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I believe that it depends on who you are as a player.  Do you truly have an asset that will make coaches over look the other 50 players at the showcase?  If you do then go.  If you are not that guy then don't get lost in the shuffle and waste money.  Go to camps at schools you realistically have a chance to play at.

When you go to camps make sure they are prospect camps and not skills camps. Some colleges will also invite lower level college baseball programs to their camps. They are schools they don't compete against for recruits. So if some attendees overshoot the target there are some lower targets to see them.

 

For example a local Big East (then) invited a couple of A10s and some D3s to their camps. The Big East school knew if they wanted the player they weren't going to have to compete with these schools for them.

 

The day I watched for a couple of hours there were 36 attendees (they ran 4 camps of 36 each). Only 4 had a shot at playing for the Big East program. So inviting other lesser college programs served 32 of the attendees well.

Last edited by RJM
Originally Posted by Smoltzie29:

sending you a PM, check dialog folder

I've noticed a pattern with your posts.  It seems the last 10 or more of your posts seem to be telling others you sent a PM.

 

Maybe others have the same questions or concerns, so if you have answers, how about sharing with the rest of us.  May be of help to others as well.

i think it also matters how old your son is. You may not know where he measures up nationally until you go to a national showcase.  

 

We were thinking for our 2016 that he would do showcases last summer and into the fall, but focus more on individual  prospect camps of schools that he is interested in next season. Does that make sense to most?

Originally Posted by Mizzoubaseball:

       
Originally Posted by Smoltzie29:

sending you a PM, check dialog folder

I've noticed a pattern with your posts.  It seems the last 10 or more of your posts seem to be telling others you sent a PM.

 

Maybe others have the same questions or concerns, so if you have answers, how about sharing with the rest of us.  May be of help to others as well.


       


I had an offline conversation with Smoltzie29 and am satisfied that her PM's are legitimate attempts to share her experiences in a constructive manner without going public with personal details.

Thanks to all for their concerns.

What worked for my son was sending introductory emails when he was a sophomore.  Plays in a lot of PG tourneys so several of these schools saw him pitch in those events.

 

Once they expressed some interest he attended their camp.  He attended 2 or 3.  I think attending the camp when they have already seen him play was the key for him.  From there the school he committed to came and saw him pitch a couple more times and then they made their offer.

 

I don't think my son got much traction from the PG showcase he attended.  To be fair he doesn't have a standout tool.  More of an acquired taste so to speak.  

College camps — Are usually there for coaches to take a look at specific players. If you receive a personal invite to a camp, or a phone call from the coach, you should go. If not, you're a face in the crowd and will really have to do something to stand out. 

 

Showcases — Are more for a college coach who is looking for a specific need. If you are not what that coach needs, you may not get a look unless you are truly eye popping in some way. Many coaches will also come into a showcase with a list of names of players they're there to take a look at. If you aren't on that list, again, you'll have a challenge getting attention

If I were to do it all over we would do things much differently. We were on competitive travel summer teams - attended 4 showcases (Stanford twice ) and lots of high profile tournaments with summer team. Spent lots of money - had fun - lots of good competition.

 

However, the only interest we got were from the 2 college camps we went to. My son is a good catcher - has respectable PG grade (7.5) - good pop time at 2.00 flat - strong hitter. However, he lacks any special standout skills (unless you include blocking which he excels at but hard to demonstrate in showcase setting). As most kids on his travel team(s) - they are good players but not exceptional - its very hard to stand out in showcases and high profile tournaments unless you possess and demonstrate these skills (hit bombs-high 80s plus velocity-super fast).

 

However, his primary interest from college coaches is from the 2 college camps he attended. They are both very interested. Both engineering schools - 1 D3 and 1 D2. Fact of the matter is we probably would have been better off focusing our efforts on engineering schools that offer his major and understand that engineering comes first - baseball 2nd. 

 

Kind of a catch 22 - playing the good competition helps but if your son has specific interest or specific school(s) he is interested in - then you have to go to their camps. 

This might help you.  Answer these questions.  What is his grade and GPA?   ACT? SAT?

 

Have you had son evaluated by someone who will be honest with you?  What type of student is he? What does he want to study?  How far  away is he willing  to move?  Jr's will move  anywhere, but Sr's all the sudden  want to stay closer  

 

Honestly, they all exist to make money. College camps are worse at it than showcases. In my opinion if your player has the tools, they will find him and start communication.  If not don't feel like it's over far from it.  If you get college camp invites have son contact coach ( given he's old enough) and ask the coach if they have any needs in the coming season for his position.  If they do then tell the coach that you are interested in coming to his camp , and would like to know if other schools will be there....  You can get a feel for interest and no interest.  If you are not sure, then the answer is no interest.

 

Showcases are better in my opinion, more schools and different levels but you better stand out.

 

2013 had to beat the bushes a little, 2014 was on the 1# WWBA  PG team....scouts and recruiters follow that team all over the southeast. 

Last edited by bacdorslider
Some times the camp depends on the recruiting budget of the school or level. Using my sons school as an example, I know they find at least a couple of recruits from their camp each year. But they do not invite athletes they have already identified as recruits. When they were recruiting my son, they never mentioned their camp. We found out about it from a friend.  My son asked him about it and they discouraged him from going. Their rational is they had already seen him and the camp was more about finding kids that they had not seen.
My sons school is a small D3 and this was another tool.

Here's a story for you to consider.  when 2014 was a jr he went on a visit to an OVC school.  The head coach was showing us the locker room and then we walked from the locker room down a hallway and on to the field.  when the door opened to the field they were having a  camp.... It did not take long for the campers to realize what had just happened.....

