Headfirst Showcase

Headfirst held one of their camps in Sacramento last summer, which my son attended (as did Krakatoa's).

It delivered in every way on what it promised. Thirty or so college coaches there, mostly high academic DI's and DII's, such as Georgetown, Princeton, Trinity, Malacaster, Willamette, Brown, Columbia, etc.

Coaches were very attentive, approachable, and obviously quite seriously interested in using the showcase to identify prospects.

We very well might attend it again this summer (as my son is an '08.)

I highly recommend the Headfirst organization for a player who is looking to play ball at a higher academic college.

I can second the endorsement for Headfirst. My son is playing at Lafayette College as as a direct result of attending the camp in Jupiter. He went both his junior and senior fall.

The price is a relative thing considering the exposure you get. It is geared for the students with solid grades and tests scores but if you fall into that catagory it is definitly a top shelf experience.

If your son has very good grades and sats and is a good player and is interested in top academic schools this is a good showcase. Unfortunately we attended the one in Ruther Glen, VA. The two days that we were there it was 104 degrees. When we arrived the thermometer in my car read 106. The fields have little to no shade. It was brutal for the players, the coaches and the parents. Coaches were not really in the mood to talk. No one wanted to move. I think under other conditions it would have been very good.
They do have all of the coaches that they say they will have.I have heard that they are much more friendly when the weather is better.

If you meet the criteria listed here (good grades, good test scores and want to play baseball at a high academic school)

GO!!!!

BY FAR the best money we ever spent on a showcase type of event. The expense is relative to what you get out of it.

My son went to the first Virginia showcase (Th-Fri) and we could not believe there was somewhere hotter than Florida in the summer!!There were over 60 coaches there which I thought was pretty impressive. The Headfirst group did a very good job overall and my son made several very solid early contacts (he is a 2009). The communications have recently starting picking up from several of the schools in attendance at the showcase. I am guessing these schools have started the 2009 prospect campaign.
We will definitely be signing up for this summer's Headfirst event.

I highly recommend the camp. So much of the recruiting process creates walls between recruiters and those of us who want information. At this event the coaches wear their team uniform, give scheduled talks about their programs and are available to speak to students and parents. In fact, the organizers basically tell the players to pigeon hole the coaches. It is well-organized and fun, they do, however, have no control over the weather. Virginia was tough last August.

For good student-athletes this showcase is a must. My son had more coaches contacting him after this event than anything else we did. He took official visits to three of the D1 schools that recruited him from this showcase and they all made him offers. He signed with Wofford (SC D1) as a direct result of the coaches seeing him at this showcase.

GO! You will not regret the investment.

I know this is going to be a hard question to answer as there are many variables, but how good do you have to be to go to this showcase? Granted you need to have the grades, but what about just baseball skills, I'm interested in the camp but have no idea where the talent level is related to me.

Any help? Thanks

093rd

Does not matter.

Both thumbs up for Headfirst.


cheers
Bear

09ts,

First of all, welcome to the HSBBW.

In reference to your question, there is some pretty good talent at their showcases, but they are very welcoming. If you think that you have the talent to play at the college level and have the academic qualifications, I don't think that there is a better place to get a good look and a fair chance at showing your talent.

That being said, if you don't think that you have the talent to play at the college level, going to this showcase just to get exposed to the schools, probably really doesn't make sense. Because you are on this site, I would guess that you have some talent.

Are you anywhere near Macalester? Coach Parrington attends the Headfirst showcases regularly. If there is any chance to see him , or talk with him, he might be able to give you a better idea.

Be confident, work hard, take your best shot. You never know what might happen. Best of luck.

Coach Parrington is a great guy and I second the thoughts from P&C mom. If you are not near, call him and talk to him.

I have a question for those that have participated in Headfirst.....

How early did you register? Do I need to register now (January) for the August camps or is is it safe to wait a few months?

Since the camp requires full payment ($795) at registration with no refunds for any reason, I am reluctant to commit the funds this far in advance.

Any thoughts?

Decision you will have to make for yourself. Last year the first VA showcase (Sat-Sun) soldout and they had so many players wanting to come they scheduled a second showcase on Thur-Friday before the first one. It sold out as well.

Natural - Thank you for the info.

How many months in advance of the camp did you register?

Couple of general comments about registration:
If you want to attend the Richmond session:
REGISTER NOW!!!!
As mentioned, that session has sold out for the last 3 years. Such demand in 2007, they added a 2nd session which sold out.

I know the guys at Headfirst and they are not trying to rip off anyone. If you signed up and had a very unusual circumstance (let's say an injury/death in the family, etc.) I doubt they would refund your $$$, but they would probably allow you to attend a different session or depending on your age, let you credit it to attend a showcase next year.....

