Another ID camp question

[Unregistered]

OP here. Thank you for the feedback all. like I said, this is all new to us. I was just thinking that since we live in an area with so many schools, it wouldn't hurt to get her the experience. Sounds like it won't hurt but isn't necessary either. I guess we'll wait and see in another year.

[Unregistered]

It is a camp. They scrimmage. What kind of experience do you need?

This isn't helpful at all... and you're an idiot. Just. Stop. Posting.

To the OP:
Every single ID camp my kid has gone to had the following elements:
* Activities to assess Speed/agility/quickness
* Activities to assess technical ability (shooting, passing, dribbling, heading)
* Small-sided games
* Full 11v11 games

Brush up on your technical skills and SAQ before signing up.


Some of the day long camps went 4 hours of actual on-field activities while others where 6 or longer. Those camps with multiple sessions in a day as well as overnight or longer will push your kid physically and mentally. Make sure they are very fit and definitely not injured going in. The 11v11 scrimmages are always at the end of the day and often by the time players get to that point, they are spent, but are asked to perform in a full-field game. Make sure your kid communicates alot with her teammates and shows desire to get on the ball as she will be playing with players she doesn't know and often are "showcasing" their own abilities.

Lastly, if you are in 8th or 9th grade, you will be playing against mostly 10-11th grade players with some seniors or college transfer players mixed in (happened to my 9th grader). Speed of play and athleticism will likely be higher than your 8th or 9th grader is used to, even if playing DA or ECNL. Find a way to play up for some practices or scrimmages with your club to get accustomed to it. Unfortunately, club soccer is too sanitized with BY-based teams and 95% of club players don't play up in age unless they also play varsity HS. It is different when you are younger and especially if you are physically underdeveloped.

Pick a school your kid is interested in, but lower on the list in case she doesn't show well. Also, try to stay local and go for the 1-day camps if possible until your Sophomore year in HS to keep the cost down. It isn't easy to stand out as an 8th/9th grader in a field of 40-60 players who are mostly older, so don't go crazy early on. Not to mention coaches can't have any recruiting contact with your player until June 15 after sophomore year now, so attending camps in 8th or 9th grade isn't especially helpful from a recruiting standpoint. Attend a bunch during Sophomore year so you can be prepared to have conversations with coaches come June 15.

[Unregistered]

Question: but would you really see if you were over your head? I have a boy, but I was deeply unimpressed by the level of soccer at school specific larger camps with multiple college coaches. For example Dartmouth's camp, with some *8th* grade boys, the soccer was pretty terrible, and yet Dartmouth itself has a high level of soccer. That camp wouldn't tell you if you were correctly targeting Dartmouth.

A bit better was the NESCAC camp my son attended this summer. (A one day, only that school camp). However while ok most of the players weren't great. Again that school plays a higher level of soccer.

I guess you can figure out if you are the best player at that camp, but that doesn't tell you if you are at that school's level. If you think about it, there might be 40 kids at a one day camp, and statistically only one or maybe two will end up being recruited.

Might be different for boys vs. girls as boys recruiting timeline is later and D1 mostly recruits from DA with very few NPL/ECNL or lower level kids being recruited. Girls D1 recruiting is split in half with ECNL and DA players and the rest coming from NPL or lower level. From what I've seen of the talent at the mid-level D1 ID events we've been to, it is mostly girls from DA/ECNL/NPL teams. Lots of locals (NEFC, Stars) as well as out-of-state ECNL and NPL. I've seen some players who were obviously out of their league, a large number in the middle, and some who were clearly standouts. Usually the standouts were already known and having conversations with the coaches.

The reality is you can assume that the team you are trying out for is at the level of the top players at the ID session or the top third. The middle and bottom third won't be recruited at that level. If you can compare well to those top players at the session, there is a chance. Then it becomes a matter of having a realistic conversation with the coaches.

[Unregistered]

At some point, the hand holding has to stop. What a woos, who wants to look like an authority but offers poor advice. Nothing you see at a college camp is any different from what a player already does. In high school, players play up against other players as much as 4 years older. Performing technical skills and drills are not going to be as important as the scrimmages, to see how your player can put it all together.

Don’t waste your time going to a school not of interest. Go after what you want.

