Mackenzie is making a lot of headway. She's close to getting offers from two schools in the ACC and one in the Ivy League. Still, one of the ACC coaches and the Ivy League coach have told Mackenzie that they need to see her play at least once more.

A few weeks ago, Mackenzie's club coach floated the idea about skipping the next high school season to play club instead. He knows where things stand with the colleges on her list and he told her that she's more likely to be seen by those coaches if she's playing club ball.

But here's the catch. Mackenzie really likes playing for her high school. She told me, "My high school team isn't as good as my club team, but I like playing in front of my friends and for my school."

In some circles, it's become conventional wisdom to say that playing club is hands down better than playing high school. The competition is better. The exposure is better. The ability to develop is better.

But what about the experience? What about what the player actually wants to do?

Always lost in the fray of the club vs. high school debate is the fact that playing for your high school, in some ways, is actually more like playing in college. When you play high school, you're playing for something concrete -- your school, your friends, the name on the front of your jersey. That's not too different an experience than playing in college, even though the level of play might vary.

It so happens that Mackenzie's high school season is at the same time as the college season. The college teams she's looking at have resources, but the odds are slim that they'll be able to come watch her in the middle of their season -- whether she ends up playing club or high school. The "added exposure" that she would get from playing another season of club isn't such a sure thing after all.

For some players, playing club and foregoing high school is the right decision. But for Mackenzie, who loves playing with her classmates, the right decision is to play for her high school. We'll see how that goes over with her club coach...