In the stands, college coaches wearing school logos jot notes into leather-bound notepads as they scout the play. The colors of Oregon, Oregon State, Idaho, Idaho State, Fresno State, California-Irvine, Wyoming and Eastern Washington form a collegiate rainbow. Annual summer tournaments like this are where high-school girls audition for scholarships. It's the cattle call.
Resumes sit in piles atop a picnic table.
An 18-page resume, bound in plastic, belongs to a junior from Palmer, Alaska. It includes two reference letters and several photocopied newspaper clippings and photos. Rachelle Gardner, an assistant coach at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, says college coaches spend less time evaluating talent at high-school games and more at the AAU summer tournaments, where they can see 40 or 50 teams. Except for foreign players, Gardner could not recall recruiting anyone who has not participated in select teams. Forty-four teams from five states and two Canadian provinces play 145 games over five days.