I know PG's Academic Showcase is a good one. My son attended that last year. If given the choice between Stanford's Allstar Camp and Headfirst Baseball's Honor Roll Camp, which would be best for exposure to more prestigious academic schools? I guess I'm asking is which camp has the most schools attending? They both cost about the same and my son was given a free plane ticket for Christmas, so transportation isn't an issue. We live in NC.

NCMtnBBDad, you have a PM

Stanford.

Just do a search on this site. My son attended last year and came away with more than just baseball.

compete89

My son went to the Headfirst camp last summer in Jupiter. Well-run, but the key would be to try to find out in advance which colleges will be there.

You'll find the Ivy's and some other prestigious schools there, but not lots of D1's.

Can't speak for Stanford, but I know the name itself caries lots of weight. So I'd agree to research it as much as possible first, and start to narrow down whether your looking for big vs small and D1 vs D2 & D3. Good luck with it!

Here's a link that will give you some Headfirst info.


http://www.playheadfirst.com/sports_national_honor_baseball.jsp#coaches

My son attended both (Stanford twice) and Headfirst in VA last August. In my opinion if you are targeting the more prestigious academic schools, HeadFirst is the better venue. There will be 60+ coaches from top academic schools in attendance and he will have the opportunity to talk with them in person. While the price for the camp/showcase may be the same, the cost of going to Stanford is much higher for YOU if you plan to accompany him. From North Carolina, you and your son can drive to the HeadFirst Showcase in VA.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the Stanford camp, Coach Stotz is wonderful, the weather and the setting are gorgeous, the coaching and instruction are first rate. But if pure exposure is what you are looking for, HeadFirst is the choice. HeadFirst is a true showcase - packed with games and coaches evaluating in a compact area, while Stanford is more of a camp and spread out across 4-5 campuses. HeadFirst resulted in more schools contacting my son, he went on three D1 official visits and received offers as a result, and ended up signing with a D1 that only saw him at HeadFirst. Like anything else, the outcome depends on your performance and while he played well at Stanford, he was unconcious at HeadFirst and thus got more notice.

It is true that there will be more D2 and D3 schools at HeadFirst than Stanford, but depending on your son's ability that may be a plus? In short I recommend them both, but if you have to choose, go to HeadFirst.

NCMtnBBDad... one caveat to my previous post - if your son is on Stanford's radar screen then it IS important to go to their camp if you can.

My Junior just received an invitation to the Stanford Allstar camp in June He has received email from them and has sent transcript info per their request. His grades are good (he will be in the 2nd quartile -at a competitive high school) but certainly not off the chart for regular admittance...Two questions: How do you know if the grades are good enough for Stanford and How soon should you sign up for the Stanford Allstar camp if he is able to go?

bballlove... send your son's transcripts and SAT scores to Coach Stotz and then email and ask him if your son's grades are good enough to be considered. He is very communicative and will shoot straight with you.

As for the camp, if your son wants to go I would not wait to get your application in. When we got ours we sent it back with a check via FedX.

Our son went to both camps two summers ago.

Both camps had much to speak for them.

Playing at Stanford was our son's fairy tail dream. When he received his invitation, he was thrilled.

The camp was well run. There was SPARK testing. Spark scores were posted during the camp. Players received an evaluation after the camp.

Players stayed in Stanford dorms, so they got a feel for what college dorm life was like. They ate at the dining hall. Our son and his friends ordered pizza or asked me to bring fruit, snacks, drinks, etc., as food was typical college fare, and they were typical hungry (11pm) teenage boys.

Many of the games were off the premises at other local fields. There were not always a lot of coaches at the off premises games. The coaches were not identified and not easily accessible to the players.

There were some of the very TOP national prospects at the Stanford class. It was clear who they were and they received a lot of attention. There were, obviously, a lot of California, Oregon, Nevada players. Many of those players were already known to many of the coaches and on their radar screen.

Our son is a pitcher and listed a secondary position. The sessions were set up so that pitchers could not easily go as position player to workouts (not unusual). Son got to pitch on the Sunken Diamond - was a thrill to see and he had the photo as a screen saver for a long while.

Going to Stanford gave our son a chance to see what the best competition would be like at an academic college. He left the camp feeling good about himself and had a pretty good idea of where he stacked up on a national level.

