Are summer camps too late for a 2021?

100% no for D3.  You're fine there.  For D1, a fair amount of slots filled.  Not entirely, HA will have more than others, but a more limited amount of opportunities.  

He should go in Jan/Feb if possible and if he wants to.  I added the qualifier because it sounds like he does not want to go. 

For most mid-level D1 programs, there will be several open positions this summer.   A lefty pitcher from my boy's school committed to to a pretty good mid-level D1 in spring of his senior year.  

Depending on the types of schools he is targeting, it may be risky to wait. What is the reason that he wants to wait? If he has been resting his arm and has not yet fully ramped up, that makes sense. 

He wanted to rest his arm and try to get more velocity. And he’s going to high academic camps. He’s at 88mph 6’3” 200lbs, so I think he should not wait. But he thinks he needs more velocity. I’m not sure how much is enough. 

First, don't just go to camps blind; make contact beforehand, and if possible, have a summer coach also contact them.  Depending on league, some high academic D1s are looking for 88+ with over 6', so he's there.  Does he have video, and was 88 measured 3rd-party (PBR, PG, etc.)?   Will he be playing this summer in tournaments where they will be?  Now is exactly the right time to send emails to schools of interest with any and all of this info, get on their radar, and ask them where they would like to see him.

He has 3rd party velocity pitching  video. And emails coaches. But Jan/feb vs waiting until summer has been the family debate He’s only interested in HA schools. 

What division HA? D1 HA like Cal or UCLA? He’s very, very late already. HA D1 like UCSD or UCD? Getting very late. HA D3 like Pomona Pitzer or Claremont Mudd Scripps? Take your time. The summer is fine. 

My son was not high academic. He had several low level D1 offers, but hit 90 the summer before his senior year and committed to a a state school D1 in September. So I would say you have time and a couple of miles an hour can matter.

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate all your insights and knowledge. I’ll get him into some winter camps now. He want to use baseball as a hook to help him get into the best academic school possible. He’s looking at schools like John Hopkins, Georgetown, Penn, Colombia. Nothing on the west coast since that’s where we live and he wants the “away from home” college experience. 

Don't fly cross-country just for Johns Hopkins, a D3; they will be recruiting next summer and fall, as will the other D3s.

RHPinSF posted:

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate all your insights and knowledge. I’ll get him into some winter camps now. He want to use baseball as a hook to help him get into the best academic school possible. He’s looking at schools like John Hopkins, Georgetown, Penn, Colombia. Nothing on the west coast since that’s where we live and he wants the “away from home” college experience. 

Most of those schools you still have time.  There's a great June camp at Richmond you may want to consider that typically has a lot of HA D1/D3 schools attend.  Only one that may be late is Penn, that coach likes to get the jump on the other Ivy's by recruiting early.  However he focuses on lefties given the park dimensions. 

Wechson posted:

RHPinSF posted:

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate all your insights and knowledge. I’ll get him into some winter camps now. He want to use baseball as a hook to help him get into the best academic school possible. He’s looking at schools like John Hopkins, Georgetown, Penn, Colombia. Nothing on the west coast since that’s where we live and he wants the “away from home” college experience. 

Most of those schools you still have time.  There's a great June camp at Richmond you may want to consider that typically has a lot of HA D1/D3 schools attend.  Only one that may be late is Penn, that coach likes to get the jump on the other Ivy's by recruiting early.  However he focuses on lefties given the park dimensions. 

Tracy Woodson at UR is one of my favorite coaches.  If you can get to one of those camps and they have the coaches that you want to be in front of, it's win-win.  

If you wait, don't wait on the emails and phone calls.  Contact them early, which is now, and often.  Show that you have a lot of interest and you can send stats and video from HS season since there is very little chance they will come watch him play.  If they respond with a lot of interest, then you may consider going to one of them but as has been said don't go blindly. 

Thank you for that advice. He needs to stay in touch with the schools he’s interested in - and has a real chance to get into and play for. I’ll make sure he continues to stay connected. 

RHPinSF posted:

Thank you for that advice. He needs to stay in touch with the schools he’s interested in - and has a real chance to get into and play for. I’ll make sure he continues to stay connected. 

Here's another point for discussion.  Coaches generally communicate via email.  Kids our age have a difficult time with email, being trained on text.  This goes for EVERY kid, even the super achievers. I know some parents who make their kids take 100% of the email responsiblity, and other parents who take full control of the process.  I think it's ok to create a hybrid model, that's totally up to you.  But it's something to consider because leaving it up to your athlete to fully communicate with coaches consistently (other than via ext) is a risk.  You have to be on it.  IMO they have time to improve their communication skills, they have a very limited window to get the recruitment process right. 

