Hi all,
Just saw the 2017 Stanford Camp dates and thought I'd post.
Original Post
Replies sorted oldest to newest
Look like camp price increased to match Headfirst, but include lodging and meals and 3 days. (And no telling if Headfirst will increase their price by $200.)
When did they release the coach list last year?
When would be the best year to go: Summer after Freshman, Sophomore, or Junior year?
Go when the player has something to showcase. Something are the baseball tools that coaches are looking for and that stand out, e.g., running speed, throwing velocity, bat speed, pop time, etc. The time to do that varies by player.
AND go if the schools on the player's vetted list of colleges will be there.
Big Taco posted:When would be the best year to go: Summer after Freshman, Sophomore, or Junior year?
Summer after Soph & Jr year
Gov posted:Hi all,
Just saw the 2017 Stanford Camp dates and thought I'd post.
Sign up ASAP . This camp fills up FAST . Most spots are gone by February 1
Gov posted:Hi all,
Just saw the 2017 Stanford Camp dates and thought I'd post.
Hands down the Best academic showcase in the Country. It's a MUST DO for all 3.4 + GPA guys that are serious about playing NCAA Baseball
StrainedOblique posted:Gov posted:Hi all,
Just saw the 2017 Stanford Camp dates and thought I'd post.
Hands down the Best academic showcase in the Country. It's a MUST DO for all 3.4 + GPA guys that are serious about playing NCAA Baseball
+1
PS: And though Coach Stotz is no longer a Stanford coach, I see he's still running this event. So it should still be great.
Registration doesn't open until December 31, 9pm PST.
Truman posted:StrainedOblique posted:Gov posted:Hi all,
Just saw the 2017 Stanford Camp dates and thought I'd post.
Hands down the Best academic showcase in the Country. It's a MUST DO for all 3.4 + GPA guys that are serious about playing NCAA Baseball
+1
PS: And though Coach Stotz is no longer a Stanford coach, I see he's still running this event. So it should still be great.
Exactly. Stotz is a legend. He runs the best college showcase camp in the country. Dude wrote the book!
Going to provide a little devil's advocate advice here...Stanford was NOT as good this past summer as past. Too many mistakes/too much down time, poor management of scheduling and really awful issues with videos and their "report cards."
The camp is still nevertheless at Stanford and fun for boys to stay in the dorms and play (one game) at Sunken Diamond. And lots of coaches from a variety -- NOT JUST high academic -- colleges attend (from JUCO to high powered D1 to Ivy to D3 of all levels).
However a few issues: Numerous people received wrong rating/videos that did not work etc and these issues were never solved or resolved. In other words, wrong info was shared with the coaches there. This is NOT an isolated incident of one kid, it was numerous as we knew many people there and ran into more along the rest of the recruiting summer showcase schedule. My own 2017 received the stats from his previous year, completely different. Another 2018 good friend had a videos that never worked, same with a 2017 later offered from an Ivy at the end of the summer who had no video and for some reason the hit tracking was never measured either although he did the BP/hitting drills. Another 2017 received a rating that was like "you should never play baseball" despite the fact he already had offers, and did very well at the camp so it had to be a mistake. And on and on.
Another issue which has been discussed on this forum, the schedule at Sunken Diamond. One game of the 3 played. Who pitches there has a huge advantage as most coaches just stay there to watch games. PLUS the scheduling of pitching is just poor. You check in and don't do much that Sunday. Year before the schedule was given for pitching that Sunday night. Not last year. Instead, many guys had a THREE hour practice with their coach who they are trying to make a first impression on and THEN found out the pitching schedule. Friend scheduled to pitch immediately after that 3 hour practice and had ZERO time to inform the coaches who wanted to see him pitch, and to boot, it was way way off site. The kid was dead tired and still did well, but the stats from his game were reported incorrectly, and kids from the other team were the ones holding the radar gun used for the official velocity. Really? How hard is it to have a preliminary pitching schedule IN ADVANCE?! How hard is to have a COACH be in charge of the radar gun (there are several coaches assigned at each field, including one to evaluate pitchers)? And how hard is it to keep accurate stats? It was a mess.