If you have the grades and talent....I would HIGHLY recommend this showcase!

We waited too long and missed out on registering for the first showcase... thought we were out of luck... then happily found out they were adding a second date and registered for it immediately! Moral of the story... register now if you can.

In a NY Times article posted on the headfirst website it mentions that one of the coaches automaticaly crossed off 70% of the camp participants because their grades/test scores did not meet the requirements for his school. So, this raises the question for me....what is good enough for ivy league admission for athletes?

I know it varies by institution but in general....

Thanks for your help.

I would suggest you buy the latest version of U.S. News & World Report's annual guide to the nation's universities. It is really an outstanding resource, and it will answer that question for each school of interest to you, and then some.

Mildo Dad - Thank you for the suggestion, I will be sure to pick up the publication you recommended.

I don't have the one you mentioned but I do have several books, Fiske Guide, The Princeton Review, etc. that give me the "range" of SAT and ACT for each school so I have a good idea what Ivy's and others are looking for but I am curious where athletes fall within the range, are they lower than the range, middle of the range, or same as any other student (non-athlete) applying to the school.

It is surprising to me that 70% of the campers attending Headfirst did not realize they were outside the range for the target schools. For the cost, time, etc. I would think they probably thought they WERE in the range or they probably would not have attended.

I just hate to invest the time and money if my son is not a good fit academicly. He is a good student but not sure if his grades and tests are high enough for top tier schools.

Be advised that many of the IVIES are adjusting their admission criteria thus with this in mind I would check their websites---many of the current publications went to press way before the IVY adjustments

TRhit - thanks for your input.

What is causing the Ivy adjustments for admission criteria? I am not familiar with what you are referring to.

baseballfan


Many of them are taking a different view of things lately---each is doing their own thing and that is why I suggest you look at the websites of the IVY schools you have interest in

quote:

what is good enough for ivy league admission for athletes?

Under the assumption my son will continue on his academic and athletic track (he's a freshman) I talked with a couple of dads from our area with sons at two different Ivy's. Both of their sons were in the 3.5+/1300 range in high school. These grades/scores would not get them accepted if they weren't baseball players. Also, how colleges accept student-athletes may vary from institution to institution.

My son attended the Richmond showcase this past week. I was pleased with the experience. Almost all of the 60+ coaches listed were there and the Headfirst staff worked hard to keep things rolling. The Headfirst staff took time with most players to make them feel comfortable and confident.

Player contact with a particular college coach can be a little challenging. Some coaches were not in uniform; so it took a little effort to figure out who was who. Figuring out when a specific coach was available was also tough. The coach that my son most wanted to talk with was in the dugout when my son didn't have a game. Fortunately, the weather delay made the right opportunity.

The general skill level and athleticism of the players wasn't much different than any AAA tournament here in Michigan. Two notable exceptions were the hitting and the outfielders' arm strength. There were only a couple of home runs, but I saw very few bad swings in two days. The top half of the OFs had tremendous arms.

I also noticed that many of the coaches are friends with each other, especially within their conference. This could be a positive or negative during the recruiting process.

Seeing Coach Clark from Emory in action was the highlight of my weekend. His interaction with the players was great. He asked questions, he pulled to get their questions. He wanted them all have fun. I could see that he values every day that he can put on a baseball uniform.

Leaving the academic piece aside, how does this event rank against Best in Virginia? If you have to limit yourself to only one showcase next summer, would you go to BIV or Headfirst?

BIV is to be seen by colleges across Virginia (or Mid-Atlantic region) whereas Headfirst is an academic showcase, i.e., seeking to attract students with high academics (grades/test scores) and match them with schools across US with high admission standards.

DCBa, I was surprised during our son's recruiting process to find that the coaches from rival schools talk to each other A LOT.

When we went to one school, they were fully aware of my son's already having received an offer from another school. They made a point of offering compare/contrast comments to us. Nothing untoward was said, mind you, but I was shocked that they knew. At that time we hadn't told anyone, so there was only one way they could have known.

Turns out many coaches here used to work with other coaches there, and they keep up with one another. Hey, I guess you never know when you might need a job, or at least a reference, so networking goes on from a business standpoint as well as just from a social/friendship standpoint. And sometimes when a school thinks highly of a kid but truly has no spot for him, they'll even help you out by referring you to a friend, even a conference rival.

Now, some guys are indeed bitter rivals, but though I was surprised initially at how much talk went on among coaches, in hindsight it shouldn't have surprised me.

DCBA..did your son go on Thur/Fri or Sat/Sun. My son was there on Sat/Sun and the weather could not have been better!