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    College Soccer Summer Camps

    Many colleges have some type of summer camp or clinic on campus. How much contact can a college coach have with individual players at the campand does it vary by D1, D2, D3? Coaches can obviously provide technical feedback to attendees, but how far can they actually go in trying to recruit them while at camp?

    If a coach is interested in a player that attended camp, will the coach initiate contact after the camp? Or, if a player initiates contact after the camp, will the coach provide appropriate feedback and let the player know if there is any interest or if there is no shot.

    Just trying to understand what typically happens at a camp and immediately after the camp.

    #2
    Based on two data points (close friends whose daughters went on to play D1 and D3 soccer), yes, there is contact. One was called a couple days after the camp that "there was strong interest". Six months later she had a scholarship deal signed on signing day (so this is a great example that at even at the mid-D1 level, deals are being made the summer before senior year -- rare but it does happen). This kid went on to start for this D1 school this past season. The other kid got a call the next day from a D3 coach at the camp she was at and she ended up going there. So yes, if coaches like you, you will get contacted fairly quickly. I would guess "no contact means no interest".

    Comment


      #3
      IMO a good camp is a much better avenue for getting discovered than flying all over the country for showcase tournaments. If your kid has a sense where they would like to go to college this is actually a no brainer that will save you thousands in travel. All you need to do is send your kid to that coach's camp and hope they get noticed. Even if they don't really have a good sense yet, the contacts that they can make at a good camp can prove to be invaluable. If your kid is not sure where they want to go to school (and most won't) look for one of the big camps that has a lot of different college coaches at it. Unfortunately there is not a lot of these types of camps in the Northeast but I've always heard good things about the Dartmouth Soccer Academy.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by beentheredonethat View Post
        IMO a good camp is a much better avenue for getting discovered than flying all over the country for showcase tournaments. If your kid has a sense where they would like to go to college this is actually a no brainer that will save you thousands in travel. All you need to do is send your kid to that coach's camp and hope they get noticed. Even if they don't really have a good sense yet, the contacts that they can make at a good camp can prove to be invaluable. If your kid is not sure where they want to go to school (and most won't) look for one of the big camps that has a lot of different college coaches at it. Unfortunately there is not a lot of these types of camps in the Northeast but I've always heard good things about the Dartmouth Soccer Academy.
        In general, I agree with this post. However, I would disagree about the Dartmouth Camp. If you are not pre-selected by the Dartmouth coaching staff to be in the select group that the Dartmouth staff actually coaches (about 10-15 kids), you will NOT be seen by the Dartmouth staff. The camp has about 200 kids and the Dartmouth staff pretty much only watches the group that they have pre-selected (and includes returning players and commits). If you go to this camp with the hopes of being discovered by the Dartmouth staff, I suggest that you contact the Dartmouth staff in advance and see if you will be in their select group. Otherwise, it will be just another soccer camp.

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          #5
          This is the one issue of college camps. They are money makers for the coaches so they hope to pull in 100-150 kids paying $$$ in hope of "being seen". But be advised, as the poster noted, most coaches will have 15-20 girls pre-selected (most are personally invited after being seen at a showcase) and that is where the majority of attention will be. Your kid, if she is off "the watch list" may be on some distant field out-of-sight.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
            This is the one issue of college camps. They are money makers for the coaches so they hope to pull in 100-150 kids paying $$$ in hope of "being seen". But be advised, as the poster noted, most coaches will have 15-20 girls pre-selected (most are personally invited after being seen at a showcase) and that is where the majority of attention will be. Your kid, if she is off "the watch list" may be on some distant field out-of-sight.
            The Brown camp is similar in this regard. Buyer beware.

            Comment


              #7
              This is all good info. Does anyone have info on the Bowdoin camp?

              Comment


                #8
                As a rule, I think D3 camps tend to be a bit smaller and you probably are seen by the coaches. If you are going to the camp to get recruited, you need to speak to the coach ahead of time.

                Also, many of the D3 camps have a lot of younger players (like 10-12 year olds).

                A bunch of the NESCAC schools have one day recruiting camps. These are quite small (25-30 players) and the primary purpose is to get seen.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Dead on! If your kid wants to play D3 soccer, go to that school's summer camp. Have them email the coach in the spring and tell them they are interested in their program and then attend the camp in the summer. D3 coaches aren't flying all over the US attending showcases.

                  One other point. The really good D3 soccer programs in the Northeast/New England don't need to. They have kids sending them resumes/video links/DVDs from all over the world. Williams will have 600 kids telling them every year they want to play for Williams and these 600 net down to 6 admitted slots.

