College Camps: To Pay or Not to Pay?

That language is more common than you might think, in our experience.  They all want to make you think that your guy is special and that they know something about him.  But I think they just buy huge mailing lists.   Plus whoever fills out their prospect questionnaire or sends them video is automatically added.   Most of these things, I suspect, are just auto-generated. 

That said, we have done couple of these. And here's my take, for what it's worth.    Some have definitely been worth it  -- one got my kid on the radar of a rising D1 program in a really strong conference. This was during an  otherwise dreary junior year  (kid suffered a back injury and spent almost the entire season on the DL).

The school wrote  a nice follow up evaluation, even called his HS  coach.  Finally, they  even came to see him play once this past summer, as a result.   (Unfortunately,  he seems to have taken himself off their  radar by performing badly when they did come.)  But that whole thing came directly out of his performance at a camp.  He did have some prior exposure to these coaches -- one of them saw him at a Trotsky showcase the fall of his junior year.  They wrote to invite him to their on campus camp.  We were at first thrilled -- cause they said he had seen the kid play.  But in follow up emails they made it clear that they were not recruiting our son, but did see some "Potential" in him.  We went to the camp anyway.  That was our first one. 

Also  as a result of his attendance at  another multi-school camp, our son got on the radar of a strong D2 program.  They followed up with us afterwards to invite him to their own camp.  We were skeptical and wrote back to see whether they were serious about him.  After some back and forth, it emerged that the coach did think of him as a potential prospect and really did want to have  him come  play in front of their whole coaching staff.  Those were our two most promising outcomes of on campus camps.

The other campus camp my son did, we just did cold, without any prior contact with the coaching staff.   We had sent them videos, etc. but had gotten no response.   That one seemed totally pointless.   The coaches did not  really seem interested in MOST of the players there -- though they did tell one player that they would be in touch because they liked the way he played.  This one was late in the recruiting year for 2015's  -- this past August. 

To make a long story short, my experience suggest that these things are most worth it if: (a)  you guy is an absolute stud, who will stand out from any crowd or (b) you have had some prior contact with the coaching staff and they are interested enough  in you to want to take a closer look, but are not yet completely sold on you.

If neither of those things is true,  it's a crap shoot.  There will in all likelihood be TONS of good players there.   They may be looking for a player or two to round out their prospect list/recruiting class.  But mostly the paying customers will be there as paying customer and background noise. 

Now I do think they all do hope to recruit some previously unknown by them player out of these camp.  But that's in part so they can keep the paying customers paying.   So that they can say  "every year we recruit players from our prospect camp."    Which, if they do recruit somebody is true and not false advertising.   But it surely isn't many that get recruited this way. 

I suspect that  D3 may be different by the way.  I think they use their camps more often as both selling points for the school and as recruitment tools since they, in a way, are more open to many comers,  since it is not a matter of handing out scholarship money, but attracting good players who can gain admission to their school and help their team. 

Great info SluggerDad. Thanks for the valuable feedback.I wonder if you or others feel the same way about large showcase camps (1-2 day events with a dozen+ college coaches in attendance)? Are these more effective than individual camps or pretty much the same but with more competition?

We had the same experience as Sluggerdad. 

I would add that you can contact the coaching staff and indicate that while you are interested in their program you have some time constraints and can only come for one day (assuming it is multi-day) and ask them if they are really interested in you you could take the time to get there for one day, and would they also prorate the cost. My son found that one program was interested in him and he did attend one day just so the head coach and pitching coach could see him. This will help you gauge interest. 

MWdad,yes,the camp invites are usually cookie cutter mass mailings.  The phrase you quoted is also a typical generic draw statement.  A camp can be a worthwhile trip if your son has interest in the school and has discussions in advance with the staff to determine if there is specific mutual interest.  Otherwise, it is not likely to be a smart spend of limited $$s.  Many of these one-school camps don't even run players through the standard measurables such as the 60 and arm velo, so ratings from such a camp are of little value.  Once your son's list is narrowed more, such a camp may be more worthwhile if it is on the short list.

If it is a camp close by, go.

If it is a camp at a college that he wants to attend, go (but go to 1-2 camps before that somewhere else to get experience as to how camps are run)

The more the talent, the more you will get noticed (but what you think is talent may not be the same as what the coaches think. i.e. you think 82 mph pitching velocity is good when the coaches are looking for 88+)

Caveat: at some camps, the HC,PC,RC etc does not attend some/most of the camp so buyer beware.

I really wanted to know the answer to the posters question...but no one seemed to answer it.

In my opinion the question was "Given a limited budget is it more effective to show off my 2016 at showcase teams and large showcase events....or should I take my limited money and spend it on some of these camps that might be interested...even though my son hasn't considered any of them actual potential matches?"

I don't think it has to be one or the other.  Spend some on showcase team/tournaments and put some aside for a couple of camps.  If you have a limited budget and your son is not remotely interested in going to any of these schools, don't go.  If you know of a school your son IS interested in and your son has the talent to play at that school, then contact the coach at that school, express your interest and find out if they have a camp they are holding.  That would be more worth it than just showing up at some camps where you don't want to go to that school anyway.

My son went to a camp cold fall of senior year (although it turned out they already knew him).  They liked what they saw and one of the first questions the coach asked was "are you genuinely interested in going to school here".  If your answer is no, then it's not worth it.

There is not a clear cut answer to your question, IMO.  Mileage may vary and often does.

Showcases and travel teams will normally get you seen by more colleges and scouts PROVIDED you go places where the colleges and scouts will be.

