Lai Ting Yee
I joined the Yale Showcase in 2009, so it’s hard to recall the exact details, but still I can share a few things. When I signed up for the showcase, a few coaches started to email me to introduce their schools and one in particular, Carnegie Mellon University, caught my attention because it is a top 20 US school. When I got there and played a few matches, I didn’t play so well because there were many talented players. When I got back to Hong Kong, I contacted the CMU coach again and he was very straightforward to say that he saw me playing and felt that I wasn’t competitive enough for his team. So, I guess what I’m trying to say is that, the experience is helpful if you’re a good player and can impress the coach. If not, at least you know where you stand and it’ll help you plan another back up strategy. One word of advice is that, prepare well for the Showcase. Don’t just show up and mess up.
The rest of the trip was fun because Benny took good care of us and showed us around many famous colleges. We also got to play on a few college campuses that Benny has connection with. It was a great experience and I had a lot of fun.