D3 and/or almost ivy camps, showcases

William and Mary has a summer and fall camp that usually attracts top academic D3 schools from all over the East Coast. James River High School in Richmond has a fall camp that gets a good deal of attention from D3s and up, again mostly from the East Coast.

The camps most likely to meet those specifications would include the Stanford All Star Camp held in late June/early July each year and the Headfirst Camps.

I sent you a "dialog" which can be accessed through the "dialog" button in the top right corner of this site.

Thanks

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com/bus_tour 

Thanks all for the suggestions! 

Showball also does an academic showcase well attended by many top academics.  I believe they have one scheduled for this July in New York.

Top 96 UA has a showcase near you at Catholic University in DC July 7 and 8th If you are looking for pure volume then Headfirst camps cover D1/D3 as well. As Marlaker said Showball has academic showcases as well. HF is the priciest, then Showball. Top 96 cost is all contingent upon the number of colleges in attendance. My 2015 attended all three as we had navigted the recruiting trail of the Ivy, Patriot, and High DIII academic schools. We found that the camps were especially good once the school has targeted the player, and there appears to be mutual interest. You didn't mention your graduation year...

Son is 2016 Grad year. Current Jr

For top academic D3 schools, in my experience, Headfirst on Long Island is/was the best.  Headfirst lists the schools it knows are attending.  In our experience, there were at least another 20-30 D3 schools when my 2012 did the event.  All HF events have a large number of D3 schools, and many of the "academic" D1s.  The HF events on Long Island had the greatest number of coaches compared to Sacramento and Jupiter.

Ripken Fan.. You suggest that the "camps were especially good once the school has targeted the player, and there appears to be mutual interest". How did you get the school to target the player prior to the camp?  Via letter ? 

The coaches of the schools that my son was interested (who were attending showcases) received emails that he was coming, along with a brief profile, video, and transcripts. Transcripts/SAT's are especially important in Ivies/High Academic. The e-mails too reflected a little piece of info that he knew about the program or school. Long before this he completed the Recruiting Questionnaires on the schools websites.

Schools that had spoken with him at showcases followed by e-mails (not mass e-mailings) of what they saw and liked he targeted, and also called these coaches. He went to camps of those in his top 5 summer before and during junior year. Those schools saw him play at least 3 times (showcases) by then. Towards the end the recruiters saw him play during the summer, though some of the schools saw him in high school (as a teammate was  (We also used a recruitng service where we could somewhat measure interest.

Son (as many do) got a number of camp invites. (the tough part is finding the interest level versus the $$ schools get from camps) We went a long way with a  school only to find they were really looking for a LH hitter....

Everyone has a journey. Best of luck on yours (or sons).

You may have learned this already, but you don't want your son to just show up at one of these showcases and wait for a coach to "discover" him. That almost never works. Before attending a showcase, he will still need to establish some kind of connection with coaches so that they will make an effort to see him.

When you factor in that prep work, the best bang for your buck may be to skip showcasing altogether. My advice (without knowing your son's position or skill level) would be to invest your time and money into a group of 5-10 realistic schools. By realistic I mean, he can qualify academically and he's a good enough ballplayer to play there. When you factor in location, costs, major and other factors, he should be able to narrow down a list to 5-10 schools. With a list that size, he can devote the personal attention to the process that's required. Call them, text them, send them personalized emails, send them video, have school/travel coaches contact them, etc. Look for reciprocal interest, and focus on those school. If not enough are interested, expand your list.

Your son's goal this summer should be to be seen by the schools who make his short-list. He should invite them to his summer games where feasible, attend their camps, go to a showcase that they will attend, etc.

Good luck.

Thanks for the level set!  This makes a lot of sense

I agree with other posters.  Try to get as much info as possible then narrow it down by attending events where those coaches will be in attendence.  Give them a heads up, and try to establish a dialogue with them.

