college camps v. college showcase camps

seaver41,

Welcome to HSBBWeb. Your question is a good one. You've already answered the academic part. I think the answer lies in where your son wants to go to school and what level of baseball player he is. HeadFirst is geared toward mostly academic D3s, some Ivys and a few D1 schools. So if your son seeks academic D3s/Ivys I think you are shopping in the right place. Your son may not get as much attention as a rising junior at HeadFirst as he will a rising senior, but you can use this experience to make contacts and understand the process.

My son went as a rising senior. There were some interested schools as a result of HF, that offered him select camps invitations, unofficial visits and official visits. So, HeadFirst was our introduciton to many of these schools and the camp was a way for a whole coaching staff to see my son. The process works together.

I would use this years HeadFirst experience as a gauge for assessing his talents and interested schools. To answer your question directly, I think you need to do BOTH but they need to work together as part of the same strategy.

Please let me know if that does or doesn't make sense. I wish you the best going forward.

Seaver

Fenway gave your some excellent advice. My son went to Headfirst as a rising junior and he received a lot of attention and interest but many schools said that they would keep an eye on him.

Fenway is correct many schools were interested in rising seniors. But there were a few higher level academic d1 schools that were done there to get an early jump on recruits and wre interested in rising juniors.

You said that he was going next month I think you will find it worthwhile. I have heard that the costs is now up to a $1000 (775 when my son went) so it starting to get pricey but I think it is still worth it.

There will be college coaches that will be in tne dugouts coaching th teams during the scrimmages and that is a great time to ask some questions before and after the game.I would encourage your son not to be shy and make sure he goes up to other coaches (not just the ones that coach his games) and ask questions. He will need to be respectful, they are there to watch players, but there is time in between games and as they walk around to have your son introduce himself All of the coaches were open to talk about their program and thir schools. Another point make sure it is him and not you that talk to coaches. They went to meet your son, not you.


However it is neat to watch ( from a distance) your 16/17 year old son up to grown men, introduce themselves and hold a conversation with them.

One last thing ( I hope they still do this), during the days of the camp they will hold forums where they have college coaches speak to,all the players and parents about thier school, thier programs, thier conference, and the recruiting process. Try make as many of these as possible even if your son has no interest in the particular school that is speaking. I found them to be very interesting and informative.

Good luck your family and your son are in for a heck of a ride--- it will be hard because there will be upa and downs---but enjoy it...at the end of the day it will all work!

Thanks Fenway and Dad. It's great to hear from 2 thathave gone to this camp. Also thanks for the help.

Hello, and welcome to the forum.

My son did not attempt a Headfirst camp, but did go to several PG events, as well as a few other academic showcase type camps.
It helped for us to see how he did, and get feedback from the coaches.


While the showcase type camps helped to spark some interest, I think going to PG events was important from a self promotion standpoint. While getting a PG rating is not mandatory, it didn't hurt when letting coaches know how a respected organization evaluated him.
Additionally, velo results(or other evaluated skill sets like pop times) are posted on their website, and coaches know they are accurate.

As to specific camps, after we got an idea of which colleges might be interested, we visited a camp and sure enough he was made an offer. So unless your son stood out as a stud during a showcase, you will need to have him do some self promotion, pick targeted schools, and consider going to their camps to have a better chance.

I would like to second (third?) the HF suggestion as well as to plug the Stanford baseball camp. Next summer your son will be the "right" age for getting attention at the All-Star camp, and you have to email them for an application to the camp pretty early (Decemberish??) Most of the schools represented at HF were there, as well as many many small, mid, and huge D1 and additional D3 programs (these were the ones we noticed so I apologize if I am giving incomplete info re: schools from other divisions). If your kiddo is one they are following, they will have ample opportunity to see him play there. Another nice bonus is you can be in the same place as any interested coaches on July 1 when they are allowed to call or talk to you in person.