Call coaches or not?

I would not. Prospect camp?

quote:

Son is already on a fall showcase team that will be playing all over the Midwest

Experienced fall showcase team coaches are usually in regular contact with college coaches. If you really need to know or want additional input on his behalf the scout team coaches usually make those calls. As an '08, college coachs can call him weekly, which they do to their "A list" players on their list. I probably wouldn't skip a big tournament for a camp where the coach isn't calling all the time. The website looks good, btw. He'll play college baseball. There is plenty of time for solid interest to generate. My kids PG profile wasn't much different and it worked out for him ok.

quote:

Originally posted by Dad04:

quote:

Son is already on a fall showcase team that will be playing all over the Midwest

Experienced fall showcase team coaches are usually in regular contact with college coaches. If you really need to know or want additional input on his behalf the scout team coaches usually make those calls. As an '08, college coachs can call him weekly, which they do to their "A list" players on their list. I probably wouldn't skip a big tournament for a camp where the coach isn't calling all the time. The website looks good, btw. He'll play college baseball. There is plenty of time for solid interest to generate. My kids PG profile wasn't much different and it worked out for him ok.

Dad04:

Thanks for the detailed repsonse. Really helps and kind of how I was feeling too. Also thanks for checking out the website. I just wanted to keep it really basic, meat and potatoes information.

With this roller coaster ride we've been on lately, sometimes you feel like you got one shot and you can't afford to make any mistakes. Hence the reason for the question. A little reassurance is a good thing.

I must disagree to some extent.

I would not call....but

If the school in question is really high on his list, then he needs to attend their camp.

Your odds will increase dramatically if he does.

They would much rather see him in person than get a phone call from a travel coach.

If the school in question is just 1 of a group high on his list then Dad04, as usual, is right on the $!

Good Luck!

As Soxnole correctly notes, some schools use camps more than others for recruiting. If a coach has called and strongly encouraged your son to attend a camp "high on the list", the invite should be strongly considered.

OK thanks.

Dad04...so where did your son end up playing?

Nothing is wrong with call back a coach that already have made contact with you, showing some interest in your son. I think it is a great opportunity to know how interested is he and a good chance to make questions.

quote:

Originally posted by soxnole:
I must disagree to some extent.

I would not call....but

If the school in question is really high on his list, then he needs to attend their camp.

Your odds will increase dramatically if he does.

They would much rather see him in person than get a phone call from a travel coach.

If the school in question is just 1 of a group high on his list then Dad04, as usual, is right on the $!

Good Luck!

I agree. But, keep in mind it's not uncommon for camps to get a hold of names and send an invite to every player from a tournament. When my daughter was in high school playing travel softball she received a lot of these camp invites.

Colleges camps are not designed to recrut players, those events are designed to collect money, and anybody that pay the fee will be welcome.

quote:

Colleges camps are not designed to recrut players, those events are designed to collect money, and anybody that pay the fee will be welcome.

Racab

I was thinking along the same lines.

If they are really interested in your son and they have already seen him play why pay even more money than you already are to attend their camp? It is already expensive enough to travel around the country all summer and fall long on a high profile showcase team. If they really are that interested in him then they will make sure they get out and see him play on his showcase team. The schools that are really interested in him will make sure they do what they have to do to see him play enough to make a decision on him. If they are that interested in him they will make sure they see him play on his team. I would have his showcase coach call the coach that he wants him to and have him ask what their level of interest is. Camps are money makers. They are a way for the assistant coaches to supplement their income. Anyone that has the money can attend and they will gladly accept you. The players they are really interested in they will get out and see anyway they possibly can. Good Luck

Please remember...these are "Prospect Camps".

Not just an instructional camp.

These camps basically have a half day of skill instruction, then the second day is a game where you can "showcase" your abilities. I would think this type of camp would allow the coaches to get a closer look at you.

Let me just say this. Im going through the recruiting process right now with my 08 son. He is close to making a decision probaly within the next week or so. During this long process I have learned several things that I did not learn from helping many of my other HS players. This thread is very good because people need to understand that if your son is seen on a regular basis by certain college coaches and they have expressed an interest in your son you are in a different posistion than a kid that is unknown to these coaches. You spend alot of money to have your son seen by these coaches. Playing on a showcase team requires alot of time and money. If a coach is truly interested in your son and has seen him play and has the opportunity to see him play even more on his showcase team there is no need to pay even more money to go to this same coaches prospect camp. Now if he gets to the point where he has no offers and the coach says "We would really like you to come because we are very interested in you and we would like to have the chance to evaluate you closely" that could be a different situation. Be very carefull thinking that if you spend enough money going to these camps that someone is going to offer you. The fact is if they really like you they are not going to have to have you come to one of their camps. You can go broke trying to get a 25% scholley and spend way more than that in a short time.

