To the best of my knowledge, this is a fairly new thing. I don't remember it happening the last several years. Maybe it was happening more and I just missed it. Regardless, this seems to be something that happened more recently and so I thought I would address it.
I also want to start off by saying that athletes are more than welcome to post as they wish on social media. I am one of those people that think recruiting happens MOSTLY in the convention centers and NOT on social media. This is my opinion, but I would love to hear your thoughts as well.
I want to come at this topic from several directions.
What other athletes see...
In this world of social media buzz and FOMO (fear of missing out) I think that posting your camp photos stirs up some anxiety in other athletes. "I should have gone to that camp!" As much as I can tell athletes and families to "not compare" and "focus on your own process" it's still hard to do. The other issue is that posting a picture of yourself with a college coach at a camp communicates (to others) that the school is interested. As we will talk about more here in a bit, that's not necessarily the case. But it's what other athletes see.
What coaches see...
Camp is important. The coach or staff that you are taking the photo with certainly think it is cool you posted it on social media. What do other coaches think though? Remember that going to camp is a choice. In that time when you are making decisions on where to go to camp, you are simultaneously choosing where NOT to go to camp. If I am a coach that is really interested in you and wants you to come to their camp - they might see this post and go, "Well she isn't as interested in us!" and possibly they get nudged to move on to a different athlete. I'm not saying that is for sure going to happen. But it's a possibility.
Do camp invites show interest?
This is an important question to address here because I think it's good to remember that college coaches are limited in their communication with athletes prior to June 15th. A camp invite is the only thing they are allowed to send to you. Camps also help add pay to assistant coaches at many schools. More athletes mean more ways to support those coaches. Schools will send hundreds and even thousands of camp invites to athletes. Without more communication, getting a camp invite or even going to a camp doesn't necessarily communicate that the school is interested.
Does it communicate interest?
I really don't think it does. I don't think it quite garnishes the reaction that you hope it does out of the coaches you are wanting to react. I'm not sure how many athletes coaches are taking photos with after camp. Maybe they seem them all on social media later that night and maybe they only see 2 of them. I also don't think it makes other coaches go, "We have to get her now! She went to that camp! Call her now!" I just don't think volleyball coaches react that way. It doesn't nudge them to recruit you now. Also, if you're trying to communicate interest back to those coaches by making that post, don't. You just need to text them or call them. Doing THAT means way more than doing anything on social media.
This process doesn't end with the camp invite. I think that's something I need to make sure I get across. Camp invites are great and you need to go to camp. But you ALSO want to go to camp where schools have the most interest in you. If there is not really a ton of communication through texting or phone calls, then the invite could mean less and less.
At the same time, camp is necessary. You should go. You need to go. The trick is going where there is going to be the biggest ROI (return of interest) that you can get. How are you communicating with a staff prior to camp? How badly do they want you to come? What's their timeline after camp?
Conversations are important to have PRIOR to camp.
In the end, have fun. Do social media because it's fun. Post about camp because it's a good experience to learn from great coaches and see new places. Post more. Engage more.
Remember that some engagements mean more than others.
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