Lots of great ideas! I'll get the postcards made up for next time. She did plan on dropping a thank you note in the mailbox right in town after the camp so it gets to them quickly. Should she do a follow up thank you email too?
College camp advice
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Lots of great ideas! I'll get the postcards made up for next time. She did plan on dropping a thank you note in the mailbox right in town after the camp so it gets to them quickly. Should she do a follow up thank you email too?
She does not have a flyer yet. What all do we put on it?
There was a limit of 40 kids, so hopefully lots of personal attention. There are offensive and defensive stations in the morning and 2 showcase teams in the afternoon.
Why not? I watched every single showcase my DD attended.
You are already doing so many things right researching school, emailing in advance, etc..
Couple of observations from the countless camps I went to with DD
1. Try hard especially in the drills- This sounds so incredibly simple and obvious but you will be shocked at how many kids can't even fake effort for a few hours of the camp. This means not taking reps off and playing with effort and enthusiasm. I consistently saw 25-50% of camp participants giving lackluster effort jogging through drills etc.. Giving excellent effort will go a long way to overcome inevitable mistakes. Its not a crime to misplay a ball but to quit on the play after the mistake tells the coach a lot about how you will respond to adversity.
2. Assume you are being evaluated at all times- It is likely some of the stations will be run by players from the team and they will be giving their feedback to the coaches on what kids they liked and were impressed by. Don't slack off just because the head coach is not around
3. Support your fellow campers vocally without being a "camp extra" as DD and her teammates call them. Cheering on and encouraging fellow campers good, going over the top to draw attention to yourself="camp extra" bad
4. Don't get too caught up in your results from the scrimmages. This is the part of camp parents focus on the most but If you are not a pitcher or catcher your defensive chances will likely be limited and subject to random luck and you are usually lucky to get anything more than 1 to 2 at bats. No coach thinks the results of 1 or 2 at bats defines you as a player. They are more likely to remember if you impressed them while they were throwing you BP. My favorite camps didn't even have scrimmages but live BP instead. The best was live BP against pitchers from the team.
Lastly have fun. Coaches want players on their team who seem to truly love the game. There is a lot of hard grind to go through as a college athlete, the ones who love the game are most likely to get through the crappy stuff and succeed.
This is the time to get used to doing a cold intro and talking to the coaches - which is scary for many kids.
So, yes, go find the coaches you want to talk to, introduce yourself, refer back to sending an email, ask about their season, tell them you are interested in their school, etc, etc. And do it during the camp - because the rules are weird and when they can and can't talk to you - and what about - are weird and strange. D1 and sometimes D2 coaches are restricted in what they can and can't tell you at certain ages/times/ situations. D3, NAIA and JUCO can pretty much do what they want in recruiting
So, yes, go find the coaches you want to talk to, introduce yourself, refer back to sending an email, ask about their season, tell them you are interested in their school, etc, etc. And do it during the camp - because the rules are weird and when they can and can't talk to you - and what about - are weird and strange. D1 and sometimes D2 coaches are restricted in what they can and can't tell you at certain ages/times/ situations. D3, NAIA and JUCO can pretty much do what they want in recruiting
If possible, email again right before the camp and tell them you are excited and will be wearing X team jersey in X color. Something that stands out and is not the norm if possible. Do everything @Orange Socks said, try to talk to the coach during the camp if possible, just casual interaction so they are used to seeing her face. The post camp introduction is most important along with giving them a postcard or flier.
Something to add to this. Run from drill to drill. No walking! Set a mental goal of being the kid that puts the most balls in the bucket to deliver to the coach. That's an easy way to get face to face with a coach...over and over. Something that a coach mentioned that some kids can do or have trouble doing. Holding a conversation and keeping it going with a coach. After you ask your 2 questions and then dead space...what are you going to do? That's when you laugh and have some questions about random stuff that is non softball related. What's your favorite Gatorade flavor? Did Carol Baskin do it? What was your walk up song when you played?
- Apr 16, 2013
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Everyone is different, but feel free to shoot me a message with your email and I'll email you my DDs. But in general: obviously a picture, contact info, desired major, bats R/L, throws R/L main, secondary and tertiary position, GPA, ACT/SAT score (if taken), coach's contact info, parent's contact info, and then anything personal you'd like the coach to know like hobbies.
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