Thoughts on HeadFirst Honor Roll Camps?

There are ton's of threads here on HF, go do a search on the subject and you will find all kinds of information. 

You should have a list of schools by now that are your target programs, if not make one. Look up those programs that will be there and send them a short email with a bio of yourself and that you are interested in their program and will be at the Headfirst camp. This will get you on their radar and at least they can be looking out for you. Most of the schools at this camp will be looking to fill out their 2015's but it is a perfect time for you to get some early exposure to the coaches. 

Work hard and hustle whenever you are on the field, relax and have fun. 

Good Luck!

My son and I are going as well.  So far, I've been very impressed with the organization.  They returned a phone call promptly and answered my questions.  My son and I participated in the Webinar they had last Wednesday that described what he can expect at camp, and they have sent out very detailed informational email.  No one has tried to sell me any "add ons." 

My son is a 2016, and many of his target schools are going to be there.  Looking forward to it!

MY 2015 went to HF in Rocklin CA, last summer so I can only speak to that one. What he learned at that one was that coaches interest and thus was it worth the $ really depended upon what position you play. He is an outfielder (CF) but  did not get a look or garner much interest from any coaches, every one he could talk to told them that they were only looking for pitchers and SS at that time. To speak to his skill level he is ranked by  Perfect Game an 8/10 High Follow with a 60yrd 6.88 and HTF 3.88-4.0 and 4.0 GPA 2180 SAT.  He has since been working on SS skills and trying to get some play time this fall but he has been pigeoned holed since LL thu HS and even Club as an CF by his coaches becauese of his speed and atletism.  Maybe the college's 2015 needs and therefore interest now are different. 

2boydad - my 2019 is in a similar situation. Pretty much CF all of the time due to speed, height (currently 5-11), and athleticism. He likes the position and excels there. However, I've had the same concern regarding college recruiting (SS and Pitchers first). Please keep us posted re: your 2015 and how the recruiting process goes for an athletic "pure" CF.

My son is a catcher.  Where do they fit in the pecking order?

Since he is targeting only selective schools which can get him to his chosen career field, I know his timeline is a little later....after the admissions dust settles, so to speak.  

My 2016 is a catcher. That is a specialied positon so it depends on the depth of the school and from what I have been told by a coah at a recruiting seminar, They need at least four on the team due to the long fall and spring on D2 andD1 schedules. D3 maybe not so much as the schedule is lighter. NAIA probably the same. They need bull pen guys and at least 2 season guys for the higher levels. 

2015 has descided not to go ED but to go EA or regular descion. The school that he would have considered ED did not have him rancked hig enough to strongly support. They did not really need OF/CF of his skill set i.e. wanted a power hitter not a lead off hitter, and his SS needed some development. He only started working on it 2 months ago and has yet to play a game at SS. He was ok with the school but not 100% sold on it if playing or even making the team was in question. Many top schools want ED some EA so we will see what happens. It is now cast a wide net, continue to improve at a new position while not negleting his former one and see where he can get in and who needs players of his skill set. Too be fair he has had some offers but from schools that were not high on his list, primarily due to location or campus culture/campus life or school size. 

Finally for 2019, get the grades! as an example, 3 years ago we were on the beach in Maui in August and my son was wearing a Fullerton Titan jersey. An asst coach from Fullerton was vacationing there also and asked if he was interested in baseball, the next question was what were his grades! Not what position you play or how good are you but what were the grades. 2 players on his travel team had coaches walk away when they found out the grades were not adequate for their school. Hope all this helps and will keep you posted. 

Showcase Camps like this are just like other events attended by lots of coaches and lots of boys.  College coaches will primarily be looking at the players that they know are going that they have been contacted by or have interest in.  It is my opinion that if you are hoping to get noticed at these events, chances are slim.

Catchers are a very specific skill set and there is only 1 spot on the field at a time compared to OF and IF (3 and 4) so if you look at an average recruiting class of 10, 5 are pitchers, 1 is a catcher, and 2 IF and 2 OF.  Often times, the better programs only recruit a catcher with Athletic $ every other year.  So when Their Junior is starting, the Freshmen is DHing and filling in.  Walk On catchers are likely bull pen only at the higher levels unless a truly hidden gem.

