Insight into recent Coach contact

Wolfpacker,

Welcome to the HSBBW.  This can be a wonderful place to gather needed and useful information for your son's journey in baseball during his HS senior year and hopefully beyond.

I cannot offer much help in terms of the camp questions but I don't see any reason your son could not contact the coach for input and guidance. The college camp question gets a fair amount of diverse opinions on this site. Some say they are nothing more than cash cows for the coaching staff.  My personal view is that most college coaching staffs are looking for players who can compete and succeed in their program and are delighted when they find them in a camp. With that said, most of the camps which are not identified as "all-star" should be viewed as instructional, not for exposure and recruiting.I think you received a pretty accurate response from the Head First people.

In terms of the question of whether you can expect an "offer" from the D3 coach, we probably need to define the word offer and your expectations. D3's do not offer any athletic scholarship money. Coaches have no access to or control of financial aid of any type at the D3 level. If that is part of the expectation, the answer would be no, that won't happen.

D3 baseball coaches also cannot "guarantee" admission or even assure admission.

What you could anticipate is a coach meeting your son to discuss the school, the academics, the admission process, and possibly putting your son in touch with those who can help on both the admission and financial aid side. You might also expect  a discussion about  the baseball and where the coach sees your son fitting in that program as a freshman and potentially beyond. You might also anticipate the coach describing what expectations the staff and program would have of your son if he wants to achieve those goals.

With that said, it might be wise to have no expectations about a discussion since this is a camp context. That would not be due to lack of interest. It might be a function of time and resource allocation for the coaches.

Our experience is that D3 coaches who have identified a player as a potential contributor will be very above board about it and very open. They want to illustrate their enthusiasm for the player, the team, the school, the academics and how the combination can be a great "fit." With that said, our experience is mostly with a smaller, private Liberal Arts school with a top baseball program.  It might well be different in the SUNY and Wisconsin type D3's which are very large, public schools where far more players might compete for roster spots.

Good luck with the process. I hope you keep the HSBBW bookmarked for further questions and reading during your son's senior year and his recruiting process.

With my son's recruitment - our rule of thumb was that a coach isn't really interested until there is a phone call.  We received tons of emails/invites to camps, etc.  But if a coach really wants you - there will be a phone call.  (My son has already committed to a D1 - but continues to get camp invites....for big schools we KNOW are already recruiting 2016s...at some point camps are just moneymakers in my opinion.) 

D3's are a different breed.  There aren't really any "offers" for D3...but of course they certainly want you to commit to coming - but know there is no promise.  My daughter attends a D3 school.  They had 20 recruited baseball players (ie., committed) freshman and cut 10 of them after tryouts.  They were not protected whatsoever.  I'm not trying to scare you - I am sure each program treats recruits differently.  But just ask around about the program - find out what others experienced with the program, etc.  These boards are a great resource.

Good luck!

Wolfpacker, infielddad gave some very good advice.  I would only add that it couldn't hurt to go, especially since your son is interested in the school and the coach personally contacted him about attending.  Although many camps do not generate a lot of "offers", coaches will look for guys they may be interested in and can use them to further evaluate a player that they already have interest in.  My son attended a camp for a school and was given an offer as a result of it.  It was a D2 school, so there actually was baseball money involved, but it is the same principle. 

I would say go to the camp, talk to the coach and see what he has to say.  Come up with any questions you may have about the school or the baseball team and take it from there.  Good luck.

I steer toward the "buyer beware" end of the spectrum of opinions on college camps, but some camps do make sense for some players.

Some schools do hold occasional small camps they try to fill with known players who have a plausible chance of making their roster. To comply with NCAA rules against on-campus tryouts, these camps have to be open to the public, but the schools can reduce the number of strays by advertising only through word of mouth and opening their online registration for only short periods of time, sometimes only a couple weeks before the date of the camps. 

If this camp is in this category, it could be good news and bad news.  The good news is they view your son as someone who could potentially make their roster.  The bad news is they don't yet view him as a key contributor they have decided to recruit. 

If your son is already interested in this school and wants another chance to impress the coach and doesn't have a better opportunity that weekend, there's no harm in going, seeing the school again, and trying to meet with the coach and learn more about the depth of his interest in your son. 

If you do go, understand two things:

1.  Camps sell group instruction.  Anything else you think you're buying is probably

not included.

2.  The coach already saw your son once, and his response (phone call with another camp invitation) conveys less conviction than other possible responses (phone call, request for transcripts and test scores, invitation for a campus tour that includes a meeting with a school official qualified to discuss the admission and financial aid process). 

I believe D3 baseball breaks just as many hearts as D1 baseball does--it just does it later, often using the process bballfan2012 described.  So be careful.  A lot of D3 "commitments" are one-sided:  the player is all in, but the coach has no skin in the game.

Please let us know how it works out.

Best wishes,

Some colleges use the camps to help with the recruiting process.  My son was told, through his assistant coach, to come to this winter camp.  The college was interested in him (according to his assistant coach).  We checked out the camp announcement and it was for players 11 to 18 in age.  The camp looked like a money maker to me.  My son's coach (former player) assured us this is how they do some of their recruiting.  The recruiting coordinator called my son's assistant coach (the night before) to make sure he was attending.  There wasn't a whole lot of communication with my son prior to the camp.  We went to the camp (only $50) and a five hour drive.

At the camp, the recruiting coordinator took a group of players (I think about 6) and only worked with them (my son was one of them).  The other campers were working with players and other assistants.  The recruiting coordinator and the head coach only talked with our son (and us) after the camp.

It sounds like the coach wants to take another look at your son.  It will become obvious at the camp if they are interested in your son or not.  I don't know about D3 schools, but I believe camps at D1 and D2 have to be open to anyone wishing to attend. This might be the reason for lifting the limit.

