College Winter Camps

Be selective. If the camp is at a school in his top 5 choices, serious choices, then go. Coaches aren't expecting top velocity. They're smart enough to see what they need to see. And your interest and "investment" in attendance speaks to them. Have your son contact them first - not with an ultimatum (duh) - but with sincere interest BEFORE he gets there.

Choose wisely. Don't attend everything.

With our older son, we picked out 4 camps for schools he was very interested in. All 4 ended up recruiting him seriously.

With our younger son, we picked out 1 camp for a school that was close to making a competing offer. Price was reasonable and it was worth it to us.

A 3rd school put a lot of pressure on our son to attend a $375 Holiday Pitching Camp...so the coach could see for sure if he wanted to make an offer. The coach also advertised it as a chance for our son to 'get to know the coaching staff up close and personal' and 'for them to get to know him better too.' Don't really understand why I need to pay for that? We would have done it for $100, but not for $375...essentially just to throw a bullpen or two over 3 days. I asked our HS coach to call them and tell them that he was interested but wouldn't be available for the camp. They stayed interested, but never made a competing offer.

My son attended a winter camp at Pepperdine U the winter of his junior year. He did not go as a matter of recruiting; he just wanted to play baseball, have some fun and get ready for his junior year of baseball.

Attending a camp does not have to be all about recruiting.