Senior Showcase gives high school football players one more game to impress scouts
When COVID-19 began shutting down professional and college sports in March 2020, an eventual side effect trickled down to high school football.
The recruiting aspect changed, and seniors looking to secure enough solid film in the upcoming season were suddenly uncertain about how many opportunities there might be with health and safety protocols affecting how many games would be played.
In Manatee County, Southeast High School Assistant Coach Shawn Phelps and others devised a plan: a high school prospect showcase event.
Like the Senior Bowl, only for high school.
The event has several practices and a late December game to give seniors an extra chance to get noticed by a college program.
“Those 2021 guys weren’t able to get out to camps that year,” Phelps said. “Coaches weren’t able to come to schools and see them.”
This year, the second annual Florida Suncoast Senior Showcase will take place with the game scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at Sarasota High and open to the public.
Players from various schools in Manatee and Sarasota counties as well as seniors from outside the area are participating.
“It means a lot, to be honest,” Southeast High corner/safety Tyson Amato said Tuesday during practice. “It’s an extra opportunity to show what I’ve been working on and really just perfecting. … It took me three years to get me where I’m at now. I’m just here to show it.”
This year’s event is different from the inaugural one with players being housed and practices being increased from two to three leading into the game.
“We want to just coach them up and help them get better, and we kind of target the kids that recruiting is down right now or they’re just not getting the type of look that they want,” Phelps said. “We want to bring them in and help them out with that.”
National Signing Day is in February, which is the first day players sign national letters of intent that becomes a binding agreement to play college football at the school they’ve signed with.
In recent years, an early signing period was introduced in mid-December that features the top recruits in the country making their college choices known before early enrolling at the school.
“We’ve got some schools that’s committed to coming out and being able to scout kids,” Phelps said.
Phelps said Southeastern University, Webber International University and Florida Memorial are some of the programs that committed to being on hand.
The game also will be live streamed.
“For the higher-level schools, I think in the recruiting period it will be a no contact period during that time, but they’ll have an opportunity to watch it,” Phelps said.
Legendary high school football coach Paul Maecthle, who won two state titles at Southeast High, and Walter Gilbert, who was a pioneer for a youth football program in Sarasota, are this year’s honorary coaches.
Tickets for the game cost $12 plus fees for adults and $7 plus fees for students aged 6-17 and can be purchased online here. To view it live streamed, go to https://score-sports.com/suncoast-senior-showcase/
