Interest or not....

Email coach back. Have him ask if he can call and what would be a good time If coach responds, call him. when your son talks to the coach, ask what he thinks he can get better at. from that you should be able to tell if they really saw him or if it is just a money maker.

 

The first real question, I guess, is; Is your son interested in playing there?

Oh, as FYI it does happen a lot. But you / your son should follow up if he is interested. Only takes one coach to love the player. Never know where that might happen

it depends.

 

What position does your son play and how does his measurable stats compare to others?

 

First glance, it sounds like a mass mailing. And yes, it is done often. Is this one of your son's target schools? If so, pursue it but do it with eyes open. As you will read in some other threads on the same subject, ask your son to contact the coach and ask specifically what it was that he liked. The coach's answer, or lack thereof, may tell you a lot.

(I was typing as chefmike was posting!   )

In my limited experience, if you have any interest in the school, go either way and while you are there, try and schedule a tour.

College coaches are not shy, and they are not coy.

 

When they decide they want a player, they move quickly and unambiguously to get a commitment from that player.

 

Any ambiguous or tentative or vaguely encouraging communication you receive from a college coach means either 1) you are in their "maybe" pile; 2) you are a contingency consideration in case they fail to land recruits they value more highly; or 3) you are at present viewed primarily as a potential camp customer.

 

It is possible to get noticed at a college camp or showcase, but this camp invitation means your son hasn't convinced them yet.

 

From time to time during my son's college search, one of these emails would arrive and I would joke with him, saying, "Bad news.  Big State U just downgraded you from a prospect to a camp customer. I recommend re-doubling your efforts in Calculus."

 

I wonder how much money these college camps raise are used to fund the recruiting trips of players the coaches really want?  

I think a lot of those camp funds goes to the volunteer assistant coach.

What year is your son?  Did the email include a direct phone number to the HC or RC?  Does it contain a personal email?  Does it have an unsubscribe link?  Is it sent directly to him or through a distro list?

 

All of these can be clues as to the level of interest.

If there is real serious interest, the email would include the coaches cell number.  If so, give him a call and tell him thanks for the interest and just ask some general questions about the upcoming camp.  If not, it's likely he got the "mailing list" from the showcase and sent it to everyone.  Was this coach (or at least a coach from that school) at the showcase?   $100 is pretty cheap for a camp...especially if it includes multiple schools.  If your son is interested in one or more of them, go ahead.....it can't hurt.  My son's first real interest came from a coach who saw him throw at a winter showcase.   Funny thing is my son was only planning on doing IF and OF....but decided to throw because pitching was in between the other two and he didn't feel like sitting and watching.  You never know who will see your son...and what they may like....the more opportunities the better

On a side note...is $100 a typical fee for a college camp?  I guess I am just used to seeing the PG fees, that seems REALLY cheap...but then again, I know nothing.

Interesting comment.  I was thinking along these lines.  Is there any truth in this?

100% correct.

Seriously, attend camps for instruction, some are excellent, some not, but very rarely to sign you up, that's only for serious recruits who can't meet the coaches on the outside.

Yes the email does include his direct email address and his cell phone number. And no there is no unsunscribe link.

I always thought you should pick a few schools of interest and then attend a prospect camp at that school as a way of getting coaching interest.  Is that not the case?  Other than instruction, why go?

I appreciate all of the input. As far as the question is it one of his targeted schools? No but we don't want to shut any doors that may be open. He wants to play ball. Ultimately he would probably like to play somewhere close (within three hours of home) but if the opportunity is outside of that area it would be considered just as strongly as any other. That being said, in this particular situation, I wouldn't want to drop $400 (registration w/ expenses) to go somewhere where there is not genuine interest, hence the question.At the same time I don't want to miss an opportunity. He is Class of 2016 so time is important here and we want to make sure we use that time well and aren't just throwing money around.

I know from coaches in other sports (football and basketball) that these camps are a huge secondary source of income. The use of facilities for their camps are usually a negotiated part of the coach's contract and - especially at smaller schools with smaller base salaries - a big consideration when a coach is negotiating his compensation with a school.

Use the phone number.  Not sure what year your son is but unless he is a 2016 the coaches cant contact him directly yet.  I think on 9/1 they are allowed direct email, facebook and twitter access.  But they can not call him.  Your son, however, can call them.  If they put their office phone, cell phone or email on a camp invite its generally a sign that the email is a little more then a run of the mill mass emailing.  If your son (not you) calls him he should be able to find out the level of interest.

Just read in another post that he is a 2016.  That changes things a little.  I believe we are at a point where full contact is allowed for the 2016's.  Others can chime in and let you know.

Yes, many of the individual college camps run anywhere from $100 to $250, depending on whether they are single day or multi-day camps, also whether it's a D1, etc.

 

Pick any college and google "insert college name here baseball camp"

 

I know you're in Georgia, so I googled UGA's ($275, less for hitter only camp), Kennesaw State ($149-$160) and Georgia College & State University ($85-$135). These prices are very normal for these type of camps.