                  Finally, don't forget the academic credentials your kid ahs to have for these top D3 programs. A 1300 SAT minumum will be needed just to get your kids resume out of the stack of 600.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                    This is the one issue of college camps. They are money makers for the coaches so they hope to pull in 100-150 kids paying $$$ in hope of "being seen". But be advised, as the poster noted, most coaches will have 15-20 girls pre-selected (most are personally invited after being seen at a showcase) and that is where the majority of attention will be. Your kid, if she is off "the watch list" may be on some distant field out-of-sight.
                    One of the things that everyone needs to come to grips with is that getting discovered is a function of one's ability to stand out amongst the crowd. This is a cold hard point which parents of kids entering the college recruitment process really need to understand and figure out how it applies to their player. I would respectfully suggest that if a kid cannot standout in a group of 200 campers during a camp, what chance do they have of standing out amongst a thousand players during a showcase weekend? The issue of summer camps really comes down to selecting the proper playing level. It doesn't make much sense to send your player to a camp in the hopes of being discovered if they really are not a propect for that level of play. Humbling but true.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by beentheredonethat View Post
                      One of the things that everyone needs to come to grips with is that getting discovered is a function of one's ability to stand out amongst the crowd. This is a cold hard point which parents of kids entering the college recruitment process really need to understand and figure out how it applies to their player. I would respectfully suggest that if a kid cannot standout in a group of 200 campers during a camp, what chance do they have of standing out amongst a thousand players during a showcase weekend? The issue of summer camps really comes down to selecting the proper playing level. It doesn't make much sense to send your player to a camp in the hopes of being discovered if they really are not a propect for that level of play. Humbling but true.
                      At the big camps, it doesn't really matter if you "stand out" because the coaches won't be watching you unless you are in the pre-selected group.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        The host college for the camp may not be the only school looking at your kid. My daughter attended the Salem State camp last year and almost the entire staff were college coaches, including all three divisions. Not sure if that is common practice as I imagine the Salem State coach probably has to pay those coaches more money than a lot of other staff and it seems that these camps are real $$ for the directors, or if it is a risk to have other coaches there who will recruit the same kids you look at.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                          At the big camps, it doesn't really matter if you "stand out" because the coaches won't be watching you unless you are in the pre-selected group.
                          I have worked at tons of basketball camps over the years and the coaches have always talked about the players. Don't delude yourself, they will know who is at the camp who can play. Perhaps you are correct in that the coach holding the camp may have a preselected list but if you are selecting a camp with coaches from more than one school at it, one of them will be bound to discover your kid if they really have the talent to play at their level. If your kid is going to camps and not getting any interest out of it, either you are picking the wrong level camps or your kid may simply not be good enough.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            You are correct in that most of the larger D1 camps have coaches from a lot of other schools. However, whether a player actually gets seen by a specific coach depends very much on the format of the particular camp. For example, at the Dartmouth camp mentioned earlier, they have a lot of D3 coaches. However, each player is assigned to a team with a specific coach. If that coach happens to be from a school that you are interested in, you are in luck! However, if the coach is from a school that you are not interested in (or who is not interested in you) then you are out of luck. Yes, you will be seen briefly by other coaches when your team scrimmages another team but given the size of the camp the majority of coaches will not see you play. So, let's say your kid is interested in Tufts and goes to the Dartmouth camp because Coach Whiting is a coach there. She goes to camp and is assigned to a team coached by the UNH assistant coach. During the 3 days of camp her team scrimmages teams coached by the Williams coach, the Bowdoin coach and the Skidmore coach. The Tufts coach hasn't seen her play once during the camp.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Great point. Lots of summer soccer camps to be seen...just need to do your homework.

                              Someone mentioned the NESCACs have short (1-2 day) camps for player identification. These are great for just that propose. Your kid will be seen and will know at the end if there is any interest from that college. Great way to manage the process and also start the most important part of the recruitment game: what level is your kid in terms of soccer ability. Here is my take on 5 tiers:

                              - a High D1 player (you know who you are)
                              - a Mid D1 player (still a very good player -- many kids who could make a Top 50 team go here so they can play)
                              - a low D1, Ivy, and D2 player (kids with some issue that keeps them from the top 2 levels)
                              - a top D3 player (tricky thing here is that most of the Top 25 programs are very strong academically)
                              - rest of D3 -- this is the total crapshoot, from OK soccer to teams who would lose easily to a good club team

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