My son is a 2023 looking at D3 programs. Good grades and test scores, so HA D3 would be a solid option. He is considering Stanford, Headfirst, and Showball camps this summer, may do 2 of the 3 if dates work.
Suggestions? Are any of the camps more D1 focused, or will all have similar coaches attending?
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All 3 are valuable possibilities. Check the list of schools that are planning on attending each one. Others will chime in with more experience on those camps
My son is at a D3 and he did Headfirst twice - he never did Showball. Pre-covid, he was hopeful for D1 when he was doing Headfirst so he didn't focus on reaching out to D3 coaches. He attended in the summer between his sophomore and junior year. With that being said, there were many D3 coaches in attendance. We both really liked the format of Headfirst and my son was seen by many coaches and was able to talk to several of them. Then in the summer of '20 (between his junior and senior year of high school) he went to his second Headfirst. That one was only D3 coaches because D1 coaches were unable to do any in person recruiting. He received two verbal offers at the event.
I agree with 3and2Fastball - look at which coaches are attending the camps. Also, is one camp's location closer for you (car drive versus plane ride?) And timing. My son is a pitcher so we were always conscious of scheduling events so his arm was well rested. He couldn't play in a tournament on Sunday and then be ready to throw on Monday at a showcase/camp.
We’ve only been to HF but I hear that format is better than SB. We are doing SB in June due to timing and the coaches attending. Seems like SB struck a deal with a lot of head coaches to skip HF and only do SB
Your life is about to become a flurry. My son (and the sons of many others on this site) got a lot of attention from D3's by attending HF in Sacramento during his rising senior year. If your son's baseball skills match his grades he should have a lot of options. Back then (he's a 2017) Showball didn't have much visibility in California, so it wasn't on our radar. We did HF and Stanford. Stanford was a good experience, but it didn't generate the volume of immediate contacts that Headfirst did. There is a LOT of info about these camps on this site. I would use the search feature for them, as well as for the schools your son may be interested in. There's a good chance that parents of current or recent players are users here.
BTW if you're in NorCal, see if your son can get an invite to the NorCal World Series. It's a great event.
Welcome to the site! Part of it depends on what else your son is doing in the summer. My son (current D3 player) went to Headfirst once, in August before senior year, and it was great for him, lots of D3 interest. But, he had played a full summer of travel on a team that went to Georgia etc., and had been watched by various coaches (D1 and D3) before he went to HF. He had also done a state PBR showcase and one D3 individual camp. We had no strategy whatsoever - I only found out about HF on this site, no-one we knew had ever heard of it.
If your son is playing travel this summer, have him email coaches at his top schools of interest now, with video if possible, giving his summer schedule, and asking if they will be able to see him anywhere that he is playing. They will, of course, invite him to their camp, but they may also tell you which tournaments or showcases they like. Also, if you have a travel or HS coach who can recommend your son, have them reach out to colleges. Even if their contacts are primarily local, have them contact some local schools, D3 coaches talk to each other, especially when they spend weeks together at these showcases.
I agree with VA_mom about distance, and about pitching.
My kid skipped HF and showball as he only had a short list of HA schools and luckily most them were within a few hundred miles from us so he elected to attend their camps. HF and Showball were solid options for the kid's former teammates, showed well and got in contact with the interested coaches and committed.
IMO, it really depends on which schools he is interested in. It’s possible to just show up at HF and make connections, but a much more effective strategy is to target specific schools and show up having contacted those coaches beforehand. Those coaches will be much more likely to search you out and evaluate you for their programs. Look at the confirmed coached at each HF session. You’ll find some schools on the Northeast list that aren’t at the West Coast sessions, and vise versa. If your son’s list includes Northeast schools, he could attend the Long Island camp, and visit schools on the same trip.
I’m also of the opinion that you don’t need showcases if you have a well vetted list of schools. Attending camps at your targeted schools is a much better way to get recruited, assuming you’re a decent candidate for the school.
@HaveACatch posted:My son is a 2023 looking at D3 programs. Good grades and test scores, so HA D3 would be a solid option. He is considering Stanford, Headfirst, and Showball camps this summer, may do 2 of the 3 if dates work.
Suggestions? Are any of the camps more D1 focused, or will all have similar coaches attending?
Lots of great advice here based on your question. My question is how did you come up with that question? Why are you focused on D3 HA schools after posting on this website less than a week ago? Typically, most new posters are laser focused on D1 schools come hell or high water. You've immediately jumped right into D3 HA which I find refreshing.
So, I would say all three Showcases are going to hit the mark on D3 HA schools based on personal experience and the feedback that has been shared here over the years. Showball and HeadFirst will have some D1 HAs (Ivy and Patriot League) schools but you have to check each location for their HC or AC attendance. I'm not sure about Stanford camp D1 attendees beyond the host. Possibly someone can chime in on that. Full disclosure: my son attended HeadFirst back in 2009 and it was a great experience. The D1 schools (Richmond, William & Mary, Harvard, Cornell and Lafayette) had seen him before at PG events, and they were actively recruiting him. All would eventually offer. The D3 schools (Tufts, Trinity (TX), Emory, Case-Western, etc....) were seeing him for the first time, and that really helped move the time line up by putting some pressure on the D1s to do something. As we learned at HeadFirst, college coaches only do things when they have to.
As @MidAtlanticDad and others mentioned, the most productive and impactful method is to be communicating with coaches prior to your son's arrival at any baseball recruting event. If they know who he is (and what he can do) you stand a better chance of going from prospective recruit -> recruit -> serious recruit -> offer. It never hurts to have your travel coach or someone in the baseball world send a recommendation letter on your son's behalf. Look at this like trying find a job in the worst job market possible...because that is exactly what this is.