Stotz, when emailed by parents, copies the emails to coaches without telling parents their email will be shared -- which is so unbelievably inappropriate. He also made some really awful comments about the weight of certain coaches (anyone on the recruiting road will know there are a few coaches at almost everything and this one guy from one of the most well known universities on the planet was told to stop eating so many twinkies in front of everyone, comments about the girls in bathing suits at certain schools, about finding a beautiful wife, and lots of just politically incorrect good old boy comments. There were even a few dads with dropped jaws.
I don't mean to malign the camp. We loved it two years ago. Last year was markedly different.
I've written about our experiences at the Future Stars Camp and All Star Camp before. Both my boys did these camps and enjoyed them a lot.
I will agree with TWOBOYS that the experience has changed over time, and not for the better IMHO.
Kids will love this camp. The hat, the jersey, the photo on the Jumbotron, batting / playing on the sunken diamond, living in the dorms, etc. It's pretty fun for them and my guys really had a good time. Coach Stotz is a hoot...I really like the guy.
That said, I do not believe this is the best high academic camp for exposure to the most college coaches of D1 and D3 high academic schools. As noted above, the list is diverse from JuCo through D1 at Stanford. One of my guys had the Kansas coach as his team coach. Another had Butte JuCo. Those may be fine schools, but they are not high academic as defined by a Headfirst or Showball or me for that matter, and they weren't on my boys' high academic schools lists.
When the structure was Future Stars and All Stars, mostly rising Sophs and rising Juniors did Future Stars. Mostly rising Seniors (and some rising Juniors) did All Stars. I felt the camps were more focused to those audiences and the college coaches attended accordingly. The camps are now open for all age groups.
Showcasing for high school players is about exposure to the coaches on their vetted lists. It's not about random chance... "I hope somebody sees me and likes me". While that's possible, IMO, fishing in the right pond is important.
At $950 for the camp, it is now very expensive and similar in price but not experience to HF...again IMO. HF has more high academic D1 and D3 coaches...at HF Long Island there were over 100 schools represented and all were four year, high through highest academic. Access to those coaches is concentrated on two fields (Sacramento) or four (NY and FL) fields that are adjacent. And access to coaches is overtly encouraged at HF. At Stanford, games are played throughout fields around Palo Alto. Other than the Sunken Diamond game, we found at most a half dozen coaches at the high school game locations across several days of play.
If the coaches on a player's vetted list will be at the Stanford Camp, then this camp should be an option in the context of exposure to those coaches. If the coaches on a player's vetted list are not at Stanford, a family with the time and money could still choose to send their player. The kids will have a great time! I'm not sure that's the best use of limited time and money for recruiting, but that's an individual decision.
PG National Academic, Showball, Headfirst, Stanford, et.al., should all be given careful consideration in the context of exposure to the schools on your player's vetted (academically and athletically) list. For third party assessment, none is better than PG in my opinion. Their rating is sound and can be shared with all the coaches on your player's list. For direct exposure to the largest set of high academic coaches, we found HF to be the best. Again, just my opinion.
I concur with Twoboys and Branson. 2017 went to Future Stars in 2015 and All Star 1 last summer. A lot of fun but questionable results last year. 2015 was great. Last summer, though, videos were a mess, times incorrect on measurables, contact with coaches far less than HF. Started to request corrections on videos but first request was misunderstood and I decided not to follow up because my own clips were far better than what Stanford provided (of the ones that worked).
I wrote Stotz about which coaches will be there next summer, and he wrote back and said the 2016 list would be "85-90% correct." Ah, but which 85-90%? With three camps over 9 days, I'm not sure how many coaches will stay for all three of the contiguous sessions. I will be very surprised if the list of coaches is available before registration starts and the camps are full.
It does look like two of the three games now offered will be at Sunken Diamond, but that is just my opinion based on the reduced # of teams being formed per camp.
Would it make sense for a 2019 to attend this year or wait til next year? We are on East Coast, so not a quick, cheap trip in addition to the camp fee. Expensive proposition and thinking there may be more affordable, closer high academic options. 2019's PSAT's were in the National Merit Semifinalist range and he's interested in engineering. Thanks - love the info sharing on this board!
