RECRUITING 101 - BREAKING DOWN THE RECRUITING PROCESS - PART FOUR

Breaking down the NCAA recruiting process.

The purpose of these articles will look to give guidance for the student-athlete looking to find the best university for them.

PART FOUR

ATTENDING THE RIGHT CAMPS/SHOWCASES

In Part Four we will look to discuss the right showcases and camps you should attend. I was going to also write about the importance of travel ball and what coaches look for in a player but after thinking about it, I am going to save that for next week’s article. So let’s discuss camps and showcases. In this day and age there are plenty of opportunities for you to attend a college camp. Camps are the life line for assistant coaches and is another way when done correctly a great tool for recruiting, but not all of them are. If you have received an email being invited to a college camp you need to dig a little deeper. Start to ask questions; what type of camps is it, what is the maximum number of campers they will accept, what is the format for the camp, what ages are allowed to attend, and what is the price?

When discussing camps that are offered from a college or university be careful of those that are sent by a blanket email going out inviting hundreds of players to attend. These college camps are usually pricey and are not focused on the recruitment of the student-athlete. I am not saying you couldn't gain valuable instructions to make you a better player from these types of camps. Most of them are done the right way by college coaches and are intended to help make everyone involved better. Remember, this article is looking for the right college camp for us to get noticed and get on the radar of the coaching staff. So how do I find the right camp? As I stated in an earlier article the NCAA puts restrictions on recruiting and what has arisen from these restrictions are college camps called "mini camps". Mini camps are held on the college campus and are one or two nights a week during the Spring. These camps usually have a camper size of 20-30 student-athletes. Mini camps have also started to grow throughout the summer and fall months. These types of camps are usually done with the purpose of recruitment. College coaches receive numerous amounts of emails throughout the year, what better way to invite a player to a small camp to see them up close. These are the camps we are looking for. Let me say that again, these are the camps we need to attend! This type of camp setting puts you directly involved with the coaching staff. They will be able to know your name and will be able to put a face to your email. This will also give you an opportunity to see how their staff operates. Are they organized, what type of drill do they use, are they a coaching staff you could see yourself playing for? All important questions for you to get answers to. You will be spending the next four years with these coaches. Hopefully you will get a chance to attend a few of these types of camps. Baseball is a tough sport; the more times you can get in front of a coaching staff the better.  This will give them a chance to see every aspect of your game.

As for the right showcase to attend, that gets a little more difficult. Popularity changes over the years on what showcase is the best to attend. Ten years ago there was on particular showcase that was a must for every college coach to be in attendance for, and they were. College coaches were lined up early to get a good spot to see the talent. Today that showcase is still going on but the number of college coaches has dwindled down to just a handful. Why? The talent is still there, they still get the same amount of kids to register and workout. The reason is there was a better opportunity for college coaches.  This event put the best talent New Jersey had to offer all together for one night. What better way to see all of a state's young talent at once working out and competing against each other. These college coaches have a lot of ground to cover, so to check off a state and get information on most of New Jersey's best talent is extremely valuable, and to do it in one night makes it even better. New Jersey is unique in that aspect. Not many other states do this for the college coaches around the country. Is it because New Jersey has a lot of talented players or because we are gritty hard nose players that coaches want on their teams? I don't know that answer, what I do know is this is the type of showcase you want to be involved in.  This is a great event to be seen by hundreds of college coaches.

I will not go into the names of these showcases, all I will tell you is you need to ask questions and find out how college coach attendance was the previous years. Don't take the word of the showcase, ask around, speak with older teammates or your coaches. I would also look into the format of the showcase. You want to attend a showcase that gives you an opportunity to compete. Competing gives you the best opportunity to standout and gives the best opportunity for college coaches to see you play, not just hit batting practice or throwing a pen. College coaches want competitors, players that will run through a brick wall to make a catch.

In Part Five we will discuss the importance of travel ball and also what college coaches are looking for in a player.