Having a younger son and not being in the know like many of YOU are (I am learning though) I had a question regarding college camps. When did your son start going to college camps, if at all? For instance, as I was raking leaves over the weekend, I was thinking that in his Freshman year, it would be good to get him to at least one holliday camp at a school he's interested in targeting such as a Big 10 or ACC type school. Also, do you think their attendence at something like this, gets them on the radar for when they get older? Thoughts?

Beezer,

Here are some very relevant recent discussions on the subject. As I have mentioned to you privately, my son attended one camp and that was at the school he eventually signed. He attended because we were aware of prior interest from the school. I think any type of showcasing at a younger level is valuable.

College Prospect Camps

College camps

College Camps

Beezer,

My son attended a few camps he selected due to interest he had in their specific college program. I think he started by going to a holiday camp his sophomore year. The reason he went his sophomore year, was more for him to see where he fit in talent wise and the ablity to compare himself with other players. By the way....he ultimately did sign with his school at the end of a summer camp when they made him an offer. Good luck!

At the end of my son's Sophmore summer he started to get invitations to several college camps and showcases. That fall and winter he attended 4 camps and showcases more to see how he stacked up with other kids and to also get more relaxed. This was very helpful because after his Junior summer or this fall when he went to the prospect camps and showcase of the schools that he had interest in he was more relaxed and knew what the coaches were looking for. The last showcase was his best and he got 5 offers after that. My advise is to go to a few camps either his Freshman or Sophmore year and get a feel for how your son compares to the other players his age. Ask questions of the coaches on what they are looking for and have him ask questions of the coaches on what he needs to work on. The during his Junior go to camps and showcases of the schools that he might like to go to or have shown interest in him. Good Luck! It is quit a roller coaster ride!

Beezer,

If I was to do it all over again I believe we would have spent less money on showcases and used those funds to target a couple of specific camps each summer. I might wait until summer of sophmore year unless the holiday camp is local and inexpensive, attending a camp like that will give you some insight as to what to expect later. I still believe you need to attend 1-2 high profile showcase each year after freshman year thru fall of senior year because that will give you the chance to compete at the highest level and be seen by the most coaches.

Attending showcases will result in a lot of camp invitations but you have to sift through the invitations to eliminate schools you have no interest in, have the academics to qualify for, and if you do your homework, determine if they have a need for your particular skills. I would avoid going to camps that only had that particular college in attendance unless I was determined that that school was one of my top choices. There are many college camps that have coaches from multiple schools in attendance and that gives you additional exposure. One regret I have is my son was specifically invited to the Stanford Camp and we did not attend, thinking travel from the East Coast to California would be too expensive. Hindsight says that might have been money well spent. There are a coaches from schools all over the country at this camp and I believe it would have opened a few more doors.

Thanks for the feedback everybody. Like somebody else mentioned, there's no clear cut way to go about this. Luckily, we live close to a rather prominant D1 school and he could go to one of their camps his freshman year. In addition to knowing one of their coaches personally, we also know some of the area scouts. So hopefully when we get to that point, between all of those contacts, we can get an objective evaluation of his talent level and determine how to proceed.