Nearly 50 CIAC girls high school basketball teams will participate in a showcase this weekend at Staples High School. The event helps local athletes get seen by college coaches.

Albertus Magnus College women's basketball head coach J.R. Fredette says it's a great opportunity for kids who aspire to play at the next level.

"It's their first year doing it and I think it's exactly what was missing in high school basketball besides the shot clock. Not every kid can play AAU, so this gives the kid an opportunity that normally just plays high school basketball to continue to play high school basketball during the summer, and if they don't want to play or say they play a different sport, it still gives them a chance to be recruited by schools that don't always travel where they go for AAU."

St. Joseph High girls' basketball coach Chris Lindwall helped put together the New England Shootout Showcase. He says every league in the state will be represented this weekend.

"We didn't think that would happen, but it did. We want to build this for the future, and we want to make it a great event so that they can show with their high school teams rather than their AAU teams and some kids will show better with their high school teams and be prepared for the situation at hand going into the recruiting process."

The event runs on Friday and Saturday.