SOUTHERN SHOWCASE WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS
Peter Lawrence, NXT President and Director of Boys Elite Programs, sat down to highlight stand-out moments and players from this year's 2018 Southern Showcase.
Great weather at a first-class facility, Lakepoint Sporting Community, set the stage for the Southern Showcase and Invitational last weekend. The Southern Showcase is an event that is about both education and exposure. The goal was to provide the players with a memorable experience, recruiting advice, positional clinics and opportunities to directly interact with college coaches. Starting with college practices, players had the opportunity to participate in position clinics to work on their skills. The goalies who attended had the opportunity to work with Kris Alleyne, a former All-American goalie at Rutgers and assistant coach at Canisius. Each team was coached by a DI, DII, or DIII coach including some big names from Canisius, St. Johns, NJIT, Lenoir Rhyne, Bellarmine, and more.
Click here to view the list of college coaches who attended.
A recruiting talk led by myself and St. Johns Head Coach Jason Miller was an educational opportunity for the players to learn more about the recruiting rules, NCAA clearing house, building a resume, finding the right fit, and the importance of a highlight reel.
Following the recruiting talk, the much anticipated All-Star roster was announced. The game featured the top 20 players of the day squaring off against a regionally-known All-Star team named Team 8 led by Frank Cecere.
This year, for the first time, All-Stars received an Epoch sideline bag to kick off NXT's newest partnership in addition to a Nike gear pack. Highlighted in Manney's player previews, Noah McKeoun, faceoff player from FCA, a sensational game throughout the day and was easily named MVP. Also, notable mentions were both All-Star goalies, Phillip Waller (2021 from LB3 Thunder) and Paddy-Shea Nary (2020 player from Team 24/7), who were spectacular in the goal all day on Saturday, right up through the game against Team 8.
View the All-Star Rosters below.
Team 8 deserves additional respect as they played to honor the spirit of former teammate and player, Jamie McHenry. On Team 8, there were eight players committed to Ohio State, Michigan, Hofstra, Piedmont, Pace, Furman, Lafayette, Providence, and Montevallo. It was special to see each player with a number 8 on their jersey. This team looked great and has a ton of talent! To learn about the Jamie McHenry Memorial Foundation, click here.
MVP OF THE SHOWCASE
Noah McKouen | 2020 Midfield | FCA | North Conn High School
KING OF THE X OF THE SHOWCASE
Nick Hyden | 2020 FO | Atlanta Empire | First Side Central High School
