First off, you have to accept the fact that some teams are competitive and some teams are not. College coaches want their prospects playing on competitive teams. College coaches also want to see their prospects playing other competitive teams so they can get an honest look at their prospects.
So, to have a “Showcase” event, you have to restrict the type of teams that are entered. You have to make it a real invitational and have a selection criteria to ensure that you have competitive teams entered. You cannot call yourself an invitational showcase and then accept anyone that applies just so that you have a large amount of teams at the tournament.
A showcase is meant to be a place where a girl can show her skills to the college coaches that she is marketing herself to. The young lady dutifully emails those coaches and lets them know where she will be, what field, and what time. This act is the primary reason that a college coach will attend any given tournament. So, the more girls that you have that the college coaches are receiving emails from, then the more coaches you will have in attendance. Coaches come to the event with a list of kids they want to look at. The coaches have a plan and they try their best to stick with it because they want to give those girls that have shown an interest in their program and taken the time to communicate with them a good, honest look. Very seldom does a coach come to a tournament with the sole intent of finding a player that has not communicated with them. It does happen, but not very often.
The tournament also provides help to the young lady by providing a Profile Book to each college coach in attendance. The tournament also has to provide updates to the teams and college coaches on any schedule changes/updates. Communication, Communication, Communication!!! In today’s world, the internet is the preferred method.
A Showcase tournament also has to “put on a good show” so to speak. You want teams and college coaches to come back the next year. Not everything will go right. You have to have plenty of support staff. One man cannot do it all!!! You have to improve upon the year before and look at what innovations are out there and how to apply them to your tournament in order to provide a better experience for the teams and the college coaches.