Agree with what you guys have said, and now that we've been to a few big academic camps like Stanford, AZ Fall Classic, and Headfirst... we've learned it's mostly about the P's and C's! Coaches are trying to build a recruiting roster around these guys first, then they'll get to the position players.
Knowing this and given my son is a SS, I would have managed the showcases and camps a bit differently. I would have incorporated more individual camps the rising junior summer prior to going to the HF Jupiter Camp in November.
If I had an 8th or 9th grader, I'd be focused on the best travel team possible where I can start and ensuring that the travel team plays at a few of the big tournaments where college coaches like to attend (PG World Series, PG WWBA, PG BCS, Nashville Music City).