Softball Camp Reviews

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Feb 7, 2016
117
28
I didn't see a thread specifically for reviewing/rating Softball Camps. (I saw one for rating tournaments) I think it would be great for people to search this thread for reviews on camps before they spend their money and time on a camp only to find out it was just a money grab. While standing on the sidelines with a few other dads, the same topic came up. "Which camps has your daughter attended? Which one was good, which one wasn't?" I figured I'd start the same conversation here. I'm really just hoping to help other families understand what they should expect for their investment. Maybe people can even post some comments about level setting expectations for different types of camps.

Camp: Presbyterian College Prospect ID Camp
Location
: Clinton, SC Presbyterian College
URL: https://southcarolina.collegesoftballprospectid.com/
Cost: $229
Format: 1 day ~ 8 hours long, Round Robin, Multiple offense/defense stations
Overall Rating 1-5: 2-2.5
For Perspective: Daughter is a Sophomore in HS, 15 years old
Pros:
- Multiple college coaches in attendance (App State, South Carolina, LSU, Presbyterian and a few other smaller ones)
- Daughter was able to introduce herself to a coach of the school she was interested in
- Knowing that this was supposedly one of the larger camps to attend, it inspired her to send her first letter to a college coach
- Attracted talent from some name brand teams and we got to see how my daughter stacked up next to them (we are a smaller regional team)

Cons:
- No recorded measurements
- Advertised the first half of the day as drills/stations and some instruction, second half of the day was supposed to be a showcase event.
- It was a whole day of round robin drills, some going through the stations twice
- Advertised time to attend instructions at both primary and secondary positions. We only were able to attend primary (Catcher)
- At one of the live hitting stations, my daughter took two pitches and then they had her suit up in her catchers gear. Then she caught for the remainder of the 30+ minutes at that station. Pitchers/Catchers were supposed to be swapped out at every batter. The coach running this station wasn't paying attention, which is what happened at most of the stations.
- Student athletes running some of the stations.....very little instruction, feedback or conversation.

Overall, I'd say that we got the bare minimum that we wanted out of this camp (see pros above) so not a total loss. I just wished the camp would have been more organized and ran the way it was advertised. Would I go back?.....more than likely, not.
 
May 9, 2019
294
43
Thanks for the feedback. I've held my DD back from going to any of these "camps" or events because I feared exactly what you just confirmed. Basically an overcrowded, unorganized, hectic, money grab event with little value. I'm sure some are better than others though.
 
Sep 9, 2019
130
43
0 for 2 with College Coaches Showcase Camp, CCSC, held all over. Way too many girls and most big schools represented by grad assistants. Save your $$. Play in the right events and email coaches your schedules and video links. If they come to your game, go to one of their camps. Much greater success with Showcases that are linked to a tournament. Much easier to know who will be there and a few days to be noticed and seen.
The difference in Twitter and recruiting video hits post event is significant. Sophomore daughter. Done wasting money on fundraisers.
Good topic. Thank you
 
Jul 22, 2015
851
93
If they are still operating at all, big thumbs down to Scout Softball. The original owner sold the company and the event we attended was a disaster.
 
Sep 29, 2010
1,082
83
Knoxville, TN
Only took DD to one multiple coach prospect camp as a sophomore. It was Tennessee Tech Holiday Camp during Christmas break. We only attended the pitching/catching portion and only went because there were two schools that DD was interested in attending. However, there were at least 20 coaches there for just the pitching catching. . I will add that the coaching staff has changed since we were there, so I can’t say if the camp is still ran like it was four years ago.

I liked the fact that there is a full day committed to pitchers and catchers only. DD got some good catching instruction and was able to compete in front of the coaches in a throwdown competition. I also liked they paired and lined up pitchers and catchers and let coaches walk the line on both sides asking pitchers to throw certain pitches which allowed catchers to show off their receiving skills.

It is worth going to these camps only if coaches from a school your DD has interest in will be there. Just like a showcase, don’t expect to be discovered. Tell coaches you will be attending, what you’ll be wearing, heck even send them a picture in your uniform so they can recognize you. Ask them to watch you hit, pitch, catch, or whatever you do best! Tell them you would love to speak to them if they can make time. Be ready to speak to the coach! Tell them why you want to attend their school, or at least are interested in taking a visit to learn more. Talk to them about their last season. Be ready to tell them why you think you belong at said school. Just like a showcase, the ones who put in the work to reach out to coaches can get value out of a large camp. The others are just donating to the ones running the camps and it will feel like a “money grab”.
 
Last edited:
Jul 14, 2018
982
93
Sort-of, tangentially related to the topic at hand, but I haven't seen any references on DFP to Ryzer.com. They provide some backend for schools to use for registering and processing payments for their sports camps. But one of the interesting things you can do is to create a profile for your child and select what sport and what geographic area she's interested in looking at. Then, Ryzer will send you emails when new camps are added that fit your criteria.

I've only used it for a few weeks, but it's had some good camps that I would not have otherwise known about.
 
