baseballhs posted:The
joes87 posted:baseballhs posted:Not to hijack, but it kind of goes along with this. My son has been invited to several winter camps when he will be shutdown or just starting to throw again. Do coaches frown on him saying he is shutdown and can’t attend?
Here is how I am going to answer your question...
Are the camp invites general mass email camp invites? Or was your son personally invited (verbally) to the camp by the RC or HC?
If they are just general camp invites most likely they are general mass emails looking to make the school and the ACs some extra cash. My son handled these with a very quick reply back saying (paraphrased) "Thanks for the invite to your camp, but I have a conflict that weekend. Can you please keep me informed of your future camps. I have attached my athletic resume to this email. I also have setup a webpage with video clips of my pitching/fielding/hitting. You can check the videos at <link>". In general you are going to get one of three responses to this type of email...
1. Its ignored
2.A generic response back saying they will inform you when they have another camp.
3. A follow up email expressing more interest in the player. Generally a polite discussion where the coaches ask for grades, and a schedule or ask if you will be attending any other camps in the area. This is what you are shooting for as it moves you out of the mass email category and indicates they have interest in your son. This will open a line of communication with them which your son should keep open. Most likely at some point their schedule and your sons will cross paths and you can get in front of them at that point.
Now, if it is a personal invite you should already have a line of communication open with the coaches. There is no harm in telling them he is in a shut down period for his arm. The coaches understand that kids need to recuperate during the off season. Your son should also have a discussion with them as to how to find a time when your son is out of shutdown and is ready to throw for them. The school will let you know when they have additional camps as well as what other camps they will be attending, or if they will be able to come out and see your son.
The ones I was worried about were two he got last week that were the first contact. One direct messaged him through twitter after he got a spotlight from a Showcase, the other sent a letter giving him the PC cell number and inviting him. We had sent him video a few weeks ago.
BTW, what is your son's graduating year? If its 2018, then you may have no choice to attend a camp if they are interested in your son. If its a different year...
In that case I would have your son reach out to the contacts he has and have an honest discussion with them. No reason he could not let them know he is in a shutdown period and would not be at his best for their camp. Ask them if there will be other opportunities to get in front of them. If they are interested they will understand and let him know what he needs to do. Most coaches will respect the honesty. They may ask him to attend anyways and work with him as to what he does during the workouts. If they insist that he gets to one of these camps then you and your son will need to make some decisions.