CDP team vs. specific college camps

Please clarify what you mean by CDP. It sounds to me like you are trying to determine the best financial route to take....travel team vs PG showcase + camps? Is that right?

Yes fenwaysouth..sorry...yes best bang for limited buck..

I personally believe in targeting approach. Get your list together and then get a realisitic appraisal on where your son fits, D1, II, etc. Same with academics. Target a couple of those camps.

I personally believe that a high quality, well known travel team is the best bang for the buck. The coaches will also be able to give you a good assesment of where your son fits, they will most likely have good college contacts, and will go to the events that these coaches attend.

Without a doubt the WWB tournaments are key, which these teams will be going to. Arizona Fall Sr Classic is also a key event. Don't forget the "free" events...get an invite to the Area Code tryout in your area. There is also an event in New England, that the name escapes me, that is invite only. One of the NE guys will pipe in with it.

Make sure your son is emailing the programs with his profile and his summer/fall schedule once he get's it filled in.

Good Luck!

I went down the road a few years ago and can apreciate a "limited buck." The question that I have is how limited; a good CDP with all the exposure is not what I would call "on the cheap."

I could not afford PG events, they were too expensive. We could not afford WWB events, too expensive.

We stayed local, did 2 showcase events in our area and the Stanford camp. If we had the money we could have chased the events that produce high profile exposure. It was not in our budget. We did send him to the Stanford camp which was 20 minutes from the house. It was all he needed to find an opportunity to play.

My wife and I talk about the "would of, could have" all the time. But the reality was we could not afford it.

My advice, do what makes sense for the family. Don't break the bank chasing a dream if it is detremental to the family. Find events that will expose your son to schools which makes sense for him as a student, person and hopefully as a ball player.

Gashouse,

THere is no one answer to this question. Everybodys situation is somewhat different because of grades, baseball skills, and end goals. It is incredibly difficult to find that perfect academic and athletic fit, and to know what to do unless you have already done it. The value of HSBBWeb is that you get a lot of perspectives and experiences. BTW...Welcome to HSBBWeb I just noticed you have a few posts.

My son joined a national travel team at 15U for the exposure. At 17U, we supplemented that travel team exposure with player showcases, academic showcases and college specific camps. I think you will find many folks who have gone down this path of trying to do it all. For lack of better phrasing, this approach provided us with the greatest margin for error because we didn't know what was possible or what the options were when we started down this path. We quickly learned about options after his team won the Perfect Game 16U World Wood Bat in East Cobb. It was a great, once in a lifetime experience that opened some doors, and provided credibility. However it probably wasn't the best bang for the buck looking back.

We got the greatest interest and exposure (bang for the buck) at regional showcases, academic showcases and targeted camps. Our goal was academics first, and baseball second. His baseball skills shined at the academic showcases and targeted schools. If we could do it over again, WOULD we change anything....probably not. If we could do it over again, COULD we change the travel team experience to get recruited by his current college...probably.

This is one perspective, and there are many already posted in this thread. I hope this helps in some way. If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me. Good luck.

As everyone here is saying; "there possibly are as many approaches as there are responders."

We took a "shotgun" approach as we weren't really sure which would be best. The Travel team, in our area, was pretty much a given. He played the major events like PG at ECB but was first noticed and eventually recruited at a smaller Regional Tournament at UGA.

We targeted smaller Showcases, mostly at JUCO's, and had good results both in gaining him experience and getting interest.

We had interest at the Camp he went to for some three years but that's more of gamble for a position player. As he may not play the position they need. We found that most School camps invited players they were already interested in. We were a little naive in sending him to out of state camps. We learned it would have been smarter to send him closer to home where schools like to recruit.

Guys,
I appreciate all the great insight and advice. Tryouts are starting in January for the travel CDP programs in our area. Most are between 2800-4000.The other option is Legion baseball plus PG showcases and specific college camps.

gashouse-

I am going to take your question and turn it inside out; you need to help your son in defining what he wants from his college experience. Now is the time to start introducing him to what it means to be a college student. He needs to begin to have a vision of what his life will look like as a college student.

It is time that your son start visiting schools. At his age he has no idea what being a college student looks or feels like. He needs to start developing his personal college criteria (big school/small school, Geography, Majors, etc.)

Once your start figuring what he wants you can put an action plan which includes baseball. As to baseball; get an HONEST assessment of his level of play. We wasted too much time chasing the west coast D1 dream when that was not the highest probability for our son. If you know where your son fits as a baseball player and what he wants as a person you will be far better prepared to make choices that meet your objectives.

Thanks ILVBB!
We started this summer after his soph.year visiting schools. We have a pretty good idea of the academic programs we are targeting.Many schools were off the list immediately because of this. We then tried to get an idea of how far away(proximity) he'd like to go. We have family in Hawaii and Colorado who would love to "host" him. My son decided that staying in the NE 2-3 hours away was the best bet for him. Slowly the dream list of baseball/academic schools has been pared down to 5-7 schools.
He has learned some pretty valuable lessons from older friends and ex-teammates regarding the D1 experience. Let's just that it was a big realty check.One thing we discuss regarding the baseball side of things and college; go somewhere you can play! One of the reasons we are debating the CDP vs. college camps is because of the "real" assessment we want to get.
In my opinion, it makes more fiscal sense to attend 2 PG events and get his rating.Send that info to the schools he is targeting. Follow up and attend the college camps he is interested in. He reads the PG reports of many guys he has played with and or against.
We showed him a big D1 and D2. We then took him to a small D3 school with a great baseball program. Prior to any visits he was all about D1;the visits changed everything. He loved the whole "D3" vibe and loved the campus here in the NE.
We are in the process of evaluating JUCO programs that fit his guidelines. JUCO is very popular in the south and west, here in the NE it's a great unknown. One of the reasons we are exploring a national CDP program is because of the JUCO exposure. I'g love to send him to a JUCO showcase. Do these exist? JUCO in my opinion is the best route for him(my personal thoughts).It makes a lot of sense academically,financially and athletically. The big drawback is the proximity question. Many JUCO's appear to be CC campuses with no on campus housing. Just another variable we have to plug into the equation LOL. I appreciate all the great advice we have received in the public forums and PM's...keep it coming!

Gg,

Excellent. You have a plan and goals outlined. I think that is what BOF, ILVBB, Prime and myself were trying to determine.

Based upon your post and PM, I think your targeted focused plan is a good one based upon your situation. Attending a couple PG events and college camps is probably the best way to go. I would like to pass on one bit of advice. I would not start paring down schools at the beginning. You need to stay broad at the beginning. 5-7 schools is not a large margin. I would cast a larger net, say 25 as BOF suggested. Then start crossing off schools as recruiting happens. I hope this helps.

Gashouse-

Good Job! More parents need to do what you are doing. Some more prospective; first off as fenway says, 5-7 schools is not enough at this time.

Second; if being 2-3 hours from home is important, I would start looking at schools where that criteria is met which includes being on an airplane. You (you and your son) that once he leaves the bedroom down the hall it won't matter how far he is away. Being 2-3 hours away by plane will increase the population of schools and help him create a profile that will make him more attractive to schools (geographic diversity).

I spoke with my son about baseball in CT; he spent a summer playing in the NECBL with a good number of kids from greater NE. His advice was explore beyond NE; he felt that the baseball politics "sucked." Just an opinion.