Camps are only one of the ways that college coaches can identify new kids. Through Aspire Higher Softball, I try to host camps that have a variety of college coaches while making the camps affordable. Nobody is getting rich off my camps. By the time we pay for insurance, fields, quality coaches, equipment, supplies, advertisement, etc there is not much left over. My goal in running camps is to educate athletes and parents about the recruiting process which is not an exact science, teach kids more about the game, give them skill instruction and feedback to work on, and introduce mental training strategies for them to incorporate in their game to become more confident and consistent. I invite coaches from D1,2, 3, and NAIA and sometimes juco to work and only hire coaches who have a passion for teaching the game. We structure the camps with a small ratio of player to coach so everyone is active and receiving feedback. I try to make it a win win for everyone.
There are camps out there that do charge too much and have kids standing around way too much. You have to weigh the value of the camp by the amount of instruction, feedback, action, and interaction that is taking place compared to cost.
When you go to a large school camp that has 200 athletes it will be hard for you to stand out. Unless you are a super star the coach probably will not know who you are at the end of the day. Go to camps where coaches can get to know you.
College coaches who work camps are always looking for athletes that they would like to keep an eye on until they are ready to make decisions about who they want. The reality of the process is that not every kid who goes to camp will get recruited. Probably only 2 to 5% of the kids who go to a camp will continue to play in college but those are the national stats for kids who play the game. The value of a camp that has several coaches from different colleges is the athlete gets to know personalities and philosophies of different coaches in one place. Also, coaches get to see kids they may not have known about and get to work with them to see if they are coachable and what kind of attitude and effort they have.
Camps and clinics do provide a way for coaches to see and meet athletes and athletes to see and meet coaches that may not happen otherwise. It is only one step of the process. Coaches find kids in a number of ways and a camp may be the first place a coach sees a good athlete. Chances are a coach will not make a final decision about a kid at camp but it is one way for the kid to get on their radar. I know at my Laser camp a D1 coach made the comment I need to put that team on my summer schedule because there were 2 or 3 good athletes from that team.
Go to a camp to get better and if you make a connection with a specific coach look at it as icing on the cake. Research the camp before you go. Ask questions of the host before you make a decision to go. Just like anything else there are great camps, good camps, and bad camps out there.
Aspire Higher has 2 upcoming camps in July and August with a college staff.
July 19th before Hope's Turn at Bat in South Euclid August 6th in Akron at Firestone Stadium. If you would like more info about them go to the web site at
www.aspirehighersports.com or email
klinder@aspirehighersports.com.