will happen, but who knows. At least the directors are trying to figure out a way to fix the situation. Recruiting will be a little more intense, but just keep in contact with the schools you are interested in and hope that they'll get to see you elsewhere.

[laxstar003]

the way i see it, there wasn't much they could have done. things like that happen all the time. if people are on top of their recruiting, coaches have either already seen them play before, or will see them in other tournaments this summer. not many teams only play in the national draw and not many coaches only recruit at the national draw.

[tshea]

Hopefully you have done your homework and the coaches that are at the schools you like know of your interest and have watched you play other places. Also the best recruiting is done through camps, although the tournaments are a great way for coaches to see the players on their lists in brief spurts. So relax; remember to follow up with the schools on your list, and if you are not yet registered to play at the camps of the school or two that most interest you, then make sure you sign up and go there!

July 1 is not that magical a date. You may hear from schools in July, or in August, or in October even! Still a lot more opportunity to see and be seen.

Of the last 7 Draws that I recall, this is the third partial or full wash out. Rain happens. The organizer was nice to get a number of teams that came a long way, or that she otherwise knew, to play games all day sunday at the fields next door for those teams. I know if I had paid for a plane ticket out I would have really appreciated that.

As people have said, for recruiting you need three things: academic focus; letting the coaches know of your interest so that they can check you out at a tournament, and going to camps to really be seen. So one rain out should not hurt you. Heck, in 2004 almost every event was rained out all summer and those seniors from that year all worked out just fine.

Enjoy the rest of your summer and play hard.

[Trilax03]

i just received an email from my coach for a possible do-over of the tourney...