Sorting through camp invites

[Rambler34]

DD is playing her 2nd year of 14U. She has been doing a good job communicating with coaches and our team has been active in doing so as well. The camps invitations are overwhelming and at times it is hard to decide what is real and which one she will be just a $ maker. It is easy when she has a school that has been upfront about their interest and has invited her to her second camp but what about others.

She got an email from another school she has never contacted yesterday stating "I am reaching out to you because we have watched both you and your team over the fall and have high interest in you as a prospect.". The hard part is figuring out if this is real interest. It is not a school she had been looking at and had not reached out to them.

What is the best way to decipher these things? Have the HC reach out? I am an asst coach/recruiting coordinator so I could but I try to be hands off with my daughter and let others handle speaking on her behalf.

 

[Orange Socks]

Most are form letters and the verbiage will be similar. I would consider all camps money makers for the school. Since you are the recruiting coordinator for the team you should be able to determine who showed interest in your DD and what type of players they are looking for. Also, DD's email is probably on a few data bases out there for showcases and the coaches have those lists. They are marketing just as you are.

My DD's box is full of camp invites, and you cannot go to all camps. You will need to prioritize based on family fit, interest in DD, distance, cost, etc. So yes, have the HC reach out or the head of your program that might have an existing relationship with those coaches.

 

[marriard]

For the non-obvious ones, if more than 3 of DD's teammates or close friends on other teams have received the same email then it generally goes on the 'No' pile unless she wants to specifically engage with the school.

Also if a college coach has not directly communicated with the team contacts to express interest it goes on the 'no' pile.

If they have been 'watching' us and like a player, then they have all the coaches and recruiting contact details to reach out to us directly if they have interest even if we missed talking to them at a game/showcase/other camp/wherever. They might not be able to directly call a player, but there is a clear path for them to communicate their interest if it is real.