College "prospect camps"

It's only worthwile if it's a school you are interested in, it's a school you can afford, it's a program you have the skills to play at, it's a school you can get accepted to, and it's a coach that is possibly interested in recruiting you.

Seeing an athlete perform in person is critical in the recruiting process and many camps and clinics are filling that role at various colleges. Does it mean attending will get you recruited, well, not if the conditions above are not met. But not attending will not help you get recruited either.

It's a numbers game and attending will allow you to display your skills and attitude to the coaching staff and find out if you would fit into their program.

Their is a D1 assistant on my summer team at a school that holds a winter hitting clinic, and he says the clinic is vital to the success of the program in terms of recruiting and evaluating talent.

It is not important for the 07

If it is an 'o6 who gets a "special invite" then it is important

Many of the fall events that we attend are key to us because we are there at the invitation of the coaching staff---the kids get seen in game conditions even though the event is by nature a "showcase"

How about if your a Pitcher and you get just two or three innings over a weekend to showcase your stuff?

Corky

That is why you need to be seen in game conditions against good competition

Rcmax29,
I say attend both but I also tend to agree with ghouse about the athlete/college fit. If your son wants to attend that particular college and you feel as if he MIGHT have the talent to play at that college then by all means go. Exposure is like advertisement; it is difficult to pinpoint what specific event and the specific time that had the most impact on your son’s recruitment. As far as the mini “showcase tournament” on fall weekends, I think they are a good idea too. They tend to be low keyed and do give the players the chance to play with and against the better players in the area and it also gives the players a chance to compete on the college fields and in front of a few college coaches. TRHit would know best about the proper age to attend these events but I know that going too SOON is not nearly as bad as going too LATE. My son played in these fall wood bat “mini tournaments” at different colleges after his freshman year of high school.
Good Luck,
Fungo

Fungo

I believe that once a young man is a varsity starter it is time for him to begin the exposure process.

Yes there are those situations where a kid who is an excellent player is playing JV or sitting on the varsity bench because he has an "ALL STAR" playing in front of him.

The "camps" also have another feature--the player and his family get to see a college campus--I believe that the more college campuses that are seen by a player the easier it becomes to make the decision-- I have had players turn down good scholarships just because they did not like the campus

TR

What do you mean by a "special invite"? My son
has attended many events this summer (camps,
showcases, invitation events) and he is now receiving invites to various college camps in the
fall on a daily basis. Some are by email, some
just send the camp brochure and a few have a personal note as well. Are these "special invites" or is he just receiving these because his name is on some list?

Calmom,
I know you asked TR the question but as a parent I always looked for that “special invite” when my son was in high school. I remember one invite my son received from a large D-1. At the bottom of the form we were to fill out and return was a big red “X” marked in ink. In my twisted mind that was a special invite and the coaches were going to pay special attention to those players that had red “X”s by their names. (parents think in strange ways) I believe each parent/player has to differentiate between what is just a standard mass mailing form letter (or email) and the “special invite”.
Fungo

My take.
Mailings begin early on, and they are just that, mailings to prospective recruits.
The amount of mail changes as you go, lots after a showcase or tournament.
I never saw anything on a questionaire to indicate my son was "special".
However, as time went on, I would see some differences in the mailings becoming a bit more personalized. Emails were also exchanged.
Camp invites should be looked at as we have stated the purpose. To raise money for their program and have the Head coach take a look, as most don't travel off campus to see players.
You really have no way of knowing what those letters mean, until July 1.

"Special Invites"---these come when a program in truly interested in the boy and wants to get one more look at him this may even come thru the boys coach after the coach was contacted by the college coach. It may even come in the once a week call from the coach at the college

"LETTERS" --- in terms of the camps they may send info to all the kids who were at the showcase/tournament

You can tell the "real" when you see the coaches signature in ink and the letter not in a form letter set up

Trust me--after you see enough of them you will be able to tell the real from form letter

My son received a call from a coach from one of the Big 12 D1 colleges last Friday night. Son was working so Dad ended up speaking with the Coach. Basically Coach said our son was on their radar to watch at Jupiter but since they could not attend due to the dead period, they wanted to know if he would attend their upcoming winter camp so they can take a look at him in person. Coach said he would call our son in a week to speak with him. Son has received many invites to camps via mailand email, but this is the first one that made a personal phone call. We are assuming this more than just promoting their camp. Anyone else have any experience with this type of recruitment?

We look at the prospect camps as a two-way street. The coaches get to look at my 06, and he gets to look at them. We went to one that was a half-day--with the basic run, hit, throw, and field; and we're heading to one this weekend that is a day and a half, with several games to be played. I like that scenerio b/c over a longer period, the coaches get a better look at us, and we get a better look at them.