Does an invitation to "Elite/Prospect" camps mean anything different from other invitations or is this standard language? Son is a 2018 and has been getting a few of these from some really good schools including language like "one of our coaches has seen you play this summer or has heard good things about your talent". Ideally, I would like to do this next year but wondering if that is going to be too late.
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Usually it's standard language. There are many existing threads on this topic. Below is a recent one.
I'm surprised that a school would use "Elite" in the camp name. College camps must be open to everyone. Maybe the instruction is "elite", not the prospects. 
Never too early to start the process, I think. I'd target the schools your son is interested in, ones that you and he feel he can realistically compete in and start a dialogue with the coaches there. Send videos to the coaches if they like what they see they usually will reply. The conversations here in this forum are a great source of info.
My 9th grader just got an email and snail mail invite to an "exclusive" showcase....there doesn't appear to be anything "exclusive" about it. Tom, Dick, and Harry could plop down $399 and get whatever my kid would get out of it, by clicking on the link on their home page.
I think someone got overly excited with a thesaurus and forgot to look in the dictionary for the definition of these words.
Get used to it. If it costs money it is not elite.
Reminds me of a team we played a few times at 13U, the "Future Prospects Elite", or, as we coaches would refer to them among ourselves, the "None of the Aboves".
That said, and back to the OP, the thread that MA Dad linked is a good one on this topic, I think. My take on these kinds of emails is that if the player is interested in the school, there is nothing to be lost by replying to them and/or filling out the prospect form, if requested, and also that if the camp is affordable for your family, then ditto on attending, but keep in mind that in general prospect camps are not where these schools typically find their recruits. They should not be a primary method of finding a place to play at the next level.
Some info and (wisdom) I have gained in our experience with baseball camps and showcases:
1. It is a business.....especially the big camps. Even HF or Showball - it is a business first and then comes baseball. They both may be very good and get kids recruited but still businesses.
2. If the college is hosting a camp, yes they are doing it to recruit players but they are also doing it to pad their baseball budget.
3. Colleges send out mass invites - even if you tell them politely you are not interested, unless they remove you from the master list, you still get e-mails about camps.
4. Just because a college sends you an e-mail and a letter and tell you they are attending a "camp" in your area and would like to see you there...it means NOTHING. They are trying to get the numbers up at the particular camp. They are paid to be there and if no kids show up, most likely they get less money. I would imagine each coach who will be attending takes a list of players and sends an e-mail and a letter to those players to try to get them to attend.
5. This is JUST my opinion - but I would think if a college coach is truly interested in a player, he or one of his staff members will make a personal phone call to that player.
5. This is JUST my opinion - but I would think if a college coach is truly interested in a player, he or one of his staff members will make a personal phone call to that player.
Agreed, but a personal email, even if it looks like bulk mail because it's been written on the same platform, is just as good as a call. By personal I mean it says something like "I saw you at such-and-such and really liked what I saw; here's why our school is so great. Please reply or call if you're interested, etc."
Agree with JCG that after you are at this long enough, you can really tell if an e-mail from a coach is personalized enough to show genuine interest. My 2017 is learning some coaches much prefer the personal call approach, and others prefer communication via e-mail. It does not mean they aren't using some of the same boilerplate language in multiple e-mails, but then my son has been using a standard e-mail framework that then gets tailored to the specific school and coach, so it is understandable.
Our standard has been if the coach says where they have seen my son play (showcase, tourney, etc.), then it is legitimate. If they mention his positions even better. If it is a general statement about a recommendation from another coach or scout and do not name them then it is not personal and just a mass pitch letter trying to increase camp attendance.
And I would strongly recommend that unless a school is at the very top of your son's interest list, do NOT sign up for a school camp before you have received some personal contact from the school expressing specific interest in your son. We've learned the hard way that the camps are not really there to find potential recruits--the 5-10 recruits they want are there because they were told to be, and the rest of us saps help pay the coaches salaries and boost the baseball budget.
Regarding a note that mentions where they saw you play... Usually true, but not always that meaningful. Example: College recruiters can get information on every rostered player at the big WWBA tournaments or other events. They can invite everyone claiming they saw them at the event. Nobody is capable of seeing them all.
In some cases we have found that players are told they were seen at an event and then invited to camps. Well the player was on the roster but didn't actually attend the event. So obviously he wasn't seen at that event.
The players that college recruiters are most interested in, find out long before a camp invitation is sent out. There are just too many ways for this contact to happen legally. Those players and parents don't need to read between the lines and try to determine what is real.
RKBH posted:5. This is JUST my opinion - but I would think if a college coach is truly interested in a player, he or one of his staff members will make a personal phone call to that player.
Check out NCAA rules regarding "making a personal phone call...." to players who are not yet within the allowed school year....2018's can be called and contacted by electronically D1 schools after September 1 this year. D2's can contact after June of Soph. year. There is no limitation on phone or email for D3's.
NTGson knew interest was true when the calls from coaches came to his phone on the first day allowed and his emails from schools increased significantly. At least 50% appeared to be generic, the balance very personalized with date or game or opponent, something to emphasize that the coach had been present in some fashion. His Mom and I stayed outside the communications loop although some coaches sent emails to him at our email address, especially those from two large showcases he attended.
NTGson is/was not a 'draftable, automatic D1 stud' by any measurement. He is a 6'0" LHP who topped out at 87mph as HS senior. But he competed at a very high travel ball level where he played and pitched well and carried a 4.3GPA and a 34 ACT into his senior year which prompted a large number of high-academic D1 schools to approach him, extend visit invitations, etc.
PG, I was not clear. I didn't mean to refer to camp invites, rather to introductory emails that give general info about a school and request the player fill out the recruitment questionnaire. We have seen a lot of this kind of email that is generic, but in several cases emails that looked like that turned out to be personal emails from coaches who were genuinely interested.
RKBH posted:Some info and (wisdom) I have gained in our experience with baseball camps and showcases:
2. If the college is hosting a camp, yes they are doing it to recruit players but they are also doing it to pad their baseball budget.
College sports camps don't pad the sports budget. These camps are specifically the head coach's income. Most have use of the facilities for these camps as part of their contracts, just like coach's tv shows. You will notice that almost all registrations for college camps include a disclaimer that you are not contracting with the university.
Nothing wrong with replying to invite... don't expect much from it. If its a school you like and you really think you can play there go to the camp. If you are a player that the coach feels he needs then you will know it 100% there will be no doubt about it. Once a college coach starts really recruiting you .... you'll know it
good luck
CaCO3Girl posted:My 9th grader just got an email and snail mail invite to an "exclusive" showcase....there doesn't appear to be anything "exclusive" about it. Tom, Dick, and Harry could plop down $399 and get whatever my kid would get out of it, by clicking on the link on their home page.
I think someone got overly excited with a thesaurus and forgot to look in the dictionary for the definition of these words.
Saw this tweet by a travel baseball coach today, and it made me laugh:
