Headfirst Honor Roll Camps

Do a search on the subject in this thread and you will find more information on them.

Their camps are for high academic achievers and are highly regarded. The participating schools are on their web site and they usually sell out. I have been told to have your SAT (or other tests) out of the way before you attend so you know where your son stands academically.

Son attended one of their camps this summer. It was well organized and ran like clock work. All the coaches wore their team uniforms so you could identify them. It was stressed that is was ok to approach coaches and introduce yourself. Overall the best experience of the summer.

A couple of things.

First make sure your son is in the best baseball shape he can be in. Have him work on his speed and strength months before attending. Bake the cake before you can eat it. The biggist problem I noticed was dead arms. Did see many players that were very tiered from attending another camp the week before and it showed. If possible do not attend another camp before. Be fresh.


Second be absoluty sure your son will have the academics that would get him into the schools that are attending. Look at the list of a schools you son is interested in and go to their web site and see what is needed academic wise to get in. No need approaching a coach if son won't get in with his grades. You will be able to narrow your focus. Coaches stressed that a player must have grades to get into the school as they have no pull with addmissions. The first questions son was asked was what are your grades. This alone will narrow down the list of schools.

Thirdly make sure you will be able to afford the school. Most of the schools will be smaller private schools and the offer no bb money but will offer some acacdemic money. Grades again. Again look at their web site to see project costs. This again will narrow down schools.

Do your homework before attending. Go in with open eyes. The list of schools attending may be impressive but in realty only one or two schools may work for you. If so attend. I felt for us it was worth the money.

In my opinion, these are some of the better camps out there. There are a lot that are a waste of time and money, IMO, but I do not put the head first camps in that category.

The turnout for this showcase is amazing, from both players (from all over the country) and colleges. The focus is on "high academic" schools, and for that it is the best event of its kind. PG has started a competing event and I would never discourage you from attending a PG event, but in this niche this particular event is still top dog.

The bigger event is in Jupiter, FL, but the VA event is also well attended.

I got an e-mail from them too. I like in FL, so the Jupiter one would be more convenient (45 mins away), but the Richmond one seems bigger on their site?

This showcase will serve you best if you have HIGH academics.

All of the above advice is absolutely right.

Our son attended the Richmond camp three years ago. It was great. He ended up at a college that recruited him from there.

They won't list coaches as attending unless they are - so, barring emergency, listed coaches actually show up.

Coaches really looked at each players. They did not seem to come with a pre-established list of players to look at and ignore the rest.

The first questions coaches asked was "What is your GPA and SAT/ACT?"

If your player is interested in a particular school, he might want to e-mail the coach before to let him know that he was looking forward to introducing himself at the event.

I did not see too many coaches chase after players, but players did line up to talk with coaches.

Let your player approach the coach and do the talking, unless the coach asks to talk with you.

On the car ride there, I practiced with our son how he would approach a coach. It gave him some confidence. After the first discussion with a coach, it became a lot easier.

Keep it fun.

Best wishes.

Just off the top of my head, here are some of the coaches we saw at the Honor Roll showcase at Va. Sports Complex in 2005 -- first time it was at that location:

UVA
Wm. & Mary
virtually every Ivy League school
Georgetown
and too many others for me to remember right now.

FYI, saying it's in Richmond is a stretch. It's actually in Caroline County, halfway to Fredericksburg. A good half hour or more north of Richmond.

My son attended the Richmond camp twice. It was his favorite showcase/camp experience. Very well run by some great guys. He also ended up at a school that recruited him from there and visited several others.

Great advice by gimages.

To get the most out of this camp your son needs to be prepared and confident in approaching and talking to college coaches. Most of them are very approachable and nice guys.

Definitely GO!! Hands-down one of the best 'exposure' events an academically sound ballplayer can attend.

These are highly regarded camps - by coaches and campers alike. Some of the college coaches who attend them were actively recruiting my son last year (and by "actively" I mean, he had official visit offers from the colleges). These coaches personally told us that these are excellent camps to attend.

Do a search - lots of info on them here. It is for high academic kids.

Would you guys recommend the Jupiter one, or the Richmond one? I've heard both sides. More schools attend the Richmond one as shown on their site.

Note: I live in Florida

My $.02. Ask your parents first about the cost (for travel purposes). Also, consider the timing, although you are a HS sophomore, correct? If you were a junior, I would lean on the Richmond camp a little more because it is in August, and if memory serves me correctly, I think the Jupiter camp is in Octover. I am sure both are good, but I do know a lot of coaches go to the Richmond camp, and I believe it is their signature event.

As a soph, I don't think you could go wrong either way.

oops - October -- sorry can't type!

Thanks for all the info.

My son has a 4.31 GPA (honors and AP classes), 34 on ACT, 1170 SAT so I hope he should be in line to be considered for admissions by most of the schools listed.

I think we are now leaning towards attending.

Thanks again.

OBD: Is that SAT score based upon only two parts of the test? Otherwise, is that a correct score?

Otherwise, his grades and scores look pretty sweet.

Yes the SAT score is based on 2 parts.

Total score was 1730 for all three parts.

His ACT score is outstanding. You will have the option to send either the SAT or the ACT score to most schools. In your case, the ACT is the best reflection (you probably knew that - didn't mean to think you didn't!)

Good for us all to see that test scores CAN work in your favor!

Yep, agree with gamefan. ACT score is exceptional. That'd be what I would go with.