Camps that measure a kids metrics

[black17]

In my opinion, unless you are off the charts in certain areas, they are not worth the time.

My DD is a beast in the weight room, swings a heavy bat, and is rock solid at the corners with a really good arm. Is she the smoothest, most athletic kid you have ever seen? Probably not. She however just signed a prime position offer to play in college. She got a lot of attention, but lots of coaches looked at her once and dismissed her because of the way she looks. Nobody cared about her stats or testing numbers. Not one coach even asked for them.

The school she signed for offered her a few days after seeing her do nothing but hit in a cage at their hitting camp. True story,... when the college players told the coach they were afraid to pitch soft toss to her, the coaches took notice.

Know what your strengths are and constantly put that in front of coaches. Its as simple as that.

 

[Rolling Hard]

In my opinion, unless you are off the charts in certain areas, they are not worth the time.

My DD is a beast in the weight room, swings a heavy bat, and is rock solid at the corners with a really good arm. Is she the smoothest, most athletic kid you have ever seen? Probably not. She however just signed a prime position offer to play in college. She got a lot of attention, but lots of coaches looked at her once and dismissed her because of the way she looks. Nobody cared about her stats or testing numbers. Not one coach even asked for them.

The school she signed for offered her a few days after seeing her do nothing but hit in a cage at their hitting camp. True story,... when the college players told the coach they were afraid to pitch soft toss to her, the coaches took notice.

Know what your strengths are and constantly put that in front of coaches. Its as simple as that.

What is a prime position offer?

 

[black17]

What is a prime position offer?

An offer usually given to P, C, SS and sometimes CF. Mine is a corner.

 

[reagansdaddy]

Just my opinion based on DD's experience - you may have a different path.

The types of camps you describe are probably a waste of money. First thing you need to do is evaluate (honestly) DD's athletic ability and what level she will likely play at in college. Then, begin the process of finding a handful of schools that appeal to your DD academically (first priority) and then athletically at the level that you believe she will play. Then, attend all the camps you can that those colleges host. Have DD begin to correspond via email with those coaches and have your travel ball coach reach out to them as well.

Lots of good info on these boards from folks who have had kids play at all levels in college.

My single best piece of advice is to really evaluate the level of college that DD is capable of playing. Going to Oklahoma or Alabama for a camp can be a great experience, but if your DD is a D2 player then it's just an experience - not a recruiting tool. My second best piece of advice is to go to college hosted camps as much as you can if your DD is truly interested in the school.

 

[radness]

I certainly wasn't thinking about college when I was 13 years old. Hell I wasn't thinking about it 50% of the time I was in college.

I hear you though. There is a very good chance softball is not a part of her decision making when choosing a University.

Started thinking about college when i was in elementary school. More specifically playing softball in college.
*My training journey began!
Putting in extra individual work!

Perhaps having a brother
8 years older than me who went off to college when i was 10 brought college conversations in front of me at home...
Stimulated some of this thinking. To understand we can pick a subject we like, and learn more about it. That was exciting eventho hadnt selected what that would be yet, well other than picking softball as my #1 sport !


Really enjoying softball so very much created the goal for me to want to go to college and play to beat the best!
Ultimately did make a difference in college of choice.

Goal accomplished!

 

[AnotherSoftballDad]

Just my opinion based on DD's experience - you may have a different path.

The types of camps you describe are probably a waste of money. First thing you need to do is evaluate (honestly) DD's athletic ability and what level she will likely play at in college. Then, begin the process of finding a handful of schools that appeal to your DD academically (first priority) and then athletically at the level that you believe she will play. Then, attend all the camps you can that those colleges host. Have DD begin to correspond via email with those coaches and have your travel ball coach reach out to them as well.

Lots of good info on these boards from folks who have had kids play at all levels in college.

My single best piece of advice is to really evaluate the level of college that DD is capable of playing. Going to Oklahoma or Alabama for a camp can be a great experience, but if your DD is a D2 player then it's just an experience - not a recruiting tool. My second best piece of advice is to go to college hosted camps as much as you can if your DD is truly interested in the school.

It's hard to evaluate your kids athletic ability when they are 13. So much can change. My kid hasn't hit puberty yet. Don't know if she is going to be 5 foot 5 or 5 foot 10.

I know she is playing on a high level team and is probably middle of the pack as far as overall skill level. Which probably means if she says on this trajectory she won't be playing D1 ball.

I'm more in it to enjoy the softball ride with her these remaining 5 years and see where it takes her.

 

[Vertigo]

We only did these types of camps 3 times - yearly starting with the summer after 8th grade. As a pitcher and slap hitter, it did help to see the increase in pitching velocity and the decrease in her H21st times - and this was forwarded to the college coaches who she had been emailing and attending their camps, as well. Other than those numbers, the rest of the metrics probably didn’t matter much for her, specifically.

 

[Vertigo]

It's hard to evaluate your kids athletic ability when they are 13. So much can change. My kid hasn't hit puberty yet. Don't know if she is going to be 5 foot 5 or 5 foot 10.

I know she is playing on a high level team and is probably middle of the pack as far as overall skill level. Which probably means if she says on this trajectory she won't be playing D1 ball.

I'm more in it to enjoy the softball ride with her these remaining 5 years and see where it takes her.

My dd just turned 18 and I have seen great improvement in her skill set just over this past summer! Along with physical development, the mental development can take some time but can also make a huge difference in their performance.

The thing with my dd was that she had a pretty good idea where she wanted to attend college and play ball by end of freshman year - but it took until junior year to realize that academically, she could be accepted to such a school.

 

[Rolling Hard]

Check out these numbers. Do they seem right? 1 mph difference in bat speed in Jr. High(13 or 14 y/o) and 11th grade (16 or 17 y/o)
Only 2 mph in overhand throwing velo?

ODM Averages 2016 Release

Visit the post for more.

odmtesting.com

 

[uncdrew]

In my opinion, unless you are off the charts in certain areas, they are not worth the time.

My DD is a beast in the weight room, swings a heavy bat, and is rock solid at the corners with a really good arm. Is she the smoothest, most athletic kid you have ever seen? Probably not. She however just signed a prime position offer to play in college. She got a lot of attention, but lots of coaches looked at her once and dismissed her because of the way she looks. Nobody cared about her stats or testing numbers. Not one coach even asked for them.

The school she signed for offered her a few days after seeing her do nothing but hit in a cage at their hitting camp. True story,... when the college players told the coach they were afraid to pitch soft toss to her, the coaches took notice.

Know what your strengths are and constantly put that in front of coaches. Its as simple as that.

Good to hear, and congratulations to your DD.

My daughter is probably going to be the slowest girl on every team she's on. She's doing a 6x per week leg routine with sprints, box jumps, lunges, speed squats, etc. Bless her heart. She's done it for 5 months. Love the dedication and hope it pays off.

But her times in these camps will get her X'ed off some lists, for sure.