Aug 19, 2015
1,118
113
Atlanta, GA
I will say that the Headfirst Honor Roll Camp in Long Island, NY was great for my daughter this year (she's a 2022). It is expensive; no doubt, but she got a lot of attention from coaches and has been communicating with several coaches (the DIII coaches can answer her) since then. We will try to hit that one again once, if not twice, in 2020. A lot of bang for your buck.

I try to watch for camps at schools of interest, but also pay attention to the maximum number allowed to register. If it's a 200-person cattle call, no thanks. DD did a relatively big camp at GA Tech a couple of weeks ago, and although it was big, the coaches ran stations and spent a lot of time with each subgroup of girls. DD is a catcher and there were only 7 or 8 catchers there. I will no longer go to the gigantic money grabs.

Also, Jerrad Hardin camps are great and very well-run. We've done them twice and been impressed both times. And not as expensive as the Headfirst camp.
 
Aug 17, 2019
89
18
I second the Headfirst Honor Roll Camp. My daughter (2022) went to the SoCal one this summer and had a great time. They spend 1/2 day with drills and the rest of the day and the next day are scrimmages. The college coaches are the coaches for the teams and they rotate teams so that coaches can see different teams. They also set areas behind home plate for coaches who are not coaching to sit and observe. My daughter got some email from several D3 coaches based on this camp.

HHR would be the only multiple college camp I would go to. We have attended a CCSC camp and that had over 200 girls and less then 10 colleges. waste of time as @EC22 mentioned.

Focus on the prospect camps that each school will have. They normally only have 25-40 girls. It's not a fundraiser. It's purpose is to evaluate prospects they are interested in. You may have to get invited. That's where email and showcases gets you in the door.
 
Aug 13, 2013
344
28
Sayville
Try Fastpitch Masters. One day camp...4 to 5 college coaches. Each one does a skill (Spped/agility, hitting, bunting, IF, OF) Then one hour for pitchers and catchers. You are grouped with players your age and you get 40 minutes at each station and a quick Q and A at the end
 
Jul 27, 2015
235
43
The best teaching camp we attended was a little DII school out in the middle of nowhere: Shepherd University in West Virginia. The coach and players actually were there to teach the girls. I did not see it as a recruiting or money making item. Well, certainly they did it for the money, but they actually gave you a decent product. We went to the camp and checked out the school. We figured out it was mostly a commuter school and lost all interest in pursuing it any further.

I was naive at first and thought all camps were teaching camps. I know now most are for recruiting (and of course money making) There is nothing wrong with that, but it was a shock the first few I went to.

Jared Hardin -- well run, I heard they cut the camp down from 100 to 80 or so. That is good. If you like the schools attending, you should get your shot to get looked at. I viewed it as a recruiting camp.

As a pitcher's dad, we soon learned the hard way: don't show up to a camp unless the coach knows who your daughter is.








I didn't see a thread specifically for reviewing/rating Softball Camps. (I saw one for rating tournaments) I think it would be great for people to search this thread for reviews on camps before they spend their money and time on a camp only to find out it was just a money grab. While standing on the sidelines with a few other dads, the same topic came up. "Which camps has your daughter attended? Which one was good, which one wasn't?" I figured I'd start the same conversation here. I'm really just hoping to help other families understand what they should expect for their investment. Maybe people can even post some comments about level setting expectations for different types of camps.

Camp: Presbyterian College Prospect ID Camp
Location
: Clinton, SC Presbyterian College
URL: https://southcarolina.collegesoftballprospectid.com/
Cost: $229
Format: 1 day ~ 8 hours long, Round Robin, Multiple offense/defense stations
Overall Rating 1-5: 2-2.5
For Perspective: Daughter is a Sophomore in HS, 15 years old
Pros:
- Multiple college coaches in attendance (App State, South Carolina, LSU, Presbyterian and a few other smaller ones)
- Daughter was able to introduce herself to a coach of the school she was interested in
- Knowing that this was supposedly one of the larger camps to attend, it inspired her to send her first letter to a college coach
- Attracted talent from some name brand teams and we got to see how my daughter stacked up next to them (we are a smaller regional team)

Cons:
- No recorded measurements
- Advertised the first half of the day as drills/stations and some instruction, second half of the day was supposed to be a showcase event.
- It was a whole day of round robin drills, some going through the stations twice
- Advertised time to attend instructions at both primary and secondary positions. We only were able to attend primary (Catcher)
- At one of the live hitting stations, my daughter took two pitches and then they had her suit up in her catchers gear. Then she caught for the remainder of the 30+ minutes at that station. Pitchers/Catchers were supposed to be swapped out at every batter. The coach running this station wasn't paying attention, which is what happened at most of the stations.
- Student athletes running some of the stations.....very little instruction, feedback or conversation.

Overall, I'd say that we got the bare minimum that we wanted out of this camp (see pros above) so not a total loss. I just wished the camp would have been more organized and ran the way it was advertised. Would I go back?.....more than likely, not.
 

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