 

Just do your homework prior to attending the camps.....

As I mentioned above I watched a college program's camp for a few hours. There only appeared to be four players in attendance qualified to play at this D1 program. Some of the existing players were in attendance helping with the showcase when needed. I walked over to one I knew and mentioned there only seemed to be four players to consider from the group of thirty-six. The player agreed with me. He said it's what their circle was just discussing. He asked which four I thought were the prospects. I had it right. Then he mentioned those four players were all originally seen at Perfect Game and were invited to the camp as part of a visit.

 

Every player had decent foot speed, quickness, hands and arms. What separated them was bat speed. The difference was visible.

Last edited by RJM
Originally Posted by Clipper '17:

In terms of recruiting, will Showcases(more expensive) or College Camps(less expensive) be more useful for exposure? I do have a money limit, so I'm not sure if I should bank on a big showcase vs multiple camps. Thoughts please


My two cents....This is one of the most asked questions on HSBBWeb, and the answer depends on who is asking it and what schools they are targeting.  It really is a catch-22 situation for a lot of people.  In my experience, you have to try both showcases and camps to get a sense of where your son may fit and the college baseball marketplace.  It isn't going to be one or the other, it is going to be both.

 

Also keep in mind there are different kinds of showcases.  We found the most success with an academic showcase and followed it up with a prospect camp.  In hindsight, the academic showcase makes perfect sense because my son is academically focused.  So, why didn't we just do this from the get-go?  Answer: because we didn't know better and we were focused in another direction.  There is no question in my mind we could have saved ourselves a lot of time, money, and angst but this is one of those things you really have to do for yourself to know what is possible.  We were constantly refining how we did things, reaching out to new coaches, and re-discovering what was out there.  In the end, we found the right situation for my son and we got to consider some great options from some great schools.   

 

So, I think there is a chance you lose something trying to cut corners.  Knowing what your son wants and is capable of is the first place to start.  Then researching the heck out of it and trying various events, you'll eventually find the right path by reading, trial and error, conversations with travel coaches, feedback from recruiters and HSBBWeb.  I know it doesn't sound very scientific, but it is JMO.

 

Good luck!

Originally Posted by jhelbling:

If I were to do it all over we would do things much differently. We were on competitive travel summer teams - attended 4 showcases (Stanford twice ) and lots of high profile tournaments with summer team. Spent lots of money - had fun - lots of good competition.

 

However, the only interest we got were from the 2 college camps we went to. My son is a good catcher - has respectable PG grade (7.5) - good pop time at 2.00 flat - strong hitter. However, he lacks any special standout skills (unless you include blocking which he excels at but hard to demonstrate in showcase setting). As most kids on his travel team(s) - they are good players but not exceptional - its very hard to stand out in showcases and high profile tournaments unless you possess and demonstrate these skills (hit bombs-high 80s plus velocity-super fast).

 

However, his primary interest from college coaches is from the 2 college camps he attended. They are both very interested. Both engineering schools - 1 D3 and 1 D2. Fact of the matter is we probably would have been better off focusing our efforts on engineering schools that offer his major and understand that engineering comes first - baseball 2nd. 

 

Kind of a catch 22 - playing the good competition helps but if your son has specific interest or specific school(s) he is interested in - then you have to go to their camps. 

Hi Jhelbling, If I may ask which D2 and D3 engineering colleges you mentioned here, because my son is very interested in engineering colleges too (May I PM you?).

Originally Posted by jhelbling:

 

However, his primary interest from college coaches is from the 2 college camps he attended. They are both very interested. Both engineering schools - 1 D3 and 1 D2. Fact of the matter is we probably would have been better off focusing our efforts on engineering schools that offer his major and understand that engineering comes first - baseball 2nd. 

 


jhelbing,

 

Speaking as the father of two engineers who aspired to play college baseball that is an excellent idea & insight.  We had a lot of trial and error initially, until we did exactly what you suggested.  Once we focused on high academic & Engineering, our college baseball recruiting exerience became a totally different ballgame (pun intended).

 

Good luck!

This is refreshing to hear. DPBpitcher- my son is in the same position. Great catcher and above average bat but hardly any looks so it got me thinking, is a high profile "showcase" team that plays a lot of events VA and south. My son still doesn't know where he wants to go or what he wants for a career. What he does know is that big, large population school are not his thing and he would line to stay reasonably close to home. My son didn't have as much fun this summer bc of the attitude that kids had that winning was secondary to looking good and that the Team was secondary to the individual player. We will be focusing our efforts to where he realistically fits in.

Any PA guys on here know of good summer teams that play primarily around PSAC colleges? He will be going to a tryout for Flood City Elite this weekend and next weekend going to a Millersville camp. Any advice beyond that would be welcomed.

 Single college camp your net is very narrow... if you dont pass the eye test of that school

you might hear from them anymore..

 If you go to a showcase you throw a wide net out to many schools that might get you pass the eye test...

Go to a school on your wish list and go to a showcase to cover it all...but dont over do it 

you will have to take out a baseball camp loan from the bank...

Good luck...

Originally Posted by PA2016Backstopdad:
Any PA guys on here know of good summer teams that play primarily around PSAC colleges? He will be going to a tryout for Flood City Elite this weekend and next weekend going to a Millersville camp. Any advice beyond that would be welcomed.

Have you looked at the Keystone State Bombers (formerly B2B, I think). I don't have first-hand information, but they seem to have a fair number kids going on to PSAC schools. I think they're somehow connected to Prep Baseball Report in PA.

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