To answer your question directly, I think a lot of depends on the geography you are looking at.  In my oldest son's case he attended HeadFirst and got serious national attention and offers from high academic schools (Ivy, Patriot and D3) all across the country.  Contrast that with my youngest son who travelled across Virginia with PIS on his Bus Tour to visit many D1/D3 schools right here in the Commonwealth.  It was a great experience for both son's but in vastly different ways.  The Bus Tour was much more personal and gave him access to local teams and coaches.  Youngest son received interest in the Fall despite being injured (coaches had seen him before).  Different kids from the same house with different goals and geographies.  

It is best to have a plan, get some exposure and experience then whittle it down to a handful of school as MidAtlanticDad suggests.  Understanding what that geography is can save you alot of time and money (bang for the buck as you describe it in your post).  The cost for a well run & targeted showcase or bus tour is absolutely small compared to the cost of 4 years of college.  JMO. 

Have your son email each college coach of interest. Express interest in the college and the baseball program. Ask where he can get in front of them. Accumulate the data. Attend the events where most of them attend.

And whatever you do, don't consider Amherst!

VAeman123 - 

I'm glad you've found this site.  It will help you a lot.  I sent you DM yesterday.  Feel free to reach out.  I'd be happy to walk through some big picture thoughts with you any time.

HF is the best high academic camp.  I recommend them to players every year.  

But before we go too far, I talk to at least 1 parent each month that mistakes "good" academics, "high" academics & "elite" academics.  The best thing to look at is your boys SAT/ACT scores.  Its amazing how many kids have 4.5 GPA so their parents think they are headed to the Ivy League only to realize that their teachers give A's out like candy.  Then they get that 1100 SAT score and come back to earth.  1100 isn't bad.  It just doesn't get you into "high academic" schools.  Hopefully you have SAT/ACT scores and can figure out what "world" he's going to fit into.

Back to the topic.  Baseball players and their families seem to live in a very "reactive" state.  "Go to camp. See who likes you.  Go to their school."   To me that sounds a lot like "Get in car with realtor.  See what house he likes.  Buy his favorite house."  

Lets look at the Ivy League.  I may be the only one that thinks like this, but I think that the EXPERIENCE of 4 years in Boston is different than Ithaca which is different than New Haven, Princeton, New York City, Hanover, Philly, etc.

Instead, why not turn it around and begin to figure out WHAT YOU NEED & WANT from your 4 year experience.  Figure out what those Top 5 "non-negiables" (beyond baseball & good degree) are.  

Obviously baseball will come into the conversation.  But I can promise you that if you figure out what you are looking for, you can also find several "best fits" at any level of baseball… D1, 2 or 3.  Especially at the "High Academic" level.  

A college choice (like buying a house) is a major life decision and a major financial investment.  I'd argue it deserves major research.  

Or you can simply go to camp and go to the school that "likes you" most.  No matter if its the best fit for you.

I work on "both sides" of this recruiting process.  We make the College Recruiting Videos for some of the best teams in the country.  So I'm very involved in the preliminary communication process and "marketing strategy".  But I've seen too many kids ignore their "best fit" for whatever reason.  My College Bus Tours are my passion project.  They are all about research.  Again, I'd be happy to talk.  No pressure, no strings attached.  You only get 1 crack at this though.  So keep doing your research and surround yourself with experienced and knowledgeable people.

Will somebody help me down off my soapbox before I get hurt up here?!

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com/bus_tour

Phone number is on the website if you want to chat

Rich,

excellent post and a reminder to grab the steering wheel, get realistic data and be proactive in this process.

RJM,

DOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH !

I would not consider that place either. Bunch of posers over there. Haha !

I would not attend any school that would accept me as a player.

(With apologies to the late Mr. Marx.)