As for CF over SS...  Short Stops are often the most athletic kids on a high school team.  So colleges will recruit short stops and then put them where the defense needs an athlete.  SS can usually play CF, but CF usually doesn't translate to a short stop because of fielding and throwing is so different.

I don't think this is always the case.  From my experience, if a kid does well at a showcase event, the word spreads like wildfire...

I understand the numbers (demand), Catching On.  But on the other hand is supply.  Most rosters at the big PG events have 6-8 pitchers (minimum) and 2, maybe 3, catchers.  And this being a high academic showcase, the supply for catchers with a 2000+ SAT score are even smaller.

My son has done his homework and reached out to the schools that he is interested in that will be in attendance.  He has received responses from most of the coaches that he emailed.  Some very personal responses, some canned responses.  Based upon the information above, he is a year early (being a 2016), but you know what they say about the early bird!  

As for "getting noticed," we have experience coaches who contacted his summer coach about him because they heard he was at two other high academic schools' camps.  That has happened 3 times, and my son had no prior contact with them.  

I listen to the old timers here who say, "Cast a wide net!"

2015 pretty much has always been one of the best if not the best athlete on his teams. Asan underclass man on varsity the upperclassman played infield and he started in CF. By time he was a Jr. the dye was cast And we did not know any better. He is a 2year cif  qualifier for track as well as 2 time all league CF but baseball is his passion so turning down track inquires to cast a wide meet in baseball. Mom not happy giving up some ED opportunities in track and schools like JHU where he was recruited but not high enough to get full support. Coach Babbs was good enough to tell him that they are not looking for more than 1 OF and would like deep ball lefty if possible. My son is a lead off righty type of hitter. So going EA and RD to try to find the the best school where he can play. Some regional schools are promising

2boydad,

Your son has the SAT score to be considered by schools in The NESCAC conference.Has he included those schools in his search ? They love players from SoCal and those schools are some of the best LAC's in the country with impressive alumni networks.

Since you've already ruled out Johns Hopkins, why not take a look at Swarthmore and Haverford. Both of those schools offer competitive baseball, well respected and well liked head coaches,top notch academics,and fantastic alumni networks.

You have a few weeks to go before the ED deadline.It's still possible.

My son is a student athlete at a NESCAC school and so is his HS teammate. Let me know if you have any questions.

I sent you a PM but noticed there were others interpreting SS/OF recruiting this way as well. CF is a high vis position, with quite a different skillset than Shortstop. As a 2015, it is way too late to try to learn SS to gain attention from college coaches. You're competing with kids who are highly agile, very athletic, very fast, great hitters, most likely the best players on their teams for years, and have been playing shortstop for 10 years. IMO, the best use of time is work on hitting. A good hitter who is fast and plays CF well will be noticed. It is a mistake to change positions now because SS's get recruited first. It would be extremely unlikely he could catch up at SS to compete for a 'next level' position.

Back to the OP's comments/questions....

Just finished HF Jupiter.  These guys do it right.  It's not perfect, but for a high academic kid looking at academic schools, this is the place to be. 

I have a 2012 playing at a high academic D1.  Did this showcase 4 years ago.

My 2016 is probably going to land at a similar school, maybe more of a D3 guy.  But HF is definitely the #1 showcase to attend.

2boydad,

Based on your background posting, I agree with bobbyaguho.   Strongly urge you to take him up on his offer to help.   He knows what he is talking about and he knows the marketplace having been through it recently.  Your son has a valuable package of athleticism and high competitive SAT.  It can get the right coaches attention.

Good luck! 

NESCAC schools also havea second early decision round called ED2.  Great schools with strong athletic traditions.  Take a look!

We went this summer in NY and it was everything advertised.  Well run, amount of coaches there representing was legit, and they genuinely attended all parts of the showcase including skills and games.  There was plenty of schools of representing all sizes and skills levels with obviously a theme of academics as well.  my son is not eye candy as he is small, and physically not mature, but he played well, hit well, and pinch ran whenever possible which was good in 2 respects.  More exposure time lots of opps to talk to interact with coaches while waiting to run.  The coaches were for the most part very accessible and open to talking directly to the boys, and by the time the showcase was over, he had talked to 11 coaches and had serious interest from 4 of them.  Compared to other events we had attended it was a cut above, was focused on quality schools.  The sticker price was big, but if I added up other things we had done throughout the year I'm sure we spent much more on things that weren't as value added.