College Camps

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Has anyone attended any college summer camps other than OSU? DD has been to OSU several years in a row, and although we really like it, some of the colleges that she's interested in are not ones that come to the OSU camps. They are out of state. How do I go about finding out which camps to attend and are they worth the extra drive. Looking at Kentucky and camps that are neighboring states. I know we'll need to get a tape together and a profile, but thinking that a camp would be nice also if we know where certain schools are going to be attending.

Thanks!

 

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We've been looking at the Kent State Camp. Any opinions?

 

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The Kent State Camp that is in front of the Queen of Diamonds Showcase North has a ton of coaches. They seem to be fewer D1s than a few years ago, but a good representation of the Ohio schools along with a decent selection of surrounding states. I like the pitching format with the coaches in the middle and the pitcher throwing with their back to the coaches. The Coaches come in early for Kent State and then hang for the QDSN. Your dd gets lots of exposure but be careful of exhaustion.

 

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Has anyone attended any college summer camps other than OSU? DD has been to OSU several years in a row, and although we really like it, some of the colleges that she's interested in are not ones that come to the OSU camps. They are out of state. How do I go about finding out which camps to attend and are they worth the extra drive. Looking at Kentucky and camps that are neighboring states. I know we'll need to get a tape together and a profile, but thinking that a camp would be nice also if we know where certain schools are going to be attending.

Thanks!

Concentrate on the schools your dd is interested in, alot of clinics are nothing more than fund raisers for the school, be realistic about the level your dd is at. very few kids go Mid major D1 Horizon League, or MAC even fewer go to Major D1, Big10, 12,and so on.
Theres nothing wrong with having a dream school on your list of camps, but be sure to put all divisions in there so she gets a broad view of what they all look like.
Go to the College web sites and find when their camps are being held , hope this helps

Tim

 

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How about the Camps/Combines prior to Stingrays, Orland Park, etc? Can't remember the name of the organization that puts them on, but they are national in scope and seem to be at many of the major regional showcase tournaments.

Anyone have experience with these camps?
* Organization?
* Attendance by coaches?
* Quality of exposure?
* Communication?

Thanks.

 

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Concentrate on the schools your dd is interested in, alot of clinics are nothing more than fund raisers for the school, be realistic about the level your dd is at. very few kids go Mid major D1 Horizon League, or MAC even fewer go to Major D1, Big10, 12,and so on.
Theres nothing wrong with having a dream school on your list of camps, but be sure to put all divisions in there so she gets a broad view of what they all look like.
Go to the College web sites and find when their camps are being held , hope this helps

Tim

Good info, Tim.

era5678, sounds like your DD's on the recruiting trail. As Tim said, camps/clinics are a great venue for your DD to demonstrate her skills. When at any camp, be sure to get the most bang for your buck! It's NOT time to be shy - she should talk to as many college coaches in attendance as possible. ASK QUESTIONS! Even if a particular coach is not the one for her, that coach may be able to "point her" to a coach who's looking for her skills. NETWORK! You never know where it will lead.

If college ball is in her blood, in addition to camps/clinics, she should be playing at a pretty high level in summer ball. Her team should be playing at showcase tournaments where the college coaches are attending. Which tournaments do college coaches attend? That's a great question for your DD to ask them at camps/clinics!

If her summer coach isn't taking her team to college showcase tournaments in summer, I'd seriously consider trying out for a team that DOES attend showcase tournaments. Otherwise, your DD's not getting the looks she should be getting.

Get a copy of Cathi Aradi's book "Playing Softball at the Collegiate Level". It's updated every season, and contains everything (and more) you'd ever want to know about getting recruited for college softball.

P.S. Most college teams are finished with their seasons (except for the few remaining WCWS teams) by the third week in May. By the first of June, the college coaches are out on the recruiting trail eating walking tacos (and hopefully Gold Star Chili) with everyone else. Rarely do they have time to catch a high school game, so be sure your DD is prepared to hit the summer tournaments full blast!

 

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Good info, Tim.

era5678, sounds like your DD's on the recruiting trail. As Tim said, camps/clinics are a great venue for your DD to demonstrate her skills. When at any camp, be sure to get the most bang for your buck! It's NOT time to be shy - she should talk to as many college coaches in attendance as possible. ASK QUESTIONS! Even if a particular coach is not the one for her, that coach may be able to "point her" to a coach who's looking for her skills. NETWORK! You never know where it will lead.

If college ball is in her blood, in addition to camps/clinics, she should be playing at a pretty high level in summer ball. Her team should be playing at showcase tournaments where the college coaches are attending. Which tournaments do college coaches attend? That's a great question for your DD to ask them at camps/clinics!

