A Baseball Camp Recommendation

The Stanford camp is excellent and there's plenty of topic threads on this site that  you can read.

 

One other comment...

His goal is the SEC (who's isnt)....

I dunno - my kids' wasn't, even though one of them was recruited by SEC schools.  Their dream was the Pac12. 

ok, I'll browse around for the threads. PAC-12 would be great too. lol He's already on the radar of a few small D1 schools from a few showcases that we have played in here around the midsouth, but I want him to "go away" to school and see another part of the country unless of course Florida or LSU come calling. I told him to consider prestigious d3 schools too in the northeast but he said he wants a college field that looks different than his high school field lol Oh, to be young again Thanks for the help.

Well if he wants something "different" than his high school field in the Northeast there's always UMaine Orono.  I'm sure he's never seen a field covered in snow for so long :-)

Harvard Baseball camp?  I am sure they have one, but you may be referring to Headfirst Baseball Camps.  The dates are not out yet, but I know there are posters here that headed to the west coast to do both one right after the other.   I would email both organizations to get on their list for communication and check their websites periodically for camp dates. What you do may be decided by the week you are in Atlanta.   

Thanks Keewart. I thought Harvards was like Stanfords where a 100 or so school/scouts show up. I'll check out Headfirst. You're right. I need to check dates. But I want to send him to one of these large camps because I hear unless your team makes it to the final day at a PG WWBA, your team isnt likely to be scouted in Atlanta or Fort Myers unless they happen onto your game looking at a specific player. 

I think you need to make a list of realistic schools that fit what he is looking for (forget about baseball) and then go to where they go. It is a long way from a Headfirst/Stanford type of camp to an SEC team. Search on Stanford camp here and you can see the schools that are there, and Headfirst has a list. I would actually focus on the high academic D1/D3's because if he is SEC material and a LHP they will find him. 

 

Good Luck!

 

Have your son send out an introductory email (at least) a few weeks before the event to the colleges your son is interested in.  Then, be sure to send your team's WWBA schedule when you get it.  Follow up when/where your son will pitch. Otherwise, they won't know where to go and who to look for!  (Do this for the Stanford and Headfirst Camps, too.)  

 

^^^ btw - You should do this for every event next summer.  Committing the summer between sophomore and junior years is not unheard of.

Dirk, not sure who gave you the info that you have to make it to final day of PG WWBA to be seen by recruiters. That couldn't be further from the truth. The fact is the every single game my son played in had several ACC / SEC schools present. A lot of it does depend on what team your son is on or playing against. A recognized program is gonna have plenty of interest.  My advice is try out for and get on the highest profile team that your son will be a contributor.

 

Dirk,

 

I applaud the effort to ask questions, research the topic, and have a starting point.  IMHO, you've selected some top national athletic showcases to hopefully appeal to ACC/SEC schools and blended in Stanford and Harvard for presumably academic showcases.  

 

I have three comments.  First, these choices are on opposite sides of the country and opposite sides of the athletic & academic recruiting spectrum although I would consider Stanford to be both.   You may want to try a local/regional showcase first before spending a large chunk of change as a HS sophomore.  If you go to a more regional showcase first, I think your son will get a sense for the appropriate level of showcase baseball and your investment dollars.  

 

The national showcase experience is incredible but there are literally many-many hundreds of talented kids who don't get noticed at these events.  You'll want to find an event where your son stands out.  Second, I know many folks that have gone to the Harvard camp over the years.  I don't think the number of schools represented even came close to 100.   You may want to double-check on that. 

 

Lastly, Keewart brought up HeadFirst, and I think that is the still largest and broadest academic showcase around.  You'll have most of the Ivys, Patriot and academic D3s.  That may be a better approach than just attending the Harvard camp.  There are a handful of other academic showcases. 

 

FWIW - My son went to PG WWBA & Fort Myers many, many times with his national travel team...won PG WWBA it in 2008.  He is a RHP who topped out in the low 90s, but cruised in the mid to upper 80s in high school.  He knows how to pitch.  He had excellent grades (and SATS) like your son.  By no means did my son stand out at these national PG events.  We ended up changing our focus & strategy late junior year from top athletic PG events to more academic events, and the results were extremely positive.   So, my advice is go to these events if you have the resources, but be flexible with your focus & strategy of trying to appeal to both the top athletic and top academic.  Listen to the feedback.

 

Good luck!