Camp dilemma

”Coach, thanks for invite to your camp.  I am very interested in your program and I think I would be a great fit both athletically and academically at XXX University.  Unfortunately, I am in an off season phase right now and my arm is not ramped up to throw at the time of the camp.  I expect to be ramped up on X date, are there opportunities after this date to get in front of you and the rest of the coaches?”

Or change the routine for one winter.

@22and25 posted:

”Coach, thanks for invite to your camp.  I am very interested in your program and I think I would be a great fit both athletically and academically at XXX University.  Unfortunately, I am in an off season phase right now and my arm is not ramped up to throw at the time of the camp.  I expect to be ramped up on X date, are there opportunities after this date to get in front of you and the rest of the coaches?”

Perfect, shows maturity, thoughtfulness... plus it weeds out the revenue chasers.   

...and I plan to be at "X event" after I get ramped up and I will forward you my schedule once it gets closer.

Not sure what year your son is, but if he's a 2023, as adbono suggested maybe adjust your schedule. My son went into in final recruiting year knowing he'd have to do this. Started making adjustments to prepare in the previous fall.

@nycdad posted:

Not sure what year your son is, but if he's a 2023, as adbono suggested maybe adjust your schedule. My son went into in final recruiting year knowing he'd have to do this. Started making adjustments to prepare in the previous fall.

Agree!

my '24 LHP is now (in Oct) making significant adjustments to his schedule and is restructuring his upcoming summer travel team commitments and obligations for summer-fall 2022; adjusting his 12 month throwing calendar for 2022 to better match the recruiting process and the anticipated recruiting timeline he will most likely experience next fall. 

My son has been doing "active" rest and has been working out well. I talked to several baseball specific trainers (including arguably the top guy in the industry) and they all said this is the best way to let his arm "rest" while still being able to ramp up in a short time to be ready for a camp should he decide to do one. My son is also not a full-time pitcher. He only threw about 5 innings all summer and didn't play this fall.

He (we) throw 2 or three times a week and doesn't go 100%. He also does the Driveline plyo ball stuff on days he throws to keep up with the arm care strengthening.

The context of the invite is relevant.   How did the invites come through to him?  IMO, if a target school is directly asking you to see you throw with a conclusion to the process close, it is worth adjusting for it. If it is a lower priority target/a more general we would like to see you at our camp….these will be part of your regular communication stream and can mean anything/nothing. Knowing where you are in the process with a school is the key.  There are ‘go times’ that should be priorities.

Thanks everyone for the thoughts. Some context - son is a 2024. We went into the fall / winter with the expectation that he had plenty of time and would focus on development, but the schools in question are ones that seem to generally fill the majority of their classes before junior fall. The invites occurred during son’s regular weekly calls with the coaches which began in early fall. He texted them video after each outing this fall as well. One school came to a game in the fall, the other hasn’t yet seen him pitch in person. Neither school has asked for transcripts yet.

Was the invite a phone call or text or just an email.  If it was not a personal invite, I would not risk it.  If it was a personal invite, then it is worth the risk.

@22and25 posted:

”Coach, thanks for invite to your camp.  I am very interested in your program and I think I would be a great fit both athletically and academically at XXX University.  Unfortunately, I am in an off season phase right now and my arm is not ramped up to throw at the time of the camp.  I expect to be ramped up on X date, are there opportunities after this date to get in front of you and the rest of the coaches?”

Listen to 22amd25 - this is spot on with the addition of known future dates (if available).