College camp advice

[ChrisSB]

What kind of tips do you have for attending a college camp?

DD emailed the coach about a week ago to let him know she was coming. Should she try to find the coach when she gets there and introduce herself, or will he have too much going on with camp getting ready to start? Is it better to wait till afterwards?

 

[Shiloh]

Did she get an email back? If she’s a 2021 or 2022 HS grad they can respond directly. If she’s younger than that they can’t respond, but they could talk to her club coach and let her/him know they’re interested.

But don’t be discouraged if she doesn’t hear back before the camp. College coaches can receive 100 or more emails every month. They can’t possibly read them all.

Has she had any other contact with this coach or the school? Have they seen her play before or has her club coach made an introduction? What attracts her to this specific school?

It’s great that she emailed BTW.

 

[ChrisSB]

Did she get an email back? If she’s a 2021 or 2022 HS grad they can respond directly. If she’s younger than that they can’t respond, but they could talk to her club coach and let her/him know they’re interested.

But don’t be discouraged if she doesn’t hear back before the camp. College coaches can receive 100 or more emails every month. They can’t possibly read them all.

Has she had any other contact with this coach or the school? Have they seen her play before or has her club coach made an introduction? What attracts her to this specific school?

It’s great that she emailed BTW.

She's only a 2024. She didn't hear back, but we kind of expected that. She hasn't had any other kind of contact with the school. She's emailed 7 different schools and heard back from 3. Considering she's a freshman I thought that seemed to be ok, but I don't really know.

This school is on a spreadsheet of a list of schools that appealed to her based on location, majors offered, the level we realistically thought she might be able to play, etc. We then drove to the ones that were within a few hour radius of us to get a feel for the school, or watched the virtual tour of those that were farther away. That eliminated some off her list. She's going to the camp to get a better feeling for the program and the school.

 

[radness]

She's only a 2024.
She's going to the camp to get a better feeling for the program and the school.

This +
Show her stuff!
See expectations to set goals!
Bring good questions to ask. As usually there is an opportunity to do so.

Good for her planning ahead!

 

[Orange Socks]

She's only a 2024. She didn't hear back, but we kind of expected that. She hasn't had any other kind of contact with the school. She's emailed 7 different schools and heard back from 3. Considering she's a freshman I thought that seemed to be ok, but I don't really know.

This school is on a spreadsheet of a list of schools that appealed to her based on location, majors offered, the level we realistically thought she might be able to play, etc. We then drove to the ones that were within a few hour radius of us to get a feel for the school, or watched the virtual tour of those that were farther away. That eliminated some off her list. She's going to the camp to get a better feeling for the program and the school.

That's a great start!

As for attending the camp. Line Drives and Dives get the most attention. Be loud and vocal. If her team has a jersey color that stands out from the rest of the blues, reds, blacks wear it. All white "icy" looks good. Tell her to be first or 2nd in line when doing drills. If shagging in the OF, get crazy! She needs to be like a spider monkey trying to get anything and everything she can.

Just be different!!!

At the end of the camp they usually have a Question and Answer session. Make sure to ask questions, even if she knows the answer. Every camp it's always the same questions from the players. Once they break, the coaches will split off and lines will form so that the players can introduce themselves and chat for a bit.

After the camp, you need to grab your postcards that I recommended making a few months ago and write a little note thanking the coaches for their time. Make sure to mention something about the camp that will jar the coaches memory, and if there was something about the instruction that resonated with your DD.

Rinse and Repeat, on to the next camp!

 

[justanotherguy]

Does she have a flyer printed out for showcases? If so, after the camp is over she needs to go up to the coach, introduce herself, state her interest in the school, hand her the flyer, and thank him/her for their time.

 

[CMMom1740]

A college camp could be anything ranging from 50 kids to 250 kids. You generally never know until you get there. We've been to great ones with lots of personal attention to obvious money-grabs where the kids just stand around in line waiting for their turn to take like three swings of the bat. Hopefully, it will be the former vs. the latter.

 

[radness]

A college camp could be anything ranging from 50 kids to 250 kids. You generally never know until you get there. We've been to great ones with lots of personal attention to obvious money-grabs where the kids just stand around in line waiting for their turn to take like three swings of the bat. Hopefully, it will be the former vs. the latter.

Excellent posting point!
Research with a filter can help make good choices!

 

[Westwind]

Orangesocks covered everything I would say and I’ll add that I think the postcard thing is a stroke of genius. That’s good stuff.

I’m surprised to have to say this but I hear it from the players who have worked camps:

If you are an older player attending a camp, don’t be a know it all. Different programs and different instructors use different terms and words to get to the same place and describe the same thing. Its certainly ok and desirable to discuss technique etc with players and coaches but if you think you know the only way it should be done, you don’t belong there.

Also- if a school is showing interest, the main thing they are trying to decide is if they can stand to have you around for four years. Yes, that is harsh but I think it is a good way to look at it.

 

[Shiloh]

She's only a 2024. She didn't hear back, but we kind of expected that. She hasn't had any other kind of contact with the school. She's emailed 7 different schools and heard back from 3. Considering she's a freshman I thought that seemed to be ok, but I don't really know.

This school is on a spreadsheet of a list of schools that appealed to her based on location, majors offered, the level we realistically thought she might be able to play, etc. We then drove to the ones that were within a few hour radius of us to get a feel for the school, or watched the virtual tour of those that were farther away. That eliminated some off her list. She's going to the camp to get a better feeling for the program and the school.

7 schools
Spreadsheet
Location, major, level criteria
Self visits and online tours

You are doing everything right! Great job.

Now, go get those postcards made up and have some fun at that camp.

Let us know how it went!!