Need advice on camps/clinics

[rylesdad]

O.K. so my DD has just turned 10 and will be going into her second year of Fastpitch.She has been playing ASA mostly local tournament ball and going to to a few local high school camps some very good others so so.She has done very well this fall season keeping just over .500 batting average and doing much better then most other girls against girls with real pitching speed and rarely striking out.So because she has done so well I need advice as to what camp/clincs may be worth me driving to because here in South Mississippi I can't find any profesionals that train young girls on anything other than pitching and she has gotten better as a player faster than I can am as a Coach.Thanks in advance

 

[YOCOACH]

If you can find a Howard Kobota clinic anywhere within a 6-10 hour drive, I would highly recommend it. If not, definitely get his DVD set. He mainly focuses on IF fielding speed and has drills to promote what he teaches.

Another thought...many colleges have clinics/camps that you may want to attend. Many people see them as nothing more than money makers but the ones we have attended around here at least show you what the coaches teach their athletes as well as let the parents know what they are looking for in the athletes they recruit. Also, if your DD wants to continue playing in college, this will get her in front of some of them and possibly noticed early on. At 10 YOA, she may not know whether she wants to continue her softball career into college or not but some of these camps will expose her to other positions such as catching if she pays attention to what is going on around her as well as what she is working on at the time.

 

[Rocketech1]

Clinics and camps have their limitations. I much prefer to spend the money on one on one personal instruction (hitting, catching, throwing, etc.). Also don't get too caught up in her batting average at 10 years old unless you are confident that the scorekeeper actually knows how to correctly keep score. My experience at this age is that most hits and extra base hits are actually errors that are not recorded correctly. For example I remember one spring rec season one of the teams my DD played against didn't record one ROE (reached on an error) all season long and as a team over 17 games had a batting average over .400 which isn't possible with 1/3 of the players had never even played before.

 

[Elk Grove Hurricane]

Had great luck with the Nike camp out here, as well as our local college's summer camp. They are a lot of fun, watching the kids retain this knowledge that they get from the college players (Nike used current and former college players as counselors) makes you feel good about spending the money. Sometimes they just learn more from these young women than from anyone else.

 

[Bugoozi]

If I had it to do over, I wouldn't take her to any camps until at least 12. I would rather drive to send her for private instruction. You will get much more out of private instruction for hitting, fielding, and pitching than any camp. Camps are fun for the girls but most camps do not have the time to devote to each individual girl to make a difference. I think your money and time is better spent in the long run finding an instructor, even if you have to drive several hours every other week. Good Luck.

 

[marriard]

Consider baseball instructors for hitting/fielding - the skills do translate very well into softball (except for pitching obviously). It may open up local options for you rather than driving further.

 

[MNDad]

Talk to local college coaches. Often either they, or they can refer you to someone local who does softball training.

 

[JAD]

Everyone needs to understand that college camps and clinics are MONEY MAKERS! My DD has started to attend the ones of the schools she is interested in attending, but I agree with others posts that from a "improved play" standpoint, you are probably better off with a couple of private lessons from a reputable instructor. I would also like to emphasize that working with your DD afterwards to reinforce what she learns in her lessons or camps can be more important than the camp itself. As I have watched players develop over the years, the ones that rise to the top are the ones whose parents took a vested interest in working with them on a regular basis outside of practice.

 

[knightsb]

Everyone needs to understand that college camps and clinics are MONEY MAKERS! My DD has started to attend the ones of the schools she is interested in attending, but I agree with others posts that from a "improved play" standpoint, you are probably better off with a couple of private lessons from a reputable instructor. I would also like to emphasize that working with your DD afterwards to reinforce what she learns in her lessons or camps can be more important than the camp itself. As I have watched players develop over the years, the ones that rise to the top are the ones whose parents took a vested interest in working with them on a regular basis outside of practice.

JAD, Good post. I would approach camps/clinics differently for younger players versus older players. For older players, DD is a freshman, I suggest using camps/clinics as a way to get on the radar of some of the schools DD is interested in. There are nuggets of information to be gleaned from camps/clinics, but I would not use these as a primary source for instruction. At a camp two weeks ago, the HC indicated a camp was the best way for the coaches to get exposure to a player. I do understand there are agendas for the HC saying this, but do believe there is some truth to it.

For younger players, I see the value in camps/clinics to get them more comfortable "performing" in front of other players and other coaches, and it is a great way to possibly meet some of their favorite college players.

Through camps/clinics, DD has had a chance to meet and get photos with Cat Osterman, Sarah Pauly, Chelsy Thomas, Natasha Watley, Megan Langenfeld, Megan Willis, and many others, which, IMO, helps fuel her desire and motivate her.

 

[wichita]

I agree most camps and clinics are just moneymakers. But I also know that at least my DD, and I'm sure others as well will be officially invited to a camp by a certain college head and/or asst. coaches and will in the case of my DD be put in groups together with other invitees and other camp goers were put in other groups. Needless to say the invitees were the only kids that were looked at because the coach had already scouted these kids and told their travel coaches/recruiting coordinators that they wanted these kids to come to their camp. If you receive a email or snail mail letter inviting you to a camp more than likely it is a money grab for the college just plain and simple unless your kids had been seen by the head and or asst. coach. for that college. The camp I'm referring to was a mid level D1 it was advertised as per NCAA rules but there was only 8 kids there all of which were previously seen by the head and or asst. coach.