Perfect Game lists 6 commits for Penn in the 2021 class.  So again, don't fly across the country without making sure that they have actual interest in him, and did not simply say "come to our camp" - which is the usual response to introductory emails.

Wechson posted:

RHPinSF posted:

Thank you for that advice. He needs to stay in touch with the schools he’s interested in - and has a real chance to get into and play for. I’ll make sure he continues to stay connected. 

Coaches generally communicate via email.  Kids our age have a difficult time with email, being trained on text.  This goes for EVERY kid, even the super achievers. I know some parents who make their kids take 100% of the email responsiblity, and other parents who take full control of the process.  I think it's ok to create a hybrid model, that's totally up to you.  But it's something to consider because leaving it up to your athlete to fully communicate with coaches consistently (other than via ext) is a risk.  You have to be on it.  IMO they have time to improve their communication skills, they have a very limited window to get the recruitment process right. 

I totally disagree with this. My son and I both had access to his email address for the reasons you state — I wanted to make sure he was staying on top of communications with coaches. But what I soon learned was that people inviting him to camps and asking for money emailed. Coaches who wanted him to play baseball at their school texted and called.

These guys (coaches) are in the business of recruiting high school age guys. Figuring how how best to communicate with the kids is their job and the good ones know what they're doing.

I've said it before, son maintained a list of 10 or more coaches that he texted after every game with his stats, what he thought went well or poorly, when he was next slated to pitch. We didn't know he was doing it until I rebuked him for spending too much time texting instead of talking to us and he explained what he was doing.

Bottom line is — if your kid really wants to play at the college level they need to take responsibility for getting themselves there. All we as parents can do it provide the tools — equipment, training, a phone to use in communicating with coaches, etc. The kids have to use them.

Iowa Mom ^^ yes, agree on texting calling if a coach is actually recruiting. 

Boys do need to own it.    

Iowamom23 posted:

Wechson posted:

RHPinSF posted:

Thank you for that advice. He needs to stay in touch with the schools he’s interested in - and has a real chance to get into and play for. I’ll make sure he continues to stay connected. 

Coaches generally communicate via email.  Kids our age have a difficult time with email, being trained on text.  This goes for EVERY kid, even the super achievers. I know some parents who make their kids take 100% of the email responsiblity, and other parents who take full control of the process.  I think it's ok to create a hybrid model, that's totally up to you.  But it's something to consider because leaving it up to your athlete to fully communicate with coaches consistently (other than via ext) is a risk.  You have to be on it.  IMO they have time to improve their communication skills, they have a very limited window to get the recruitment process right. 

I totally disagree with this. My son and I both had access to his email address for the reasons you state — I wanted to make sure he was staying on top of communications with coaches. But what I soon learned was that people inviting him to camps and asking for money emailed. Coaches who wanted him to play baseball at their school texted and called.

These guys (coaches) are in the business of recruiting high school age guys. Figuring how how best to communicate with the kids is their job and the good ones know what they're doing.

I've said it before, son maintained a list of 10 or more coaches that he texted after every game with his stats, what he thought went well or poorly, when he was next slated to pitch. We didn't know he was doing it until I rebuked him for spending too much time texting instead of talking to us and he explained what he was doing.

Bottom line is — if your kid really wants to play at the college level they need to take responsibility for getting themselves there. All we as parents can do it provide the tools — equipment, training, a phone to use in communicating with coaches, etc. The kids have to use them.

 

I think you both have good points.  We are monitoring our son's email to make sure he doesn't miss anything, but he is responsible for responding to coaches.  We will sometimes talk about some things to say in an email, but he is the one who actually decides what to write (and I try to proofread before he hits send).  I think this is good experience for him.

Since my 2021 son is looking at only HA schools, his recruiting is really just starting to heat up.  He is communicating with coaches only through email right now, not text or phone, but none of them have seen him play yet, so that make sense.  They are emailing him, and he is emailing them, mostly about academics and high school and travel schedules for spring and summer.  A few have let him know they will be following him and have asked him to keep them updated on his high school season.

We have warned him that at some point he may start getting texts or calls from coaches who have seen him play and are interested.  We have talked with him about how important it is to put his best foot forward if he gets any calls or texts and to tell us if he does.