College Pitching Camp

Send your son to the camp for pitching instruction (if they offer good instruction),  not for recruiting. 

I am assuming as a freshman,  he needs to refine his skill/tools.  You can worry about the prospect stuff later on.

Camps and showcases are expensive, use your hard earned $$ wisely.

Bum, Jr. attended such a camp at 15.  He was the LAST player they looked at as everyone there was bigger than him.  When he threw six consecutive fastballs into a tire-sized hole from 60'6" and clocked in at 80 from the left side he was instantly on their radar and two years later signed for them.

It happens, but like TPM says, this is a rare case.  None of the campers except Bum, Jr. ever signed and attended D1.  If he has advanced skills for his age maybe it's worth it but the money is best spent on training.  If you have the money it's a fun experience, though, and gives the player an idea of how D1 players live and train.  Just remember these camps help subsidize the program and the coaches are really watching two or three older guys (potential prospects) that flew in.

Thanks for the feedback, guys. I know the checklist on HSBBWeb for recruiting mentions attending one of these camps after Freshman year, but it does seem early to me to worry about recruiting.  I think we'll skip the camp this summer.  

geckoprof,

Rome wasn't built in a day.  Skills camps are an opportunity to learn, network and get comfortable with coaches and the process.

My oldest son went to a UVA pitching camp after his freshmen year, and was exposed to multiple college pitching coaches.  It was close (no hotel) and no big expenses.  What he learned, how he learned and who he learned these pitching tips from was very valuable and worth the money.  He was a "sponge" listening to these various college pitching coaches and asking questions about their programs.  He spent the most time talking to the Harvard pitching coach (at that time) and learning about the school, conference and what is expected.  This would come in handy down the road when he began a dialogue with Harvard, as well as other schools in H's conference.   You have to start somewhere.  Strangely enough, where we started is where we ended up.

The following summer his team won the PG WWBA tournament in East Cobb and his recruiting journey took off.  The skills tips and approaches that he learned at the camp were being applied to games.  So, although this is not a "recruiting camp" it is a stepping stone to learn more about pitching, meeting college pitching coaches, networking and get these kids ready so they will feel comfortable in a recruiting or prospect camp.   It was well worth the money we spent.  JMO.

I agree with the what the others have said.

My son attended a college pitching camp after his Freshman year as well. It was a good experience. It was not too far away and it was very reasonably priced. HE was exposed to players that were older and stronger. It made him realze how much work in the weight room he needed to do.

The biggest thing he got out of the camp though was not athletic. The coach sat all the campers down and talked about grades. He let them know how important grades were to him. And that all else being equal he was going to award a scholarship to a B student instead of a C student. He also mentioned that he usually would not consider a C student in most cases because he did not want to waist a scholarship.

I do not know how much of it was true. But it flipped a switch fpr my son. Before that he was a solid high C student. After that he started doing really well in school getting A's and taking Honors and AP courses to help his grade point.

He also decided, he wanted to go to a smaller Academic school.So there is more than exposure to get from these.

I started to look at a few of these last fall for son in the Mid-west and filtered out any camps that were for players less than HS age.  I also asked whom was instructing them.  Does not mean they were not worth it, but it allowed me to make a better decision if the actual pitching coaches were not in attendance and/or it said " camp for grades 6 to 12.  Again, doesn't mean it's not worth it, but do ask questions as needed.