College Camps

[mad hornet]

Took my 8th grade dd to University of Kentucky yesterday for a pitcher - catcher camp. I have been reading Preparing to Play Softball at the Collegiate Level by Catherine Aradi and while it does a good job explaining the rules for written and verbal contact and also official / unofficial visits, it really doesn't talk much about the rules for camps.

At the conclusion, Coach Lawson made a mention about being limited about how much she can talk to the players (didn't expound). What got me curious was that there were probably about 50 pitchers and 40 catchers there and for the most part they were from KY and surrounding states. But there was a catcher from California there and a pitcher from Tampa. Not sure the year of the catcher, but the pitcher was a freshman. The pitcher was a stand-out who they clocked at 64 and while everyone else had to bring their own catcher, this kid had one of the UK catchers catching her.

Not complaining at all I thought it was well run and the players did a great job helping my dd with her curve and rise. I'm just hoping someone can help me explain the do's and don'ts of college camps. I can only assume that Tampa kid paid her own travel to get there.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

You need to find names of these teens, so we can look them up on Google. She could have been recruited as an 8th grader. Perhaps one of her folks are alumni. It will be interesting to see if she ends up there.

 

[Sparky Guy]

What you have to remember is most of these camps are fundraisers for the program. The reason the coach told everyone there are limits is because she didn't want to talk to everyone there and answer the same questions over and over to the parents of players she is really not interested in. When you are on the their campus the coaches can talk to you without restrictions. As you stated the girl was a standout when compared to the other girls attending. I know it sounds harsh, but it's the reality of college softball.

There can be couple of reasons for the team catcher to work with this girl. If she flew in from CA the girl was most likely being seriously looked at by the school. In camp situations like that most of the catchers who show up can't handle a girl throwing 64 mph. I'm sure the coach wanted feedback from her catchers about ball movement, control and speed. When I had my DD at those types of camps she ended up with a team catcher catching for her because the kids who were at the camp could not handle the movement and speed.

Most coaches have their 2014 recruiting done already and have a good idea of what 2015 looks like. They are now concentrating on 2016 with an open eye on 2017 kids.

 

[starsnuffer]

Rule one of showcasing (this includes camps):

Don't do it until you're ready to blow minds.

-W

 

[mad hornet]

What you have to remember is most of these camps are fundraisers for the program. The reason the coach told everyone there are limits is because she didn't want to talk to everyone there and answer the same questions over and over to the parents of players she is really not interested in. When you are on the their campus the coaches can talk to you without restrictions. As you stated the girl was a standout when compared to the other girls attending. I know it sounds harsh, but it's the reality of college softball.

There can be couple of reasons for the team catcher to work with this girl. If she flew in from CA the girl was most likely being seriously looked at by the school. In camp situations like that most of the catchers who show up can't handle a girl throwing 64 mph. I'm sure the coach wanted feedback from her catchers about ball movement, control and speed. When I had my DD at those types of camps she ended up with a team catcher catching for her because the kids who were at the camp could not handle the movement and speed.

Most coaches have their 2014 recruiting done already and have a good idea of what 2015 looks like. They are now concentrating on 2016 with an open eye on 2017 kids.

Not harsh at all, I get it. Thanks.

So if they have their 2014 recruiting already done I can only assume that verbal committments carry a lot of weight.

 

[Bouldersdad]

MH She just diddnt want to talk to who she diddnt want to talk to. Once on campus that rule is pretty much gone and its open season if she wants someone.

Tim

 

[glf0845]

The out of state campers were probably invited.

The rules my DD used were; hustle always, try and be first in all drills; encourage, loudly, the other campers; volunteer for everything and be coachable; stay after and thank all the coaches and their helpers and volunteer to help put away equipment.

 

[mad hornet]

The out of state campers were probably invited.

That's what I was confused about. It was rather apparent that the Tampa kid was invited or at the very least her presence was expected ahead of time. But she's a freshman and a Div 1 coach isn't supposed to make any contact for recruiting purposes until Junior year. Is invitation to camp not considered "recruiting purposes"? According to the book, written contact including e-mail can't take place till 9/1 of the junior year and phone contact can't take place until 7/1 of senior year. Can coach talk to the recruits parents at any time and bypass this because they aren't having contact with the actual player?

 

[Cannonball]

This was a camp and so, players can find out camp information from most schools on line. They can fill out the paperwork and send that info in. Also, parents and player's coaches can contact the school but the school can't contact them. They can do so to ask for information such as camp flyers. Players can visit any campus on unofficial visits. Coaches decide who they want to talk to.

 

[David Carter]

Cannonball is on target, anybody from the country can go to any camp anywhere as long as they pay their money. As someone else stated these are basically just college team fundraisers. There is no rule against a player from Florida attending a camp anywhere and calling the number on the flyer and letting the coach know they sent in their registration form and since they are from out of state they don't know any catchers in the area and would there be someone there she can work out with, to which the coach can respond "well we will see what we can do, thanks for showing interest hopefully we see you here" OR "it's great to see that you are coming, I received your previous email and video you sent and we will make sure one of our catchers is here to work out with you, I am really looking forward to seeing you here Thanks so much for considering our camp."