Caoch May has had several of his players recruited over the years as well as his own son. I think he is giving great advice.

If a coach has seen you play a few times and asking you to go to his camp, I would definetly call and ask where they are at in the recruiting process, especially if a big expense if involved.

You can go broke going to every prospect camp that you are invited to. I got rather mercinary after awhile. I would call the recruiting director and ask 2 question; Have you seen my son play and can you describe him? and Can you get him trough admission with his grades and test scores?

These two questions will give you an idea as to whether or not you want to make a further investment.

Ultimaly, my son went to one of more than 2 dozen prospect camps and I question the value of going to that one. In the end, the 3 showcase functions were all that was needed, along with some direct communication between my son and the coaches.

quote:

Originally posted by RobV:
OK thanks.

Dad04...so where did your son end up playing?

Rob, my son is a Sr. at the University of Louisiana- Lafayette. He attended camps at Clemson, Florida and FSU while in high school. Camps serve many purposes including recruiting and income generation, among others. I would place them generally below scout teams and showcases in recruiting relevance.

I would echo the general theme here:
Showcase trumps camp. The schools encourage me to give a camp registration to ALL my players, because they all have money, not skills.
I do see that if he has that ONE school he would most like to attend that you would make an exception... but if that is the case then don't be afraid to announce your intention that he is coming to school there and what do you need to do to get him involved in the program?

If the head coach has called the player's high school coach to discuss the player, and subsequently sent a cordial invitation to their camp, should the player feel that there is a strong interest in him? or is this just a tactic to get the player to the camp?

Strike123, good question! It would be hard to say if there is genuine interest or if it is merely a sales tactic.

Last August, my '08 son got a call from a Big 12 asst. coach who had seen him play at a college showcase the week before. (This call was made a full 11 months before the NCAA allowed it.) Here's a paraphrase of what he said:

"This is Coach so-and-so from XX Univ. It's not July 1 yet, so I have to wait 'til I talk with you about recruiting, but I like the way you play and I want to invite you to our showcase camp this fall."

We were flattered, but a bit suspicious of the coach's motives, so we sent an email to the program's head coach asking if the school was truly interested in our son. The head coach had the asst. coach reply via email, and he mentioned several specific things he liked about our son, so we assumed there was genuine interest.

We paid several hundred dollars in showcase, hotel, gas, and food costs. Our son did well at the showcase. Not one word from the program since that time, despite our son emailing them regularly. In hindsight, I don't believe they were ever really interested. They just wanted our money.

Hopefully, your situation is different.

The head coach from yet another D1 school called my son personally to ask if he was coming to the showcase he'd invited him to. I called today to see if I could tell if their was any real interest. I was going to ask if he'd ever seen my son play, what he thought about him, and if he'd be able to get my son through admissions given his GPA and SAT scores. I never got that far, however, because after telling the coach We'd misplaced the showcase pamphlet he sent us, he was intent on mailing another right away. I had to spell my son's last name at least three times for him when giving it. Our last name has 5 letters in it, I don't think he has a clue who my son is.

Gee, should my son give up his plans for this weekend and spend two or three hundred dollars to attend this showcase, or should he go stay with his cousins in Detroit where he has box seats waiting for him to watch the Yankees beat the Tigers, as planned. What would you do?

quote:

Originally posted by strike123:
Gee, should my son give up his plans for this weekend and spend two or three hundred dollars to attend this showcase, or should he go stay with his cousins in Detroit where he has box seats waiting for him to watch the Yankees beat the Tigers, as planned. What would you do?

Send my son to Detroit.

quote:

Originally posted by ILVBB:
I would call the recruiting director and ask 2 question; Have you seen my son play and can you describe him? and Can you get him trough admission with his grades and test scores?

Um...that's actually 3 questions, but we get your point...lol...just a little good ribbing!

It's ironic that I read this post again today because I just talked to a coach up in Tennessee (DIII school) that had seen My son at a showcase back in July. During the conversation I mustered up enough courage to ask him did he see My son perform and what did he think? I got the answers I was looking for. I was very transparent with the coach and basically told him I was new at all this and it was quite overwhelming at what all is out there. He completely agreed and sympathized with Me.

He stated that showcases were absolutely the very BEST venue for coaches to watch potential players due to them all being under "one roof". I did My homework at the showcases We've attended to see who all would be there and with that knowledge, skipped some personal invitations to their camps. If they TRULY want to see him then they'll get their chance at the showcases.