2019&21 Dad posted:Would it make sense for a 2019 to attend this year or wait til next year? We are on East Coast, so not a quick, cheap trip in addition to the camp fee. Expensive proposition and thinking there may be more affordable, closer high academic options. 2019's PSAT's were in the National Merit Semifinalist range and he's interested in engineering. Thanks - love the info sharing on this board!
EDIT: Yes I think it would. My 2018 did the Stanford All Star Camp II the past July as a rising junior. It was a terrific experience for my son; he received valuable feedback from a number of coaches who were on his target list. He's now played in front of those same coaches twice since the Stanford camp (AZ Fall Junior Classic & HF Jupiter). It's been a nice positioning opportunity.
It's a showcase/camp where having a big measurable will enable your son to standout. Even if money is not an object to go the Stanford Camp, get your 2019's measurables bench marked and get him stronger and faster over the next several months. You want your son to have the chance to leave a positive impression with coaches he meets who are on his target list. Prepare....
Gov, thanks for posting.
The flyer seems to be all for "All-Star Camp" . . . what is or was "Future Stars"?
Future Stars was the name of the camp Stanford used to have for rising sophs and jrs. Now they've mixed everyone together (rising sophs, rising jrs, rising srs) into 4 smaller camps of three days each. (14 teams per camp, approx 16 players per team, about 225 kids per camp). We really liked Future Stars when my 2017 went in 2015. Trying to decide now whether my own 2019 should go next summer or not. Our decision will NOT be about the new age groupings; it will be whether the boy has something to show or not.
2019&21 Dad posted:Would it make sense for a 2019 to attend this year or wait til next year? We are on East Coast, so not a quick, cheap trip in addition to the camp fee. Expensive proposition and thinking there may be more affordable, closer high academic options. 2019's PSAT's were in the National Merit Semifinalist range and he's interested in engineering. Thanks - love the info sharing on this board!
Gonna disagree, very mildly, with Gov. It really depends on the player and the family's situation. Stanford is a great experience, and you can't have too many of those, but compared to HeadFirst, you don't get as a many eyes on a kid at Stanford. It sounds like your son is an elite student. If he's an elite player as well, you're going to want to get him in front of Ivies, Patriots, and maybe above. You can get in front of those without the expense of a CA trip if that's an issue. If he's more likely to be a D3 type player, then you should hold off a year anyway. D3's pay little attention to players until the summer before their senior year.
Just one opinion....
JCG posted:2019&21 Dad posted:Would it make sense for a 2019 to attend this year or wait til next year? We are on East Coast, so not a quick, cheap trip in addition to the camp fee. Expensive proposition and thinking there may be more affordable, closer high academic options. 2019's PSAT's were in the National Merit Semifinalist range and he's interested in engineering. Thanks - love the info sharing on this board!
Gonna disagree, very mildly, with Gov. It really depends on the player and the family's situation. Stanford is a great experience, and you can't have too many of those, but compared to HeadFirst, you don't get as a many eyes on a kid at Stanford. It sounds like your son is an elite student. If he's an elite player as well, you're going to want to get him in front of Ivies, Patriots, and maybe above. You can get in front of those without the expense of a CA trip if that's an issue. If he's more likely to be a D3 type player, then you should hold off a year anyway. D3's pay little attention to players until the summer before their senior year.
Just one opinion....
Good perspective and excellent point about D3's.
JCG posted:2019&21 Dad posted:Would it make sense for a 2019 to attend this year or wait til next year? We are on East Coast, so not a quick, cheap trip in addition to the camp fee. Expensive proposition and thinking there may be more affordable, closer high academic options. 2019's PSAT's were in the National Merit Semifinalist range and he's interested in engineering. Thanks - love the info sharing on this board!