If there's a cell number they are serious about wanting to see him.  If he has any interest in them at all, give them a call, thank them for the invite and let them know he's coming.  He could learn more about what they think of him.  At this point, unless he has absolutely no interest at all in the school, I'd pay the $100 and attend.  When he gets there, make sure he finds and talks to the coach BEFORE the camp starts....the other coaches in attendance WILL very likely notice and at least figure out that your son has some interest from that coach.  Interest from any coach is a good indicator that the kid has skills.  The other coaches will likely pay more attention to him knowing that he's on the radar of the school hosting the camp.  It may help...it may not....but again $100 is a small price to pay for some more exposure....especially when at least one coach has shown interest. 

I am in somewhat of the same situation as you as my son is a 2016 and we're working on a plan to maximize his exposure for the rest of the year.  The camps that he has attended this year so far were both $150 so the $100 price tag seems reasonable.  Esp since there could be 10 other schools in attendance.  Is there a way for you to check which schools will be there/have been there in the past?  On some websites the school will list who will be there and some just list who has been there in years past.  Check their website to see if that info is there as there may be other schools coming that are on your son's list.  

 

Also - my son is on CaptainU and I see all the emails that come in to his profile.  99% of them are about camps and he gets many more direct to his email that I don't see that are all primarily invites to camps.  The messages that appear to be mass mailings or just camp invites do not make reference to seeing him play, having the rest of the staff see him, etc. 

 

MCass, 

 

I recommend you disregard the advice about attempting to gauge the intensity of the coach's interest from hints in the email.  You already know the only three things you can know from this email:

1) They're holding a camp.

2) They know your son exists.

3) They aren't ready to make him an offer.

 

Anything about the email that makes you think there is genuine interest is just evidence of the  salesmanship skills of the author of the email. Of course, they want to sound like they know and are sincerely interested in your son--it's a sales letter.  Here's what those supposed subtle indicators of interest really mean:

•  "I saw you play and would like the opportunity for the rest of our staff to see you as well"?  This is roughly equivalent to a car salesman saying he likes your offer but needs to run it by the sales manager.  It means your son is the list he got from the showcase operators last week.  
• The presence of a cell phone number?  That means, "Operators are standing by. Call now!" You received a sales brochure disguised as a personal communication. Of course, they want a chance to talk you into attending if you're on the fence.
• The absence of an unsubscribe list? That means the solicitation was prepared the old fashioned way by an assistant baseball coach.

It is not conceivable that the school sent out different versions of this list with more or less of these features depending on if they are genuinely interested in, sort of interested in, or mildly amused by your son.

 

It is also not conceivable that the coach walked around the event your son played in and jotted down the names of players he liked enough to invite to camp but not enough to initiate more purposeful contact through travel coaches at the event.

 

It is also not conceivable that they sent this solicitation to fewer than five or ten times the number of slots they still need to fill at this camp.

 

Camps sell high priced, short-term group instruction.

 

Campers buy the dream of receiving this instruction so impressively that they become prospects.

 

Sales pitches that appear personalized are more effective than those that don't.  

 

I would make the decision to attend the camp based strictly on:

1) Whether you want to buy the instruction they are offering, and

2) What other opportunities you have to invest the $400 and those few days in your son's college search.

 

Other members here have stories similar to what occurred when my son received a call from a coach asking him to visit his campus and the only day we could visit happened to be a day the school was hosting a camp. We were instructed to enter the building through a side door that led to the team's locker room because all the campers would be out front checking in when we arrived. While the camp was going on, the head coach spent two hours giving my son the tour and presenting his offer. When my son wanted to meet the pitching coach, the head coach walked us down to the field house, escorted my son through the throng of campers and pulled the pitching coach away from the drill he was running to chat with my son.  Several campers looked quite dispirited when they figured out the head coach had been absent from the camp they had paid to attend so he could recruit someone who hadn't paid to be there.

 

Camps are always about raising money. They are sometimes about getting additional looks at a few specially invited players. They are almost never about discovering new prospects for the college team.

 

Don't waste your time reading between the lines.  If you're really curious, have your son call the coach and find out if the coach knows anything about him.

Swampboy....not trying to start an argument....but my son is a D1 commit...and is very good friends with a lot  of kids his age who are attending college to play baseball.  In almost every case, and in the case of friends who are older who went thru this process, the inclusion of a cell phone number almost always meant that there was at least SOME genuine interest.  No coach is willing to give out a cell number just to get a kid to call so they can convince him to come to a camp.  We received numerous contacts from schools during the recruiting process.....and as it turned out every  coach that included an email was genuinely interested.  I don't think we have one email that included a cell phone number on a "mass email" type of contact.  That's just not information that coaches are willing to put out to the public....they have enough going on without receiving 100 phone calls from kids interested in attending a camp.   Again, not trying to argue...it's just that the cell phone thing was always the one thing that seemed to be the same for everybody....if you got a number...they liked you....at least to some extent. 

Again I really appreciate all of the info. I kind of agree that maybe the cell phone number could be an indicator of SOME level of interest, otherwise their phones would be ringing off the hook.

I had never heard of the earlier mentioned CaptainU. Is this similar to NCSA? If so what's the differences? I know a little about NCSA.