Similar situation to yours this past weekend. A university in Arkansas expressed interest in Monkeyboy Jr. via our select GM. They explained they may be losing another player.  ...They had seen him play this year but wanted us to pop in to a High School Prospect camp for another look.

We have had other requests from schools that have seen my kid play in person and have expressed interest via email or phone.  On advice from our GM we went forward with signing up for camp and making the trek.  Upon arrival it was obvious they did\do have an interest in M.J. as they gave him extra at bats and we spoke with the recruiting coordinator after the showcase where he expressed interest.

Out of all this I can say that prior to going to one of these it just didnt add up to blow $150 on a camp just to get my kid additional looks if the college is interested or if the college still has time to watch him play in the fall.  With an extremely limited baseball budget to begin with these types of expenditures seem frivoulous and unneeded if there is indeed interest.  I mean...if they have intereste why do i have to pay them when if there is a partnership down the line they will be getting much more than $150?

But...upon going to the camp and speaking with the recruiting coordinator things became a little clearer.  I guess certain divisions have to extend invites to the masses and cant be selective about attendees to the point of exclusion.  Along with this I guess if one is charged a certain amount they all have to be charged a certain amount <--assumption. I can say our trip was worth it and it has changed my mind somewhat...somewhat...to getting invites to some of these camps.

I can say with the knowledge we have now we will still be very judicious about any other camps...unless there is a personal invitation and even then there is only so much money.

One issue is that I don't believe NCAA schools can have an individual player work out for them.  It has to be part of a "camp" or open invitation event or the coach going to an event the player is playing in.  I think sometimes, the recruiting coordinator may have seen the player and probably talked to the HC about him.  But the HC wants to see the player in action before making a final decision.  The "camp" may be the only way to do that. 

I still think if a school is interested in you, and you are interested in the school, it's not a bad thing to do.  Getting random emails when you haven't had interest from the school or you don't have an interest in the school is still just a crapshoot.

Congrats on your son's top choice being interested, in the end the College experience and academics is the most important. I won't comment on the camp as we have not had that experience.  We are in a similar situation with a D3 wanting my 2014 son and this has been our experience to date.

School expressed interest through summer coach and we took a visit, coach met us first, escorted us to the Admissions dept where we met with Admissions and did the tour. After tour private meeting with Admissions where they examined my son's grades\ test scores to ensure he would qualify for an academic scholarship and answered any questions one might have on the school. We received a range of what to expect in a scholarship offer but of course no promises.  After admissions the coach met us and took us for a tour of the Baseball facilities and talked baseball and his plans for the team with my son.

He will apply there, and once he receives his acceptance letter that will detail amount of academic scholarship. Coach has been to see him play during the summer  and kept in touch so we gauge there is real interest. As others have said D3 is academic money which in my opinion is good, he takes care of business grades wise and that can't go away and it is good for 4 years. As far as baseball he has to make the team, but given the other Pitchers he should see playing time right away and that is the coaches plan but of course he needs to perform.

Not like a D1 with an offer, we will need to wait until official scholarship notification takes place, but so far all signs are positive.

Hope this helps

Wolfpacker - welcome to the hsbbweb! 

I am going to make an assumption here based on your well-written post that your personal finances will not be destroyed by sending your son to that camp.  If that indeed is the case, then by all means send him to the camp.  It will give your son added exposure and experience competing in a college-like setting.  If they happen to make some money off the event at the same time then more power to them.  Just because you pay for an event does not mean both sides cannot "profit" from the experience.  I know this, if the coach asks him to attend and he does not, then you just might make that coach's decision easy for them.  Do everything in your power to help your son find the best fit.  Put him in front of as many coaches as possible and hopefully at least one coach falls in love with him.

I have a question...My son has gotten emails too...the latest was from the teams assistant coach...My son would like to attend the camp but has already commited to playing the same weekend with his showcase team...Would it be bad etiquitte or a waste of time to respond to the email that He would love to attend the camp but cannot due to prior commitment but would be interested in one of the winter camps they are offering....

Dolphin, This was one of the biggest conflicts during my son's recruiting period, and one we did not handle well.  Here's what I would suggest.  IF this camp is at a school that is absolutely a top priority school for your son, attend the camp.  If he is only interested because the coach just emailed him about the camp, then attending a later camp is likely fine.  My son did not have a solid "yes" list of schools that he was interested in, and chased many invitations reactively.  Your showcase team should understand that when the "yes" school asks you to come, you come.

I appreciate all of the folks taking the time to respond.  I have carefully read each one and will continue to learn as time goes on. 

To dolphindan1, I would think that there are but a few minutes invested in a quick email to the assistant coach explaining the prior commitment.  It cannot hurt and they will at least keep him on their list for the winter camps.

Despite playing on an outstanding club team in the most competitive places, camps were my son's best recruiting tool.  I think when you are not physically imposing, coaches at times like to take a longer look at you.  Honestly, kids that are 5'10-6' and play baseball are easy to find and they can all have a great day.  Smart coaches ferret out those players with more in depth looks.

My son attended 6 college camps.  2 were single day camps and although he did well, they resulted in what I would say was you are down the depth chart but we'll keep you on the hook as long as we can interest and the other four were multi day and resulted in recruited walk on/guaranteed roster spot offers at the D1 level.  He clearly wasn't a stand out stud but upon closer look, the longer the better, many decided that he would add to their teams.  

Again, different then most here who seem to discourage recruited walk on status, my son has had a GREAT experience as a recruited walk on.  He is treated identical to everyone else by team mates and coaches alike and has been pushed each day.  Clearly he was a high quality player but not a 6'4" stud but he found his place and camps were a very effective tool!  

Good luck.