Normal College Camps, according to where there are, may not have the audience you desire.

This may be a good reason to attend an inexpensive camp at a school he is interested in. If he isn't likely to be recruited at that level, it would be better for him learn that right now. He needs to have a good idea where he can play going into next summer, so that he can get in front of them during the summer.

My experience with camps is very similar to SluggerDad. Unless your son has spoken to one of the coaches, and they specifically want to see him at their camp, then it is not likely that he will make a connection there. Also, the large events with dozens of coaches aren't necessarily any better if you haven't contacted any of those coaches in advance. It's tough to stand out at those things. You want a few coaches to show up with your son's name on their iPad.

I think you have to start somewhere.   Fall of junior year is when your son should begin making a list, and trying to get in front of those coaches via travel team, showcase or prospect camps.  If he has no intention of going to these schools then I probably wouldn't invest the time & money unless the experience would benefit him in some manner.   

College camps are typically either skills camps or prospect camps.  We went to our share of local skills camps (UVA, Virginia Tech, etc) and it was good because it was local & not expensive and we did meet some coaches from other schools who would help my son in the future.  We listened to the Head Coaches talk about their programs and then worked on specific skills and approaches.  My son did learn a lot at some of these skills camps.  Also, during the UVA camp, my son was able to sit down with the Harvard pitching coach (during a break) to discuss academic loads, workouts and travel.   This would turn out to be useful information in the future when Harvard and other academic schools starting recruiting him seriously.  So, even if it is a skills camp there is something to learn and a connection to be made.

Prospect camps are different.  You've already been identified as a prospect or recruit and they want to see you perform (again) and get to know you better.  Clearly, you want to spend the money here to attend the prospect camp.  My son attended an academic showcase.  As a follow up, the schools that were seriously interested wanted him to attend their prospect camp so the entire coaching staff could see him and make a judgement.

So, I think it is fair game to ask the coaches if this is a skills camp or a prospect camp before you hand over some of your hard earned money.  JMO.

Thanks for all the great replies. Fenwaysouth, here's an example of an email we got this week. It kind of sounds like a prospect camp, but I'm not sure, and I'm guessing they've never seen him play, so I can only assume that this is a mass marketing letter to kids with a decent GPA, but not necessarily something I should interpret as specific interest in my son.

"I wanted to personally invite you one of XXX fall/winter baseball camps this year.  After seeing that you have over a 3.0 GPA it sounds like you are very serious about your grades and your baseball, this is something that we are looking for in a player! This camp is crucial to our recruiting as we have 15 current players on our roster that have attended one of these camps. We are actively recruiting our 2016 class and this is a great way to get on our recruiting board! This is not a camp that we are trying to get as many kids as possible to attend; we limit our camp numbers so that we can get a true evaluation on each player. Not only does the showcase portion of camp help us find players but also the instructional aspect as well helps us get to understand you as a player and potential recruit."

MidWestBaseballDad,

As I said before, you have to start somewhere.   If it is a school he is interested in or you think would be a good fit for him then I'd probably go to get some insight into the school, baseball program and meet the coaches.  At the very least, it is a great learning experience.  If this is a school he is not even remotely interested in then I'd use the money toward something more worthwhile.  It does sound like a mass email to kids with 3.0+ GPA.  I'd call to get more info if you are considering it, so you know what your money is getting you.

In my experience, it was very common to hear coaches tell recruits that "many of their current players have come to their camp".  We heard that time and time again.  What they aren't telling you is under what pretense the player came to one of their camps.

As you do more travel, showcases and camps you'll figure out where you are getting the best bang for your buck.  My oldest son played on a very successful and nationally recognized travel team.  However that exposure had very little to do with the college that he would play baseball for.  He was playing in front of the wrong college recruiters based upon his goals.  The coaches that he wanted to impress were at other events.   We changed our approach, and suddenly we were getting the desired results.  There are all kinds of baseball venues out there.  It is vastly more efficient to figure out what your son wants and has the talent for... then get him in front of those coaches.   I hope that makes sense.

Good luck!

It has been awhile; but we, like most on the site have experienced the same thing.

My son went to two college camps. The first on was over Christmas break his junior year. He went to the camp to get ready for the season. The second camp was the summer of his junior year; this was a camp at a school that he had an interest in attending.

Before committing to the camp, I called the recruiting coach for the school. He was also the person that was running the camp. I asked him one question; the purpose of the question was could he identify my son. He knew that he was a tall, muscular left hander, which was good enough for me to know that they had a real interest in my son.

From that point forward we would qualify the camp before attending. If the could identify him; that showed they were "not blowing smoke." If they couldn't indentify him then there was no real reason to take their invititation seriously.

Go to the camps you can afford that fit into your schedule where your son sees himself playing and attending. One of the things that experienced friends told me about candidate campuses along the recruiting trail was....Can your son see himself attending that school if baseball wasn't in the equation and would he be happy? We used that to make a tough decision along the way and he de-committed from a Big10 D1.

Most of these are money grabs, especially the ones that aren't specifically "Prospect Camps" of H.S. kids. I would ask/verify that any camp that costs over $150 come with a written evaluation on your kid, that way you at least get some feeback and learn something.

My son went to 2 camps, one showed immediate interest at the camp and talked with him personally, also said they wanted him (Private SoCon D1) but had no money for pitcher, needed OF/Bat. The other was the Big10 D1 and they showed very little communication during or immediately after the camp but offered 2 weeks later.

Good luck, report back with the results!

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