Gonna disagree, very mildly, with Gov. It really depends on the player and the family's situation. Stanford is a great experience, and you can't have too many of those, but compared to HeadFirst, you don't get as a many eyes on a kid at Stanford. It sounds like your son is an elite student. If he's an elite player as well, you're going to want to get him in front of Ivies, Patriots, and maybe above. You can get in front of those without the expense of a CA trip if that's an issue. If he's more likely to be a D3 type player, then you should hold off a year anyway. D3's pay little attention to players until the summer before their senior year.
Just one opinion....
If you, and I hope others will chime in, had to do it all over again, and you KNEW your kid was a D3 level player, would you be willing to roll the dice, wait until the summer before senior year, and attend only ONE event where you knew there would be an excellent variety of D3 choices?
(I do not mean this as a challenge. I'm being sincere: Could one camp/showcase be enough?)
Wasn't there a recent post by a Seattle boy saying that he only went to one event (the NY Headfirst) and got a couple offers? I think there's another member (NEinmyblood) who's son attend just one event (FL Headfirst) and got 4-5 offers. These guys saved thousands of dollars and probably ended up in their "dream school" anyway (i.e. baseball + academics + merit aid)
Yes, I think you're right....had slipped my mind.
smokeminside posted:JCG posted:2019&21 Dad posted:Would it make sense for a 2019 to attend this year or wait til next year? We are on East Coast, so not a quick, cheap trip in addition to the camp fee. Expensive proposition and thinking there may be more affordable, closer high academic options. 2019's PSAT's were in the National Merit Semifinalist range and he's interested in engineering. Thanks - love the info sharing on this board!
Gonna disagree, very mildly, with Gov. It really depends on the player and the family's situation. Stanford is a great experience, and you can't have too many of those, but compared to HeadFirst, you don't get as a many eyes on a kid at Stanford. It sounds like your son is an elite student. If he's an elite player as well, you're going to want to get him in front of Ivies, Patriots, and maybe above. You can get in front of those without the expense of a CA trip if that's an issue. If he's more likely to be a D3 type player, then you should hold off a year anyway. D3's pay little attention to players until the summer before their senior year.
Just one opinion....
If you, and I hope others will chime in, had to do it all over again, and you KNEW your kid was a D3 level player, would you be willing to roll the dice, wait until the summer before senior year, and attend only ONE event where you knew there would be an excellent variety of D3 choices?
(I do not mean this as a challenge. I'm being sincere: Could one camp/showcase be enough?)
No, one camp is not enough. If your son is serious about D3 ball & academically solid I would suggest Headfirst. But I would not solely rely on one showcase.
-What if he has a bad day and doesn't show well? There's a bit of luck needed in getting offered a roster spot. More times than not kid has to have ' a day ' in front of the right school.
- Some players are ' an acquired taste' meaning coaches need to see them a few times.
- I also highly recommend 'targeting ' specific schools. Have your son pick 3-4 D3 programs he believes he can play at , then attend on campus baseball camps
-Good luck
Gov posted:JCG posted:2019&21 Dad posted:Would it make sense for a 2019 to attend this year or wait til next year? We are on East Coast, so not a quick, cheap trip in addition to the camp fee. Expensive proposition and thinking there may be more affordable, closer high academic options. 2019's PSAT's were in the National Merit Semifinalist range and he's interested in engineering. Thanks - love the info sharing on this board!
Gonna disagree, very mildly, with Gov. It really depends on the player and the family's situation. Stanford is a great experience, and you can't have too many of those, but compared to HeadFirst, you don't get as a many eyes on a kid at Stanford. It sounds like your son is an elite student. If he's an elite player as well, you're going to want to get him in front of Ivies, Patriots, and maybe above. You can get in front of those without the expense of a CA trip if that's an issue. If he's more likely to be a D3 type player, then you should hold off a year anyway. D3's pay little attention to players until the summer before their senior year.
Just one opinion....
Good perspective and excellent point about D3's.
I agree w/ GOV's original post. But would add that headfirst is more D3 based. Stanford more D1 and a mix.
My son attended Stanford Camp as a rising JR ( summer after sophomore year ) . Clearly, the best event I ever paid for. He received a dozen ' Nov 1 ' letters / emails as a result. And he caught the eye of an Ivy. The Ivy RC phoned / texted him bi- weekly thru Jr season. He ALMOST committed there. But ended up committing to a D1 in the south.
