3rd Party Camps

I'm not against 3rd party camps in any way. I just want parents to know what they are getting into before hand.

Whether you choose a "Combine," "Showcase" or one of the club college camps over the summer, you run into a lot of the same issues. Let's go through some of them...

Who is coming?

Any camp is really only worth it if you can get in front of the college coaches that you need to get in front of. If the college coaches you want to play for are not going to be at that camp, then it might not be the best option for you.

If a bunch of big name schools are going to be at the camp, that's great and you will probably get some great coaching. Do those schools make sense for you athletically? Remember, these schools are typically recruiting 3 to 4 athletes every season. Are you going to be one of the best 4 athletes on their recruiting board? It's something to think about when you are trying to get in front of college coaches.

Do they know you?

It's not a requirement, but it does help. If they know you by name, or they have at least seen your film, it helps. You will already stand out to them because they know who you are, so their eyes will be more drawn to watch you and evaluate you over the course of the camp.

Are you at the age where you have had some conversations? Phone or email, it doesn't really matter. What matters is, do they know you by name? If you are at that stage when you show up to a camp, you have an advantage. Now, can you do great at the camp, impress and stand-out to the college coaches that are there? Sure! But why not be proactive about the process? Make sure you are reaching out to the coaches that are attending the camp prior to the camp.

Are they recruiting your position?

This one is always tricky. Needs lists are great starting points, but you should be reaching out to schools where you are going to be a good fit. Needs change rapidly and those needs lists probably don't get updated fast enough; not even mine :) Knowing if a schools is recruiting your position though is really helpful. Even if you get in front of the right school and coach at a camp, if they aren't recruiting a setter then they probably aren't spending a ton of time watching the setters at that camp.

School and level have an impact on this as well. D3 schools are usually recruiting someone in each position every year. D2 might not have much scholarship for a specific position, but if you can help the program then it could be a good fit. D1 schools typically have smaller rosters and 25% of their roster isn't going to be on scholarship. They are realistically only looking at small groups of athletes and specific positions within those classes. There isn't usually a ton of wiggle room for them.

Are they interested?

This one is the real kicker. It's the main reason why I wanted to write this post. Over the past two or three weeks, countless athletes (many of which I work with directly) have been receiving camp invites to a third party camp. This is not unusual at all. What is unusual about these camp invites is that they are coming from college coaches; or so it seems.

In the email there is a picture along with the name and even "reply-to" email address belonging to a specific college coach that is working the camp. It looks like the A) email is coming directly from a college coach and B) that coach is communicating interest in you as an athlete. But is this true? Most likely not. If we take the perspective that these college coaches don't really even know WHO the emails are going to, it's fair to say there is little to no specific interest in those athletes. Not from their school and potentially not from ANY of the schools that are attending this camp.

This is just one reason why it is so difficult to gauge interest from a school by them sending you a camp invite. It can and quite often means nothing.

Do your research. Ask questions. Use the tools and resources that you have to make the best decisions you can.

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