College Camps and Inroduction to Coaches

Hi, Thunder11. Welcome! My son is just a year ahead of you, so I'll tell you our approach. Everyone does things differently - it is a matter of what works for you and your folks, so just keep that in mind. First of all, do you want to go to the camps, or do you just see the brochures as a first step to contact? In my mind, there is nothing wrong at all with going to as many college camps as your folks are willing to pay for. The general consensus seems to be that camps are money makers for the colleges rather than true recruiting tools, but it's still a good way to spend your day, and there's always a chance you could catch someone's attention.

Others may feel differently, but I wouldn't email or write a letter to a coach until you have some solid HS credentials, preferably varsity experience, to put in that letter. There is no need to rush yourself - you have plenty of time to put together your baseball resume. There is a lot of talk about early verbals, but as someone wrote in another thread, those are very few and far between. I do know one player who verballed to a SEC D1 as a sophomore, but as a freshman threw 90+, switch hits, and plays SS like a natural (and is a very hard-working, humble young man). If you've got skills like that, they'll find you. The point is, everyone is different, and there is plenty of time.

My advice to you is to give yourself a little more of a foundation before you start sending emails and videos - they will be a lot more impressive. If you like the school and your folks have the coin, then by all means go to the camp - seeing you in person is a lot better than video. Once you have made the personal connection and they have seen you, then you might send a follow up email. And as you continue to get bigger, stronger, better, and more experienced, you can keep them updated.

I hope this helps. Good luck to you.

My opinion is that it is kind of early for the e-mails. I think the timeline on this website has it right, send out that stuff in September of your junior year.

A camp at a college campus in which they are the only college represented is usually a poor investment of money. If you are dying to go to a camp after your freshman year, try to find one with multiple colleges present or go to a area code or showcase type tryout. Try to find a good summer team as well.

The reason I have this opinion is that so much will change in the next year or two, and most of the college recruiters are well aware of this. I would focus on academics and playing the game of baseball for your enjoyment. If you are already thinking ahead to college and you haven't even played a high school game, you are worrying and planning too much for the future and may miss out on the enjoyment of the present.

I will second Blprkfrnks reply - you have a long way to go. Get the HS team down first and ENJOY life as you go. Also, your academic choices/preferences may change and depending on what they are they may narrow your choices down. My son wanted engineering so there are only 5 schools in VA that offer that - all D1 and from what I hear you can't mix those 2 much at all. So he ended up at a D3 school, rated highly for engineering and started most of his freshmen year and is enjoying both the school and baseball (playing, coaches, teammates).
Tim Robertson

Check the recruiting timeline on the main page of this website -- we followed and found it very helpful

quote:

the only college represented is usually a poor investment of money

That is absolutely true if you are looking at it as a recruiting tool. On the other hand, we have had some very good experiences with college camps when we were just looking for something productive to do in the summer. Especially for younger players, they don't cost that much more than day care or other kinds of summer camps. And for older players, you can often get good instruction, plus it's better than sitting home all day playing Call of Duty, or Halo, or whatever those crazy kids are doing these days.

I have kind of a different way of looking at it, though, because I've worked at universities with pretty good baseball programs for the last 15 years (UGA, Emory, UF) so for me it has been convenient, too.

Good point about the camps.

I was looking at it more as a recruiting tool, but if he can find instructional camps at a decent price, there certainly are benefits to attending them.