How to decide on what camps to attend

Need some help from the experienced posters here. We are trying to decide what route to take with camps this summer. DD will be a freshman in the fall so we will hit some camps this summer and need some advice. Honestly where do we start?

DD has attended a couple of camps/clinics over the last year. First was at a major DI and her number #1 choice since she was 6yo. She did a campus tour and immediately decided she wanted to go to a school that had a more "traditional" campus where she could walk to her classes. That experience totally changed her list of schools. Based on that I am trying to help her figure out the best camp schedule for this summer.

Her #1 choice will be represented at a Jared Hardin camp locally. She would also get to see them at a clinic before and exposure she is playing. They are offering three "elite" camps on campus this summer. Two of the camps are 2 day and a third will be a 1 day. Since they will see her twice before an exposure we know they will be at would it be ok to do the last camp in August to free up time for other camps? She did a winter clinic there and other than juniors and seniors that the HC knew by name my DD was the only one she called out. She inquired about her grad year, positions, and travel ball. She was surprised DD was born in 03 the same year she graduated HS.

Another top choice is having 1 day and 2 day camps limited to 18 players. Would it be ok to do a 1 day since the group is so small? Would it look like she wasn't that interested since she didn't do the two day? We have good connections with this school because DD's HS coach has a junior on the team and another DD committed.

The next choice has two one week camps. They run theirs with all ages together so we had avoided in the past. The HC has seen DD play multiple times now and knows her well. She was there to see DD have a huge game against a DI pitcher and talked about what a great hitter she was. Her daughter is a year behind mine in school and got called up to the varsity after the MS season so they play together now. Would these camps be a must or would my DD's known interest help here?

Back to camps like Jared Hardin's. With multiple coaches there are they worth it just to try and get your name in their head? After the Hardin camp another DII near by will host their all skills camp with coaches from several good schools helping. Does anyone have any feedback on this type experience?

Thanks for all the help. We are getting to the point I will be wearing the board out looking for help in the process.

I think that the schools you mentioned know who she is so you can't screw that up by attending the wrong camp at their school as long as you maintain that relationship. I don't think they will read too much into whether or not you go to a one day or two day camp. Go there and make sure they know she is interested. As far as the big camps with multiple coaches, I think it can be a benefit if your DD really stands out. Make sure your DD looks at the list of coaches attending and lets the coaches at the schools she is interested in know that she will be there and is interested in their school. Don't be surprised if she does not get a reply from a coach.

The recruiting process can be REALLY confusing. My DD is a 2019 and we are VERY DEEP into the process with some offers. Here is what I have learned- 1st off the Jarred Hardin type camps will be illegal per NCAA changes beginning next year. Folks like them who do this type of camp offer CASH to College Coaches to say they will attend, some are not even interested in recruiting the kids attending the camp and just send an assistant to collect the usually $500 to attend, stay an hour or so then return home. This practice will be illegal next year per NCAA rule changes. The only way a college Coach can recruit will be from the Showcase Tourneys, or word of mouth, or have a camp at their college etc. BE aware some Colleges put on "camps" as fund raisers and may not even be actively recruiting your DD's graduating year yet or they could already be done with her year but they wont tell you that and just take your money. Each Division (D1, D2,D3, NAIA, Juco. etc. has different rules they must adhere too. Like how much $$ they can offer for scholarships, when they can contact your DD (age). ETC ETC ETC>> the list on this goes on and on.
I have hired a CSA (College Sports advocate) rep for my DD. They can tell you all of these rules, and they steer you towards the right way to get your DD recruited. They work specifically for you and your DD's best interests to ensure you are legal and they even talk directly to the College Coaches on your DD's behalf. They make sure you are getting as much as possible for her athletic scholarship from THAT Coach. They know all the right questions to ask. They also are in Contact with most all College Coaches even know them all by name and have contact numbers for all of them. A LOT of Coaches just contact CSA reps to recruit their kids and this is their main way of recruiting. CSA will only rep girls that are good enough to get recruited. THEY Currently are at a 100% rate of recruitment for their current 2018 class. The person who started CSA is Cheri Naudin her and her husband started and still run TEXAS GLORY one of the best organizations in the US. She saw a need for the girls and parents to have someone to turn to help navigate the entire recruitment process. One thing they do that none of the other recruiting services do is they stay a rep to your DD even after they are committed to a school. Say your DD goes JUCO and after a successful year she decides she wants to transfer to a D1 college that offers her intended undergraduate degree. CSA will do all the talking to the D1 school to get her in. THE OTHERS DO NOT DO THAT!! "if" THEY GET YOUR DD recruited THEY are done with you..................... There is a LOT of opinions out there and miss-information about recruitment.. Good luck to you all.

I would suggest reaching out to the coaching staff of your DD's #1 choice to see if they have a preference on which camp your DD attends. Camps are money makers for college coaches, so most coaches host several, but there is usually one they will designate as a "prospect" camp where they try to get all of the prospects they are recruiting together to see how they stack up against each other as well as the interactions between the players.

Some schools will bring in a bunch of campers and will separate them into "groups", with the prospects in one "group". If your DD is in the group with other players already verballed to the school running the camp, there is a good chance your DD is in the "prospect group".

Per NCAA rules all camps must be publicized and open for enrollment. But if a college coach has lets say 30 prospects they would like to see at one camp, there is nothing preventing the college coach from sending out an announcement to those 30 players that there will be a camp on this date, and the camp registration will go "live" at midnight on this date. Once the camp is filled they can close enrollment.

If a camp shows "full" it does not hurt to make a phone call and ask if your DD can get in. If the coach considers your DD a prospect there is a good chance they can make room for them.