JMO, and Good Luck!
@MidAtlanticDad posted:I’m also of the opinion that you don’t need showcases if you have a well vetted list of schools. Attending camps at your targeted schools is a much better way to get recruited, assuming you’re a decent candidate for the school.
Wanted to add to this: these showcases are ideal if your son is willing to go to college anywhere in the country and wants to get a sense of who might be interested in him, as they typically have schools from all over. If your son wants to stay in your region, individual camps or more local showcases are a lot cheaper and just as effective. I don't know how it is on the west coast, but PBR's May 17U showcase was very well attended by D3 schools in my state.
Thanks for all the great comments. I really appreciate it.
I think given the time of year, my son understands that most of the big D1 schools have already recruited most of their players by now. Also, he doesn't have the size that most of the D1s seem to want, and he gets that. He loves the game and wants to keep playing and competing, and he has had some friends' older siblings play D3 and like it. I think he also gets that an MLB career isn't likely, so best to work toward a career, have a great college experience, and play competitive baseball.
I think he'd go to college anywhere, no real geographic restrictions. He'd like to play somewhere warmer that the Northwest where we are, but other than that, no real preference. He's pretty happy wherever he is, so I understand the flexibility.
It looks from the websites that HF and Showball have a good cross-section of schools, although I can't see specific from Stanford. I'll keep looking around. Thanks again for the helpful comments.
Do you have access to SSU Division 2 Rohnert Park, Ca strong conference
Bob
@HaveACatch posted:I think he'd go to college anywhere, no real geographic restrictions. He'd like to play somewhere warmer that the Northwest where we are, but other than that, no real preference.
Then stay away from the MIAA, WIAC & Midwest Conferences! Kidding, there are some great educational opportunities and Baseball opportunities in the upper Midwest, and this spring has been colder than usual but *wow* it’s been like winter Baseball this season. At least most teams go to Florida or Arizona for spring break.
One piece of advice: check the rosters of schools that show interest or that he is interested in for how many JUCO players are on the roster. Some D3 teams almost never have JUCO transfers, but many do, and that is going to cause roster logjams more than ever in the next few years.
@HaveACatch posted:Thanks for all the great comments. I really appreciate it.
I think given the time of year, my son understands that most of the big D1 schools have already recruited most of their players by now. Also, he doesn't have the size that most of the D1s seem to want, and he gets that. He loves the game and wants to keep playing and competing, and he has had some friends' older siblings play D3 and like it. I think he also gets that an MLB career isn't likely, so best to work toward a career, have a great college experience, and play competitive baseball.
I think he'd go to college anywhere, no real geographic restrictions. He'd like to play somewhere warmer that the Northwest where we are, but other than that, no real preference. He's pretty happy wherever he is, so I understand the flexibility.
It looks from the websites that HF and Showball have a good cross-section of schools, although I can't see specific from Stanford. I'll keep looking around. Thanks again for the helpful comments.
Your son sounds very self aware and gets it. Tip of the cap to him.
Speaking of geographic flexibility, I think you are going to find the majority of D3 schools are NOT in the Northwest. The majority of D3 HA schools are in the Northeast, MidAtlantic and sprinkled in the MidWest. The important thing for you and your son to understand about these academic showcases is that many of these schools are looking nationally for their recruits because their recruit profile is extremely difficult to find. D3 HA recruits generally have to meet a rigorous academic threshold of the regular student body, but there are exceptions.
There is a reason why there are a dozen or more of these HF and SB showcases scheduled across the US. These coaches are looking for a needle in a haystack.
Good luck!
Don't forget SoCal and the SCIAC. Quite a few PNW players are there, particularly at the HA schools.
@fenwaysouth posted:Look at this like trying find a job in the worst job market possible...because that is exactly what this is."
Great advice for 2022...
My son is a 2022 and did Headfirst, Play to Win and several other team showcases. Headfirst was the best (and most expensive) by far, even though my son did not perform well. He ended up with several D3 offers and ended up choosing one.
For what it is worth, PTW was a big disappointment for us anyway. They had a lot of coaches there, but they did not interact with the kids at all. What I think happens is PTW has a one to one recruiting service for $3-5K. Many kids who used this service were there (I was talking to a lot of the parents in the bleachers). I think those kids got special attention from the coaches because they payed for this service. My son had his best performance at a showcase there (went 3-3, made all his plays), but not one coach talked to him. He sent emails to 8-10 D3 coaches before hand and some of them were not even there when they were supposed to be. In any case, HF was a great experience we will remember for a long time. Good luck!
I very much agree with other posters here that SB was by far the worst of the HA camps my '22 attended. HF design is great, especially the interaction with coaches. My son played two games were his game coach was the RC of one of his top choices. 14 innings of play, dugout chatter, and getting to know one another led to an offer. Also agree with the NorCal World Series recommendation although the event definitely has more D1/HA D1 focus than D3. My son garnered several "new" conversations with schools from this event and one ultimately led to his commitment at a HA D1. The other great event for us was the AZ Fall Classic. We sent a request to play on the Fall Classic HA Team. The team is comprised of individual players coming for the event who don't have a team in the event. The team played really well and was stacked with great talent. Also, I really appreciated the event cost is roughly $200 plus lodging, etc. AZ Fall Classic has the most diverse mix of schools IMO with NAIA, Juco, D1, D2, D3 in attendance in large numbers. Best of luck in your journey!