If her summer coach isn't taking her team to college showcase tournaments in summer, I'd seriously consider trying out for a team that DOES attend showcase tournaments. Otherwise, your DD's not getting the looks she should be getting.

Get a copy of Cathi Aradi's book "Playing Softball at the Collegiate Level". It's updated every season, and contains everything (and more) you'd ever want to know about getting recruited for college softball.

A lot of good info. I do need to get her to talk more and ask more questions. At the OSU winter camp, the usually can't stop talking 15 year old, suddenly became mute! She did ask a few questions finally. Don't know why she was shy??!!

As far as her summer team goes. They don't go to any showcase tournaments. She did try-out 2 years in a row for higher level teams, but both years was fighting a wonderful volleyball injury which made it impossible to show her talents. We will try again this year and may possibly put her name out there in the summer if anyone needs a pitcher/3rd base for a showcase tournament. We know how important it is.

Although she'd love to play D1 ball, right now the colleges that she's looking at are smaller D1 schools and a few D2. She loves Bellarmine in Louisville and Ashland.

I've been told that the high school you play for doesn't matter, but I'm thinking it may be hard to get noticed when you play for a school that doesn't have the high profile and reputation that other schools have. We don't have girls that play travel ball. DD is the only one on her team.

I will definitely look for that book. What a great place to get ideas...thanks OFC!

 

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It makes absolutely no difference what high school your DD attends. High school ball is not travel ball. Also, don't get too hung up on what her high school team's record is. She's only ONE kid on the team, and can't control coaching decisions, OR the skill level of her teammates. College coaches KNOW that!

The most important thing is - how does she handle adversity? Does she gripe about how "bad" her high school team is? Believe me, college ball is TOUGH, and she will not always be walking the Yellow Brick Road! College coaches want not only great ball players, but they want kids who can keep their chin up and be positive when things are going bad. That's a part of being a good team member! And attitude takes just as much practice as hitting and fielding grounders to get good at.

 

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By far the best college clinics we've attended have been the hitting clinics at the University of St Thomas held by John Tschida. St Thomas has been the DIII National champion several times and led the nation last year again in team batting average. Coach Tschida does not do these as a fundraiser or recrutiing clinic but keeps the price low $125 for 10 hours of instruction 2 hours, on 5 Sundays.

Coach Tschida's pretty widely respected as a teacher of the game. I had two girls attend the U of Texas camps this winter and the one thing the coaches at U of T pulled off their profiles was that they had attended Tschida's clinics, that generated a fair amount of one on one conversation for the girls with the coaches.

Occasionally he travels with the NFCA coaches clinics and if you ever get a chance to see him at one of those I would highly recommend it.

 

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If she has schools picked out, she should definitely be writing to those coaches and more than once. Give them her schedule and if they can come see her and she seems like a fit for them, they will come. It's not an absolute to be on a top team. (sure doesn't hurt of course)

Have more than 2 options which will require some homework on school websites. (not just the athletic side) US News and World Reports http://www.usnews.com/sections/rankings/index.html has a comprehensive listing and ranking of colleges, a good place to find schools you may have never heard of. Then some time on the school website may give you enough info to know if it's a potential candidate or not.

A good way to learn a little something about the coach and their playing time philosophy is to look at the stats from previous years. How many players got meaningful at-bats or innings pitched. How many players do they carry on the team. What positions look to be open when you would be a potential player on that team. Can't learn everything, but you can learn some things. Most coaches would love to see you have done your homework by writing something to the effect of "Looks like you will be needing a new third baseman in 2012, 3B is my primary position." Go on to describe how wonderful you are at that spot. If nothing else, it shows you have taken the time to do some research. Many coaches like that.

The high profile recruits get chased, the rest of the world (99%) needs to do some chasing of their own. Applies both ways to players and schools. Lower level coaches will work harder to find that hidden gem.

Have I ever mentioned grades and test scores? STUDENT-athlete, not ATHLETE-student.

 

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It makes absolutely no difference what high school your DD attends. High school ball is not travel ball. Also, don't get too hung up on what her high school team's record is. She's only ONE kid on the team, and can't control coaching decisions, OR the skill level of her teammates. College coaches KNOW that!

The most important thing is - how does she handle adversity? Does she gripe about how "bad" her high school team is? Believe me, college ball is TOUGH, and she will not always be walking the Yellow Brick Road! College coaches want not only great ball players, but they want kids who can keep their chin up and be positive when things are going bad. That's a part of being a good team member! And attitude takes just as much practice as hitting and fielding grounders to get good at.

Thank you for that Sammy! She has been complimented many times on how she handles herself and shows leadership on her team. She is the first to defend her team. I can't say bad things about her team, they are a great bunch of girls and they try hard. I appreciate the reminders about high school ball.