The thing w/ Stanford and Coach Stotz is that they were the First to do this. Stanford camp is approximately 30 years old! And the integrity and reputation that go with that and the recruiting cycle are priceless
Thank you. All great feedback. Most of all, he wants to go to a school where he would be happy if baseball wasn't a part of the experience. He would certainly like to play ball in college, but it doesn't HAVE to be D1. I think the best advice I've heard from multiple sources is to go where you will play and be celebrated, not tolerated at the best academic fit to prepare you for life after baseball. 4 vs. 40. I know there's a lot of work ahead to try to navigate that journey, but we'll try to enjoy the journey along the way. Thanks again!
Great thread. Thanks for the input. I'm in California, so the logistics aren't bad, although $950 is a lot of money. As far as timing, I'm sort of with Smokeminside ("whether the boy has something to show").
With respect to Headfirst, any thoughts regarding the event in NY vs. the one in California? Are they pretty much the same? Anyone been to both?
Great advice here, and good to hear Stanford camp is changing -- though it was less about the format and more about the actual camp and results which were a problem last year. With all due respect, anyone who attended prior to 2016 probably had a solid experience (including us) but 2016 was not worth it and Coach Stotz should probably not be in charge anymore in my opinion. It was not a great reflection of the school (registration took hours and then they took a 2 hour break, some kids had to wait around all Sunday with no food, no videos or of the wrong kid, wrong ratings, very inappropriate remarks and emails, etc. most recounted above).
Have not been to both HF, just HF NY twice. They also used to be the gold standard but there are other options too. PTW, Showball, Rising Prospects and others. If I could back in time we would have tried one of these others.
2019DAD,
Fellow Cali family who've been to HF Jupiter, Long Island, and Sacramento. Boys have also done the Stanford Camps. I'm now broke...
Comment made above that HF is more D3 than D1 focused than Stanford. I respectfully disagree. HF has more schools overall and more high and highest academic schools than the Stanford camp. I would say the camps had similar academic D1 schools, but HF has a deeper pool of high and highest academic D3s. HF publishes their attending schools by camp (Stanford was there at HF too) and Coach Stotz will typically send a list of schools if you ask him for Stanford. I encourage families to compare and contrast lists and to attend the camp(s) that best suit their player.
HF Long Island has a huge number of college coaches attending. 99% of these will be highest academic (e.g., Ivys, Patriot, Duke, Northwestern, Davidson, NESCAC, Top Centennials, et.al.) and high academic (e.g., SAA conference schools, other Centennial schools, Northeastern, Richmond, W&M, CTCL.org schools, et.al.). Typically there will be ~100 colleges represented per session and all will be at the four contiguous fields.
HF Sac was less attended than HF NY, but IMO, the timing is ideal for a rising Senior player to be seen in June by the schools on his list, and then again in August, i.e., my 2016 did both HF camps.
HF Jupiter is ideal, again IMO, for a high school Junior to be seen initially by his schools. The timing in late Oct / early Nov is a little late for Seniors seeking D1, but ok for D3 bound Seniors and great for a Junior if they are ready to be seen. HF Jupiter is also less attended than HF Long Island.
Branson Baseball posted:2019DAD,
Fellow Cali family who've been to HF Jupiter, Long Island, and Sacramento. Boys have also done the Stanford Camps. I'm now broke...
Comment made above that HF is more D3 than D1 focused than Stanford. I respectfully disagree. HF has more schools overall and more high and highest academic schools than the Stanford camp. I would say the camps had similar academic D1 schools, but HF has a deeper pool of high and highest academic D3s. HF publishes their attending schools by camp (Stanford was there at HF too) and Coach Stotz will typically send a list of schools if you ask him for Stanford. I encourage families to compare and contrast lists and to attend the camp(s) that best suit their player.
