Top96 Academic camp?

Bogeyorpar posted:

I haven't seen discussion of the Top96 Academic camp. (http://www.top96.com/_EventsAcademic.php) The colleges seem very similar to Headfirst. Anyone has good or bad experience with the Top96 academic camps?

Bogeyorpar:

Son had great experiences with 2 Top96 camps. Staff was very accommodating too when son had collision in CF day before showcase and was able to reschedule at another site with no extra fees. Each time he registered was because there were significant  number of schools he was vetting in attendance.

Cost of camp varies by location..depends on schools attending and there numbers. Felt he got bang for buck as average cost was probably about $500. Not much extra cost either when son did skills session as IF and OF. You also get a write-up from one of the coaches (similar to Showball) at conclusion of the showcases.

Coaches are very approachable..they are running skills set, in dugout, or nearby. One showcase was "regional" while the second one was an academic one. Son got two offers three weeks after academic one, so it was definitely worthwhile. Son went to Headfirst too, in Long Island, summer before junior year.

One of the things I liked about Tops96 showcases, is you know what class the players are in and what their primary position is. Class 2017 would have one color t-shirt, 2018 would have another color, etc. a player with a number 608 would be a middle infielder, "8"first number is OF, "1" is a pitcher, "2" is a catcher. Easy to compare arm strengths to players who would be older than son.  BTW he got video from one of them..very high def and much lower $$ than some of the other well known companies.

Good luck.

My son attended a Top 96 (regular showcase, not academic) last summer and we both liked it. He liked the interaction with the coaches and I liked how organized it was. The kids didn't do a lot of standing around, they were kept pretty busy. Several coaches spoke with the parents about recruiting and other topics. They were very open to Q & A. The list they publish of coaches attending seems to be pretty accurate from what I saw at last year's event.

I have registered my son (2017) for the Top Academic in DC this summer. For the money, and the number of coaches that attend, I felt it was more bang for the buck.

A couple things to be aware of:

* The coach evaluation is not free (at least not at the DC camp)...you have to pay for that.

*  You only get the written assessment if you pay for the coach evaluation.

* Videos are also not included, that is an extra fee.

* They have a 15% discount until 2/15/16.

* I just got an email from them this morning saying that if you registered with 4 friends (or if you are already registered and get 4 friends to also attend)...they all get the 15% discount too and all five of you will get free videos. (however everyone has to be registered by 2/15...wish they would have given a little more time for that.)

There have been discussions of Top 96 previously, though the specifically the academic camp I'm not so sure...

My 2012 and 2016 both did Top 96 events.  They were well run, and relatively, not expensive.

A couple things:

1) Go where the colleges on your vetted list will be.  If they are at a Top 96 Academic camp, then go to that.  If they are at Headfirst, then that's where the player should be.

2) In my experience, Headfirst has always had the Head Coach or the Recruiting Coordinator (or both) of a given college represented at their camps.  These are the primary decision makers.  Top 96 and other camps do not always have that decision maker.  In my experience, they have had a mixture of head coaches, RCs, other assistants, and sometimes volunteer assistants.  A volunteer assistant may have pull in a program, but IMHO, a player at this level (i.e., not a superstar) is best suited to be seen by the HC and/or RC.

Great advice Branson.

My kid has been a to 2 Top96 Academic Camps and I thought they were both well-run events.  I agree with some of the stuff above, particularly about having younger assistant and volunteer coaches there.  Some of the coaches look younger than some of the players.  One other thing that was a little disappointing was that the key coach that my son wanted to meet and be seen by was not there on Saturday.  It was a Sat-Sun event and to me, Saturday is kinda the key day since that is when you are swinging and fielding.  Sunday they played some games.  Anyway, learned a valuable lesson in that you should check with individual coaches to make sure they will be there both days if that is important to you.  #2 coach on his list of 2 had some sort of family emergency and did not make it at all.  His name was taken off of the list about a week before the event and I did not bother to keep checking, so that is something to do too.  If I had known those 2 things, I would have called the week before and asked to have my kid and money switched to a different camp. 

My kid went in June and to me it looked like most coaches were looking almost exclusively at rising seniors, so keep that in mind.  And the coaches that my rising Jr did talk to wanted a transcript, so he had some copies of it in his back pocket to whip out right there so that was nice. 

Overall though I thought it was a good experience.  Most everyone there seemed to be paying attention and stuck it out late Sunday even after they got behind.  A good way to make a first contact with a particular school of interest.