What College/University Fall Camps are the best value??

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There are many Colleges and Universities putting on individual and team camps this fall. Unfortunately, I haven't hit the lottery yet, so we will only be able to attend one of them.

To all of you experienced coaches out there, what school puts on the best camp for the money??

 

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The best camps for certain players are going to be based on age, ability, and what they want out of the camp (skills for improvement or exposure to college coaches for recruiting purposes). For skills I was always impressed by the camps at Kent State run by Karen Linder and the camps at Ashland University by Sheila Gulas. If your daughter is at the recruiting ages and that is what she wants, then you need to look honestly at her abilities and try to get her to a camp or 2 where she could possibly play college ball so that she can get to know the coaches and they can get to know her, so next summer they can come watch her play.

 

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Agree 100% with msutt1. If your daughter is 13-14 (or older) and you are going to spend money on a camp, it should be to "showcase" her to the school and get the recruiting process started with the coaches (i.e. email them before camp, talk to them at camp, email after camp w/ game schedule...). Hopefully you are picking one where your daughter would have a realistic chance to play. We also had great experiences at Kent State and Coach Linder is very open and up-front about the college recruiting process. I thought that it was well worth the price of admission just to hear her talk about that topic and for the Q&A that followed. Also, we had a great experience at University of Dayton 2 yrs ago. I think both of those are good options too in the case where your daughter is younger and you really are just looking for instruction. At the Div-3 level ONU was well worth it... at least 2 yrs ago it was.

 

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Thanks for your input. I really appreciate it.

 

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I totally agree with the posts above. Go to college camps where your dd has a very realistic, legitimate shot at being recruited. Most colleges offer decent instruction to everyone at their camps, but trust me when I tell you that they focus much harder on potentially recruitable candidates.

Len

 

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There are many programs that offer a good camp experience. Don't overlook the D-III schools as well- particularly if you have good grades/test scores. Case Western Reserve is a great example and coach Josie Henry is doing a great job with that program

 

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Camps I believe are more money makers than actual recruiting I believe,on the most part.Always liked camps that only take so many players and not every player you get more out of?You may get seen but sometimes camps have high numbers of attendies and sometimes the coaches hang back and watch or direct thier players to run drills-not saying all are like this.If it is a school you are interested in you can get a look at the facilities and browse the campus,maybe get a feel for the environment.
One camp I felt we attended where we got a lot out of was Legit Softball Camps.Every drill/station run by college coaches,not thier players.Afterwords,all the coaches sat for about an hour of Q and A from all the parents and players.

 

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I would go to camps your DD is interested in getting her education from. Softball is just a bonus from a school she hopefully loves. JMHO

 

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Kent State Showcase that is held every January before the Queen of Diamonds north is, hands down, worth every penny you spend on it! My dd is starting college in the fall and playing softball for her school, so we no longer have to worry about showcases. She attended that showcase for the last 2 years and got more notice there than anywhere she went. JMHO

 

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Thanks again everyone! Always a blessing to have a site like this to get advise from those who have experience.