HF Long Island has a huge number of college coaches attending. 99% of these will be highest academic (e.g., Ivys, Patriot, Duke, Northwestern, Davidson, NESCAC, Top Centennials, et.al.) and high academic (e.g., SAA conference schools, other Centennial schools, Northeastern, Richmond, W&M, CTCL.org schools, et.al.). Typically there will be ~100 colleges represented per session and all will be at the four contiguous fields.
HF Sac was less attended than HF NY, but IMO, the timing is ideal for a rising Senior player to be seen in June by the schools on his list, and then again in August, i.e., my 2016 did both HF camps.
HF Jupiter is ideal, again IMO, for a high school Junior to be seen initially by his schools. The timing in late Oct / early Nov is a little late for Seniors seeking D1, but ok for D3 bound Seniors and great for a Junior if they are ready to be seen. HF Jupiter is also less attended than HF Long Island.
Branson,
How did it work out for your son doing both HF Sac and HF Long Island?
Both my 2012 and my 2016 did HF Jupiter as HS Juniors.
Both had their initial college lists together and had messaged coaches prior to the event. Met many of them there. Jupiter really clarified what schools should be on their lists and which should come off.
Both guys used HS Junior Spring to communicate with coaches on their revised lists. We also visited a number of colleges over breaks when schedules would allow.
2016 did HF Sac and LI; 2012 LI only (I regret not doing Sac too with him...he did Stanford All Star).
Many of 2016's schools were at HF Sac and he met with about 20 coaches there as a rising Senior. Once he did HF LI his vetted list was much shorter and very focused. Some of his schools were at LI only. He ended up with about a dozen D3 Spring roster spot offers and narrowed that list to seven schools when it came time to apply in the Fall (one ED, the rest EA or RD).
IMO, being seen a couple times by the schools on his vetted list was very helpful. And he was able to have at least a couple meaningful, in person conversations with many of the coaches of schools on his list.
My 2017's yield wasn't as impressive as Branson's but almost the same pattern worked for us. I'm just not sure about Jupiter for my 2019's jr. year, but I REALLY like the idea of HF Sac and HF LI during summer before sr. year. Expensive, but seems ideal. Love the HF Sac player/coach ratio, and love HF LI for the huge selection of schools present. Would be willing to substitute Showball or another reputable event if the right coaches were there.
Also intrigued by PG as an option, but not sure my kids' skills are at the level that event seems to be suited for. It's not a program folks in our neck of the woods flock to, but am impressed with its objective measurables.
I'm considering the "Branson" approach as well for my 2018 next summer.
Regarding PG, Smoke, I think your referring to the PG Academic Showcase? It's held twice a year I think, and I've heard most of the Ivy's and a number of other top D1 academics attend. We haven't been, but that's what I've been told. Curious if anybody knows differently.
Sorry for posting one more time.
2012 son did PG National Academic in Florida. Very well run event. Only challenge is the timing which has varied year to year...Late May or early June date can be a challenge if your son is still in school / finals.
Not a lot of coaches attended and they aren't / weren't published in advance. But PG's rating system is respected nationally so sharing the player's rating works for every coach my guys contacted.
IMO, if your player will rate strongly, this is a must do. All coaches will value PG's analysis. If your player is a 7.0 or 7.5, then I'd spend my time and money having your son seen directly by the coaches on his list at a HF or Showball or wherever his schools will be and not do PG. Just my opinion.
I would like to figure out whether my player is a 7.0, or any other #, to determine if he should attend a PG event. Is it as simple as looking at the tests a player undergoes (exit speed, 60 time, inf velocity, outfield velocity) and comparing those scores to what one may find on the PG site?
Smokeminside,
I'm not an authority on this subject, but because no one else has responded to your question, I'm going to repeat what I've read on here (and have observed first hand over the last few years):
Yes, figure out where he is now, and compare to those his age (or older players scores when they were his age). If he has something to showcase - 60 time below 7.0, or velo that is in the top 20 - 25% of those his age, for example - then he'll likely get a good grade and it might be time to go to a PG showcase. It is a lot easier to compare these days since PG added the dates on which the scores were measured for the individual players. But don't rely entirely on a comparison between your son and one you find on PG. If your son looks like a grown man (beard and all) at 15.0 yo, but is throwing the same velo as a prepubescent kid who is 6'2" and weighs 150, it's likely he won't get the same grade due to projectability factors.
