Troubling Camp - Great Camp

I had a parent and player come to me to ask about what to expect from a college camp after the fact. They were so disappointed in a camp the player just attended. This young lady is a stud and will tear it up in college if she can avoid getting hurt. She is very much like my daughter but with more power at this point in her career. Long story short, the player commented that the various girls in the camp were all upset that the HC was not there much and that the assistant coaches didn't talk to anyone that they saw. I'm sure you all recognize that this is a money making camp and nothing more. This young player, who is a sophomore, was disappointed to the point that she felt that she must be horrible if she could attend this camp and not one coach talk to her. Naturally, the parent had much to say as well and it was not positive. In my experience with my dd, this is not the norm for a D-I camp.

Conversely, one of my players went to a local D-II Camp and they were all excited. They talked about some professional players that were in attendance and then, the girl announced that she was asked to demonstrate and describe what she does in drill work. She did so and the coaching staff was amazed that a sophomore could get into such detail. She felt really special with the coaching staff being real active in the camp and then, stopping to talk to her a lot.

IMO, the expectations for those going to college camps should be somewhere in between. I certainly don't understand a camp at the D-I level that didn't have the HC in attendance. Of course it might have been due to some unseen thing like sickness. I really don't know. My advice to all of you is talk to the coaching staff about what will happen at camps. Talk to others who have been to the camps. Don't just go to a camp.

DD has been to several camps, and had both types of experiences. Some were obvious money-grabs, others were true opportunities. And still others were a mix. There is no way to know until you get there, and it really also depends on the girl. My DD had a fantastic time at a collaborative camp where 8 different coaches were participating (and yes, some were AC's or even students) but others who attended the same camp felt it was a waste. Why the different perspectives? Well, my DD wrote to ALL of the coaches prior to attending, introduced herself when she got there, and tried to make a connection with the ones who were from targeted schools. She then sent thank you emails.

It was clear that several of the coaching staff were there for money or to interact with select chosen girls - but DD felt like she gained good insight and learned a lot.

DD also went through a pre-tournament collaborative camp where she felt like she was invisible, because several of the big name school coaches came right out and said they were no longer recruiting for her grad year.

Meh, luck of the draw sometimes. We just tell her to try to go after 5 solid, new take-aways from every experience and to leave a better player than when she arrived. That's all within her control.

The most recent camp DD attended was one that she got a personal invite weeks before they send out a public announcement of the camp. The coach greeted her by name at check in and spent a lot of time with her and her teammate during the camp and sent her a thank you for coming before we got home. But she had been to many other camps where she felt like she was just a number even though she had met the coaches before.
Unfortunately you don't always know which experience you are going to get

If a player has emailed me or my HC that she is attending a camp and one of us go then we will wait to talk to her. If we just go to a camp to scout without a player emailing us then sometimes we will talk to some players and sometimes we will just email them later. One camp I attended I wanted to talk to some players but the weather was getting bad and it was a 3 hour trip home in good weather so I had to go.

My DD attended a camp at Santa Clara a couple weeks ago. There was a ton of talent. The head coach made the rounds. The assistants were taking notes. The players were interacting with the attendees. Staff and players created a fun yet competitive environment. Worth every penny.

My DD is a freshman so I wasn't expecting an offer at the end of camp. lol. I wanted a few things from the camp and received them all. I wanted DD to see the campus. I wanted DD to play on a beautiful field. I wanted DD to be instructed by college coaches. I wanted DD to see that she can compete with D1 commits. I wanted DD to make friends with other serious student athletes. Mission accomplished.

Headed to the San Jose State camp Saturday. I expect more of the same.