Shearer, I understand what you are saying. Sure, you don't have to attend a showcase in order to be seen nor to play collegiate soccer. However, you implied that clubs are "selling" to the parents the notion that teams must attend showcases in order to be seen and/or play collegiate soccer. How do you know that to be true?
While it seems to be one of the attractive benefits, I am sure there are other reasons for attending these tournaments. For instance, the quality of opponent is much better at these tournaments. Also, the exposure for these clubs is tremendous, and I am sure it helps them in terms of qualitative and quantitative growth. With the increasing competition among clubs, there has to be differentiating factors, and I would venture to say that the level of tournament/competition would be one of them for any player/parent looking to make a move.
As for taking a shot at the division 2 coaches, I think you are wrong. Perhaps their recruiting interests aren't consistent with your ideas of potential players, but those coaches are recruiting somewhere. The days of relying solely on networking/video/paper resumes, etc. are pretty much over. There will always exist the reality of a player who was not seen by a coach and ends up doing very well for him/her. However, this was probably not foreseen or by design.