MomLW posted:Smokeminside,
I'm not an authority on this subject, but because no one else has responded to your question, I'm going to repeat what I've read on here (and have observed first hand over the last few years):
Yes, figure out where he is now, and compare to those his age (or older players scores when they were his age). If he has something to showcase - 60 time below 7.0, or velo that is in the top 20 - 25% of those his age, for example - then he'll likely get a good grade and it might be time to go to a PG showcase. It is a lot easier to compare these days since PG added the dates on which the scores were measured for the individual players. But don't rely entirely on a comparison between your son and one you find on PG. If your son looks like a grown man (beard and all) at 15.0 yo, but is throwing the same velo as a prepubescent kid who is 6'2" and weighs 150, it's likely he won't get the same grade due to projectability factors.
Good advice, MomLW. I do think it is more straightforward for pitchers -- yes, there's projectability, but there seems to be a close correlation between velo and the PG grade. For position players, there are more factors . . .
Having been through most of these with my 2017 C/RHP this past year, I would summarize each (per our experience) as follows:
PG Showcase--great for getting the objective measurables, PG rating and even some video on a web page that you can link in e-mails to coaches. Showcase games are spread out in different locations, and despite being in baseball hotbeds like San Diego and South OC, I did not see many coaches actually recruiting at the showcases. As others have said, cost is high, so be sure you have something to show in the measurables (foot speed, velocity, bat speed/exit velo). From what we've seen, PG recruiting benefits are mostly at their travel team national events--these showcases are more for demonstration and less about meeting coaches.
Stanford Camp--it is both a camp and a showcase. In between showcase games the players are working defensively in their positions with the college coaches working. If you are lucky, your son gets to work with the coach of a school he is interested in--but it is random luck. Like PG, the showcase games are spread out except the one game at Sunken Diamond. I thought the coaches doing the recruiting only hung around the main field, but my son was contacted by a number of coaches who saw him on the other nearby high school fields. However, there was no real interaction that I saw with coaches talking to players--most took notes and then followed up after the event. As others noted, checking in was a fiasco and there were other glitches, but it is still a great experience.
Headfirst Sacramento-- the gold standard in our experience. Excellent schools, but at least at Sacramento skewed more toward the D3's with a few Ivies and Duke there. No better showcase for close proximity with the players and coaches. If your son is not afraid to talk to coaches, he will have the chance at some point during the camp to walk up and talk to any coach he wants to. HF does not provide the measurable to the players but the coaches share them. Be sure your son has already taken at least either the SAT or ACT before you go, preferably both, as these coaches all ask for test scores and transcripts. I am not sure how much screening HF does about academic qualifications, but rest assured the coaches of these schools want to find out quickly if a kid they like can get in the school. We did not follow up with the Long Island version because 2017 is more interested in staying in the Western US.
AZ Senior Fall Classic--you need to be part of a travel team that gets a regular invite to play in this showcase style event, but if your son meets the academic requirements, for $100 more he can try to get an invite to the All Academic Game. My 2017 was fortunate enough to get a tryout and was picked to pitch an inning in the game at the main stadium. I would estimate 75 coaches watch the tryouts (so even if you do not make the game, you are scouted) and maybe 100 were actually sitting behind home plate during the game. Dollar for dollar, no better value for exposure, but no guarantee you can get in for the Academic game. Still lots of schools around all weekend, so if a coach can watch game action if they are interested in a kid.
Not sure yet where 2017 will wind up, but his final group of colleges started mostly at HF with a few others from Stanford and the AZ Academic game. Maybe only one of his current schools would have been on his list had he not gone to these events, so while they were painful to the bank account, we're still hoping they will pay off somehow in the end.
Well, this time Stanford camp released attending colleges early.
See the list at http://www.stanfordbaseballcam...Colleges_at_Camp.htm
Looks like 6 out of 8 Ivies will be there, including Penn. No Yale and Princeton.
Thanks Bogey!
What Gov said! Happy Holidays everyone!
