I didn't see a thread specifically for reviewing/rating Softball Camps. (I saw one for rating tournaments) I think it would be great for people to search this thread for reviews on camps before they spend their money and time on a camp only to find out it was just a money grab. While standing on the sidelines with a few other dads, the same topic came up. "Which camps has your daughter attended? Which one was good, which one wasn't?" I figured I'd start the same conversation here. I'm really just hoping to help other families understand what they should expect for their investment. Maybe people can even post some comments about level setting expectations for different types of camps.
Camp: Presbyterian College Prospect ID Camp
Location: Clinton, SC Presbyterian College
URL: https://southcarolina.collegesoftballprospectid.com/
Cost: $229
Format: 1 day ~ 8 hours long, Round Robin, Multiple offense/defense stations
Overall Rating 1-5: 2-2.5
For Perspective: Daughter is a Sophomore in HS, 15 years old
Pros:
- Multiple college coaches in attendance (App State, South Carolina, LSU, Presbyterian and a few other smaller ones)
- Daughter was able to introduce herself to a coach of the school she was interested in
- Knowing that this was supposedly one of the larger camps to attend, it inspired her to send her first letter to a college coach
- Attracted talent from some name brand teams and we got to see how my daughter stacked up next to them (we are a smaller regional team)
Cons:
- No recorded measurements
- Advertised the first half of the day as drills/stations and some instruction, second half of the day was supposed to be a showcase event.
- It was a whole day of round robin drills, some going through the stations twice
- Advertised time to attend instructions at both primary and secondary positions. We only were able to attend primary (Catcher)
- At one of the live hitting stations, my daughter took two pitches and then they had her suit up in her catchers gear. Then she caught for the remainder of the 30+ minutes at that station. Pitchers/Catchers were supposed to be swapped out at every batter. The coach running this station wasn't paying attention, which is what happened at most of the stations.
- Student athletes running some of the stations.....very little instruction, feedback or conversation.
Overall, I'd say that we got the bare minimum that we wanted out of this camp (see pros above) so not a total loss. I just wished the camp would have been more organized and ran the way it was advertised. Would I go back?.....more than likely, not.
Camp: Presbyterian College Prospect ID Camp
Location: Clinton, SC Presbyterian College
URL: https://southcarolina.collegesoftballprospectid.com/
Cost: $229
Format: 1 day ~ 8 hours long, Round Robin, Multiple offense/defense stations
Overall Rating 1-5: 2-2.5
For Perspective: Daughter is a Sophomore in HS, 15 years old
Pros:
- Multiple college coaches in attendance (App State, South Carolina, LSU, Presbyterian and a few other smaller ones)
- Daughter was able to introduce herself to a coach of the school she was interested in
- Knowing that this was supposedly one of the larger camps to attend, it inspired her to send her first letter to a college coach
- Attracted talent from some name brand teams and we got to see how my daughter stacked up next to them (we are a smaller regional team)
Cons:
- No recorded measurements
- Advertised the first half of the day as drills/stations and some instruction, second half of the day was supposed to be a showcase event.
- It was a whole day of round robin drills, some going through the stations twice
- Advertised time to attend instructions at both primary and secondary positions. We only were able to attend primary (Catcher)
- At one of the live hitting stations, my daughter took two pitches and then they had her suit up in her catchers gear. Then she caught for the remainder of the 30+ minutes at that station. Pitchers/Catchers were supposed to be swapped out at every batter. The coach running this station wasn't paying attention, which is what happened at most of the stations.
- Student athletes running some of the stations.....very little instruction, feedback or conversation.
Overall, I'd say that we got the bare minimum that we wanted out of this camp (see pros above) so not a total loss. I just wished the camp would have been more organized and ran the way it was advertised. Would I go back?.....more than likely, not.