Story time…
It will soon be announced Gentry Curtis made the Apex Showcase - A showcase for the best 2026’s across the nation.
An incredible accomplishment, and a giant step in the right direction to putting his recruitment on the right trajectory.
What did this take?
Gentry’s commitment to the First Class Lacrosse Trainings
Gentry’s commitment to the weight room
Gentry’s intangibles of desire, persistence, coachability, leadership, and many other great qualities.
But none of this is possible without one more item…
Gentry’s father's commitment to filming practices and games.
Filming practices + coaching + him taking that coaching and executing + first class lacrosse + weight room expedited the learning process to become a lacrosse player that college coaches and event evaluators seek out.
Combine all the above with the fact Gentry took the blow of not making Project Midwest and said, “what can I do about it?”
So the Curtis’s reached out to me and said what should we do.
I advised them to create a highlight tape.
They had no idea how to do this.
I told him to take the gamefilm he had, and timestamp/cut up clips of what you think are his highlights.
He sent me about 40 clips, and I whittled it down to the highlights that wow college coaches.
(The highlights that wow college coaches are the simple plays done really well BTW)
Then, he had his highlight tape.
But it’s not about having a highlight tape, it’s about what you do with that highlight tape.
How are you going to distribute it?
How are you going to get it in front of the people it needs to be in front of?
“I’ll post it on the insta-toks, and everyone in America will see it!!!” (sarcasm font)
Wrong little timmy.
You should post it on instagram, twitter, put the links in your bio, do all of that, and Project KC insta will post it too…
But that’s leaving everything up to luck.
You need to drive it in front of the right eyes.
You need to market it.
And all it takes is one view to change your recruiting trajectory.
Literally. One. view.
Matter of fact, 25 seconds….
And now, when Project Midwest teams are being formed, I can speak on Gentry’s behalf and say, “Gentry made Apex”
That carries weight.
And I’m not nostradamus, but now I’m willing to bet - Gentry will soon be on Project Midwest.
(Post update - he made Project Midwest)
So soon, when Gentry comes of age, he will begin to email college coaches instead of showcase directors.
And when sending an introductory email to a college coach, your job is to show two things:
How you can help their program
Why you want to attend their school
And in 2 years when you say…
Dear Coach Murphy,
My name is Gentry Curtis and I am a Midifeld/Faceoff guy from Rockhurst High School. I play club lacrosse for Project KC, Project Missouri State, and Project Midwest. I have been starting at my high school for X years, and I was voted captain my junior year. Since my freshman year, I’ve learned to love the grind of the weight room. I’m 5’11, 185 LBS, squat 285, power clean 275, and bench 225. Lastly, I played in the Apex National Showcase during X, Y, and Z years.
I want to attend Penn State for its success on the field and in the classroom. When I think of Penn State, I think of the white-out game where the entire community comes together to show their support for their favorite team. The white-out game is the most intimidating environment to play in and it symbolizes the strength of the athletics and community at Penn State. Playing in state championships for lacrosse taught me that winning is one of the best feelings, so I want to go to a program that competes for a National Title every year. I also understand that Penn State has a very talented roster, so I will have to compete and work hard every day to help contribute on the field. I love that PSU has a student:faculty ratio of 14 to 1, which is great because I have great relationships with my professors, and I want to continue that in college since I feel it directly helped me achieve a 3.98 GPA. In college, I plan on studying business administration with a concentration in finance, so The Smeal College of Business is a great fit for my major as well!
If you're interested and at your convenience, I'd love to schedule a phone call with you and learn more about your program!
Below is a link to my highlight tape.
And when Gentry sends that email out to 50 colleges, you bet he’s going to get recruited.
What I just gave you is the recruiting process in a nutshell.
It’s the recruiting process I’ve learned by recruiting hundreds of kids each year for the past 7 years, and the recruiting process I’ve taught Team KC kids for the past 5 years.
There’s more to it, like when Jacob Schreck needed more money from Queens to commit there, and I told him the exact plan to use to get him more money…
He got the money in 2 days BTW.
So now the question becomes how can Project KC do this for you?
Well here's what we’re doing…
We’re building out the infrastructure for everyone to succeed.
First, I’ve bought hudl - the industry leading sports platform to host videos.
We’re going to use this for 2 reasons:
So we can coach you to the best of our abilities and teach you to play how college coaches and showcase evaluators want you to play. This style of play will also help you achieve your high school goals.
It’s EXTREMELY EASY to cut up highlight tapes for yourself.
Second, none of this happens without the backyard work, and we’ve given you First Class lacrosse training for you to do on your own.
Third- we built out Team KC private trainers, so if you want expert led training, you have that option as well.
Finally, get your mind in the Project KC X's and O's. A commitment to understanding lacrosse and how it's played at the best of levels (and how we play at Project KC) will put you in position to stand out and make those amazing plays.
Cheers,
Coach Surf