The Headfirst camp is more of of a showcase than a camp. It has grown, a lot, in the couple of years since our son attended, but I don't think that the format has changed much.

All of the fields (in VA, can't speak to other venues) were at one location. Players stayed at hotels. There was more of an opportunity to interact with coaches. The coaches wore uniforms, clearly identified, and were given a chance to talk about their programs, philosophies, institutions. They also stayed around between games and after sessions and talked with players, primarily, but parents, too. No evaluations were given.

Our son was not on anyone's radar going into either camp, but I got the feeling that he got a better look at the Headfirst camp. Not because he did better. If anything, he showed better at the Stanford camp. But it seemed, to me, that the coaches at the Headfirst camp were genuinely giving each player a good look.

Our son got some interest from the Stanford camp, but it was the Headfirst camp that resulted in his placement in college.

Going to the Stanford camp was a blast and an experience that our son truly enjoyed. For exposure, from our perspective, I would say that Headfirst provided him with more opportunities. I enjoyed going to California with our son (although I didn't have to - it was set up so that a player could easily go by themselves) and I thought of it a a vacation (it was a great one).

I would suggest that you think of what you want from these opportunities and decide, for yourself, which suits your son's situation.

Good luck to your son and to you during this exciting time. Have fun!

Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions that you think I might be able to help you with.

Could not have said it better P&CMom.

I hope you all don't mind if I modify the inquiry just a little. I know Headfirst has several camps throughout the country. According to their website, there are different colleges at the camps. And I don't know if their is any difference in the way any one camp would be run. If a player were going to pick only one HEADFIRST camp, which would you suggest. It seems to me like the one in VA is the one with the most colleges?

Anyone interested in this question might want to PM "Bordeaux" (hope she doesn't shoot me for this). Her son attended both, got to know both well and ended up pitching at Stanford.

She will have solid experiences and advice.

IMO, the Stanford camp was great. One of the very best experiences. I also know some of the Headfirst people and they are top notch. I would guess it would be hard to go wrong either way.

I am unfamiliar with Standford baseball camp. I am familiar with Headfirst. However, in the interest of fair disclosure, I must confess that I am bias as I greatly respect Headfirst baseball and what it represents. First, the director of Headfirst is a Stanford graduate and played professionally with the San Diego Padres (AAA Las Vegas). As for his staff, they are all legitmate highly respected in the collegiate community.

When participating in any clinic, please keep this in mind: BASEBALL IS A FULL TIME JOB. In my opinion, if your son has been declared good, "not by you the parent, but by the powers that be" then an ivy league school may not be the best option. In conclusion you must answer the following question:
Is your son aspiring to be a major leaguer or Major CEO. If you answer the latter, Headfirst provides what I believe is the best opportunity to showcase both.

My son is on Stanford's recruiting list, but I think at the request of his HS coach, who personally knows Coach Stotz. Coach Stotz has seen his grades and scores and is still sending him emails, so he must think his academics are good enough for Stanford. However, unless my son develops more power with his bat, I'm not sure he's Stanford material. He wants to attend a top academic school and one Ivy League school is very interested in him. This Ivy League school says his grades and scores are within the range for an athlete to be able to get in academically. I can't afford camps/showcases, so I'm trying to determine which of the two would be best. He also has interest in Duke, but Duke doesn't get invited to Stanford. They do go to Headfirst. I like hearing of the significant contact with coaches the kids may get at Headfirst. Thanks for everyone's excellent input.

If you go to Stanford, why not ALSO go to Headfirst's showcase near Sacramento immediatly after? That's what we did, and it was five days of massive exposure to coaches of all stripes.

My son went to Stanford twice and Headfirst once and my sentiments fall in the same camp as "Natural". Best advice is to figure out which schools your son is interested in and then go to the camp where most of coaches from those schools show up. You really cannot go wrong with either one of these camps.

Thanks everyone. My son did Stanford camp last year, and is definitely going again this year. I am also thinking about Headfirst, and so I really wanted to know if the Sacramento or the VA Headfirst would be more exposure. Sounds like any Headfirst would be great. Would appreciate hearing specifics on the Headfirst camp differences, if any.

The VA event is their "signature" event with the most coaches there and the most history behind it. If possible, I would go to that one. The Sacramento event was designed to get the coaches from the Stanford camp to come afterwards.

Natural: Thanks for this information.

You're welcome... that's what this site is for!