If you have emailed a letter to a college (son is still only a Soph.) and then the college responds with literature about a camp. etc they would like to see you at, DOES IT HURT that you can not attend or do they not pay much attention to that?
I mean I would love to send my son to every camp/showcase I can but cant afford it!

Eric G- Camps are an iffy subject and very well discussed on these forums. In my opinion, most college coaches use camps as money makers (the camps that we run at my school have maybe 3 or 4 kids at them that would have half a shot at making the team). However, many people believe that if it is a school that you are definitely interested in, camps are worth while.

When I was in high school and e-mailed coaches, many would put me on their generic mailing list and I would consistently get camp invitations from them (still do, actually). Some are genuine with interest, most are bulk mailings. Just my two cents, I'm sure you can get many different opinions here.

There's always another camp, especially for a sophomore. If your son can't make it to this one, but is interested in the school, then he can just email back and say that he can't make it to this one, but will look forward to the next one.

Of the two top schools that recruited my son: School 1 met him at their camp, saw him play over a two day period, and formed a relationship at camp that fueled the recruiting process. School 2 invited him to camp but he called them back and said he couldn't go. They said no problem lets talk anyway. He ended up committing to School 2.

Bottom line - Don't worry - but communicate professionally.

My son is a 2013 and is getting emails and letters from schools about their camps. These are D1 schools that my son is interested in. I assume since it's the only way they (coaches) can reach out to a 2013 it's a way for them to start the process. Even if some of them are in the generic form. Of course we can't afford to attend most of the camps, but whats the best way to tell them you can't attend. It's not because we are not interested in the school, in some cases we are.

since it is early in the process I think you would go broke going to every camp that sent you a letter.

While in HS, my son sent letters thanking them for their invite but due to personal committments on that date(which were real since he played baseball and basketball in HS) he reluctantly could not attend. He also asked them to please keep him on the mailing lists for future opportunities or camps in which he might be able to meet with the staff. If they are one of his top 3 or 4 choices, I would try to go though to develop a relationship with those coaches.

Good Luck!

The best way is to email the coach and tell him.

"Thank you very much for the invitation to your camp. I am very interested in your school and program and would love to attend the camp. But the dates are just not going to work out for me at this time, I hope you understand. Please keep me informed of any other camps you will be having in the future. Again, thank you very much for taking the time to invite me and I hope to hear from you in the future."

Simple and well said, thanks.

All good info so far!

Best case scenario for most Sophs is if they do well at the camp and become a "follow".

You might want to go to a camp merely for the experience of how to show well at a camp/showcase?
Also a good way to see a program and Coaches in action.
I would recommend a camp that gives some evaluation or feedback.

Your Son will see that there are a lot of good players out there, and that he will need to work hard to get better.

Ask around for others that have attended the particular camp.

If he doesn't do well, don't worry!
They won't remember him next year , and if they do, they will note how much he has improved, and that's a good thing!