Stanford Camp and Headfirst are the only 2 major camps for Academic Schools that I can vouch for. Stanford is by far the best summer camp experience I've seen. The Rolls Royce of baseball camps. I have heard good things about the bus tour that fenway mentioned too but have mixed feelings about showball, top 96

I have plenty of credit card bills from wasted camp experiences I can share w/ the group here. If I had a do over I would focus only on Headfirst and or Stanford and individual college camps at schools that fit my son both from a academic and baseball standpoint.

Everybody's mileage varies, but my son had very good luck with Showball.  Nine legit recruiting bites within three weeks of attending, without any advance communication.  Headfirst would've been our preferred choice, but Showball was just a six hour drive and ground fuel was a bit cheaper than the JP4.

You also might want to know going in that some of these events are skewed in favor of pitchers.

Best of luck!

Ohhhh, don't get me started on the advantage pitchers have in a number of the showcases where batters start with a 1-1 count to speed things along. Really tough on 2015, a leadoff hitter that likes to see a few pitches. Most pitchers start with a fastball, (what can they register on the gun) which puts the taker at 1-2, and someone here no doubt can compare the stats of batters with 1-1 versus 1-2 count.

But it wasn't all bad in the end. As Vasman noted in OP, we went to a showcase where we got "bang for our buck",4 schools with mutual interest of school and son. Batters started 1-1 count. Coaches for 2 of these schools were chatting at the end of the dugout, right next to on deck circle where son was. Coach says, "I want to see you lay down a bunt." Son (concerned of count) says "ok coach, but I have to get a pitch to bunt." (I am watching the dialogue not knowing what was said). Coach says, "Well, you have three or four at bats." First at bat, high strike on 1-1, then hits a rope over short into left.

Second ab squares, but takes a ball then hits a flare on pitch on corner over second into right for a hit. Third time up, (second time seeing pitcher) bunts to third on first pitch (not his best) but beats it out. Steals second, then third and scores on an infield out. Coach who made the request laughed with the other and said after son crossed the plate back to dugout, "Well, you could have at least winked at me when you got to first," (the dugout he was near.) Both schools "offered" (on the same day) three weeks later.

I highly recommend the Arizona Fall Classic All Academic Game.  http://azfallclassic.com/all-academic-game/ It might not be a geographic fit for you, but if you are serious about targeting high academic D3 schools you can't beat this forum.  Most (99%) of the kids selected are from teams already participating in a corresponding tournament,  This is a tryout based selected all-star game held in front of over 150-200+ coaches (D1-D3).  Ivy schools also attend this game.  Many kids target teams that are playing in this tournament to get a chance to tryout for this game.  You must submit grades and test scores and be approved before you can tryout.  Coaches flock to this game because they know every kid they see has grades to get in the school and has ability to play.  I took my son out last fall, he was not playing for a team, so if he didn't make the all-star game, the trip was a bust.  I did not know anything about the the game other than it was highly recommended.  I thought that was what everyone was doing!! Turns out, he was the only kid there not tied to a team.  He made the All-Star game and did very well. You are ranked based on tryout. My son is a pitcher, 77 tried out, they took 18.  He was recruited by over 25 schools from this game alone.  Several of the schools were on the East coast, and it was geographically diverse.  Some were high level academic D2 programs as well.  You get a very good mix of schools at this game, but I would say 60%+ were D3. He wound up committing to Trinity University (TX) as a direct result of this showcase, even though he had several options to play at higher levels of baseball, but they weren't the right academic fit for him. Best of luck in your pursuit. 

Igotnothing is on point about AZ Fall Classic Academic Game. I failed to mention it in an earlier reply but Yes it is excellent. My 2016 did the try out and played in the Academic All-Star game. Really great experience.Plenty of east coast schools including Ivys

Here is a tip...

DIII is a bit tough to research, but High academic DIs are fairly easy.  Check out the rosters of a Harvard or other Ivy League school.  Find a name and enter the name and baseball on google.  (John Doe baseball) look at what comes up. Be sure you put in the name and then baseball.

Do this for awhile, I think you will be surprised.