CaptainU is another pay to use recruiting site.  same as berecruited or NCSA.  If you look back in the recent thread list you will find some discussion that took place the last few days.  

Swampboy did say, "Have your son call." So I think he knows the phone number is some level of interest, but his main point is that if they are REALLY interested you will know.  When my son was offered by Air Force, U. of Richmond, etc., it happened immediately.  There was no fooling around.  Some other schools pussy footed around so to speak, so you knew their was interest, but the real genuine offers happened right away.

We have a difference of opinion, Buckeye, and that's fine.

 

It's healthy for the OP to see the full range of views when making the best decision for this particular ballplayer in this particular case.

 

Personally, I don't think the cell phone number of an assistant coach at a D2 or even a mid major D1 is going to be protected like a state secret.  Now if you got an email with Tim Corbin's cell--and he answered when you called--that would be a different story.

 

And our different views on cell phone numbers shouldn't obscure my larger point:  Many baseball parents needlessly parse the exact phrasing of emails and texts trying to read between the lines and figure out exactly how interested a coach is.  It doesn't matter. Until the coach is sufficiently interested to invite the player to campus for a personal chat, he's not interested enough for it to matter to you.

 

 

 

 

Are these college camps for instruction or just to see the kids in action?  Because after about 2 camps what else can you really learn?  

We had a local small university (NAIA) that was starting a baseball program charging $25 for a tryout fee for their baseball program.  I thought that was reasonable although I was wondering why the fee if it was to recruit potential players? 

CaptainU is like NCSA - we signed up for it prior to one of his team's tournaments last summer and I paid the minimum monthly fee to let him have access to info (like who viewed his profile).  Looking back on it I would mostly likely not have paid for it as you can get all the info on the coaches from these schools on the team website (but not cell phone numbers as has been mentioned here a few times).  It does allow him to have all his info in one spot, including videos, where he can be seen (in his profile).  

Exactly.

That goes back to my comment about the difference between what camps are selling (high priced, short-term group instruction) and what campers think they are buying (the chance to make an impression and become a recruit).

And these are all why I ask. He will be playing fall ball again this season and has games every weekend. He has no issue missing anything , nor do I have issue with an expense, if there is legitimate interest. However, all the fall ball games in his schedule are played at JUCO or D2 schools anyway and provide opportunities to be seen. I'd hate for him to miss out on that and have the added expense of going 6 hrs away with no real interest.

Makes me think of fishing.  Is that (e-mail) a nibble?  Am I caught on the (pay for the camp) bottom?  

 

Seems like the message here is -- when a big fish hits your line (when a program is really interested), you absolutely know it.

 

I did want to address one prevailing idea in this thread - that no one is "discovered" from a camp. My son got major attention from a D1 school after showing up unannounced and unknown at their prospects showcase camp. The fact is, if the HC, the pitching coach, and the RC are at the camp and you show exceptional talent, it's hard for them not to notice. However, it depends on the camp or showcase. At that particular camp, all three of those individuals had hands on involvement. I will admit that we attended a showcase camp/tournament recently at another big D1. Even though all the action was on a single field, the only coaching staff at the games/workouts were grad assistant level coaches and they hardly paid attention. Further, although their hitting instructor was present for the indoor batting cage workouts, no instruction was given and our own coaches did all the work while the HI shot the breeze with another guy and never, as far as I could tell, even glanced at the hitters in the cages. I guess YMMV.

Son got tons of these last year.  Followed up on several directly with coaches who had "seen"  the kid play.  One lead to some serious conversations.   Most did not.  I think the marketing departments are just getting better at writing intriguing camp invitations. 

 

I do think a coach will put you in their database if they are at all "interested"   but that doesn't seem to be a very high bar. 

 

To add to that, at camp #2, I saw not a single radar gun behind the plate (well, except mine).

So you radar gun didn't scare off any coaches?  

Yeah. I probably intimidated them. Thought I was from Big U. and they didn't have a chance against my superior recruiting abilities.

I have been of the motto, that if they were really interested they would call you

We have numerous camp invites with cell phone numbers.

Quite a few major D1's in fact. We haven't called one.

Although, we haven't done a good job with our communication for one reason or another and thus Everyday 2016 could be trying out for a college club team.

That being said. 

However, like Swampboy said, call the coach rather than try to read between the lines.

You never know, he may have a genuine interest.

 

Roothog,

I didn't notice anyone saying no one is discovered at these camps.

 

Of course it can and does happen.

 

But that's not why they run the camps.

 

No college coach who wants to keep his job will employ a recruiting strategy that depends in any degree on previously undiscovered talent capable of helping his team win just randomly showing up at an open enrollment camp.

 

No, he'll look for recruits at events where the talent he's looking for congregates.

 

And while he's at the events, he'll collect the rosters because his most likely customers are the un-recruited ballplayers from such events who aspire to become recruits. 

 

Yes, once in a while, one of these customers really is good enough. When it happens, the coach will consider it a very lucky event--then plug it for all it's worth when promoting the next year's camp to encourage the hope in other potential customers.