This isn't helpful at all... and you're an idiot. Just. Stop. Posting.

To the OP:
Every single ID camp my kid has gone to had the following elements:
* Activities to assess Speed/agility/quickness
* Activities to assess technical ability (shooting, passing, dribbling, heading)
* Small-sided games
* Full 11v11 games

Brush up on your technical skills and SAQ before signing up.


Some of the day long camps went 4 hours of actual on-field activities while others where 6 or longer. Those camps with multiple sessions in a day as well as overnight or longer will push your kid physically and mentally. Make sure they are very fit and definitely not injured going in. The 11v11 scrimmages are always at the end of the day and often by the time players get to that point, they are spent, but are asked to perform in a full-field game. Make sure your kid communicates alot with her teammates and shows desire to get on the ball as she will be playing with players she doesn't know and often are "showcasing" their own abilities.

Lastly, if you are in 8th or 9th grade, you will be playing against mostly 10-11th grade players with some seniors or college transfer players mixed in (happened to my 9th grader). Speed of play and athleticism will likely be higher than your 8th or 9th grader is used to, even if playing DA or ECNL. Find a way to play up for some practices or scrimmages with your club to get accustomed to it. Unfortunately, club soccer is too sanitized with BY-based teams and 95% of club players don't play up in age unless they also play varsity HS. It is different when you are younger and especially if you are physically underdeveloped.

Pick a school your kid is interested in, but lower on the list in case she doesn't show well. Also, try to stay local and go for the 1-day camps if possible until your Sophomore year in HS to keep the cost down. It isn't easy to stand out as an 8th/9th grader in a field of 40-60 players who are mostly older, so don't go crazy early on. Not to mention coaches can't have any recruiting contact with your player until June 15 after sophomore year now, so attending camps in 8th or 9th grade isn't especially helpful from a recruiting standpoint. Attend a bunch during Sophomore year so you can be prepared to have conversations with coaches come June 15.

[Unregistered]

At some point, the hand holding has to stop. What a woos, who wants to look like an authority but offers poor advice. Nothing you see at a college camp is any different from what a player already does. In high school, players play up against other players as much as 4 years older. Performing technical skills and drills are not going to be as important as the scrimmages, to see how your player can put it all together.

Don’t waste your time going to a school not of interest. Go after what you want.

Every activity is evaluated by the coaching staff at college-specific ID camps. I guarantee if you can't perform during the SAQ/Technical activities or small-sided games, you aren't going to show squat in the 11 match. College coaches have limited resources and are looking for excuses to disqualify a candidate as much as they are looking for reasons to begin recruiting conversations.

As to the "hand-holding", you're obviously an idiot who never prepared ahead for important events. Mental and physical preparation can be the difference between showing in the middle of the pack with no interest from a coach and getting a coaches attention and starting a recruiting conversation and process. The ID camp won't likely get you an offer, but if you do well enough and it can jump-start the whole process without having to travel to some showcase across the country. Ask me how I know...

[Unregistered]

So you are going to brush up on technical skills? Are you serious? What, take an hour or two more after playing 5-7 hours per week over the past 10 or so years? Yeah, that’ll do it. Guarantee is a bit strong. Some players may not look technically strong but surprise in game situations. College coaches dedicate the majority of time to scrimmages for a reason.

You showed you can’t accept a competing opinion. Throwing idiot around shows a lot about you.

Every player is different. Don’t overthink the process. Encourage your player to go for what they want and work down the list. There is a small window and limited number of camps that can often conflict with others.

Every activity is evaluated by the coaching staff at college-specific ID camps. I guarantee if you can't perform during the SAQ/Technical activities or small-sided games, you aren't going to show squat in the 11 match. College coaches have limited resources and are looking for excuses to disqualify a candidate as much as they are looking for reasons to begin recruiting conversations.

As to the "hand-holding", you're obviously an idiot who never prepared ahead for important events. Mental and physical preparation can be the difference between showing in the middle of the pack with no interest from a coach and getting a coaches attention and starting a recruiting conversation and process. The ID camp won't likely get you an offer,

but if you do well enough and it can jump-start the whole process without having to travel to some showcase across the country. Ask me how I know...

[Unregistered]

So you are going to brush up on technical skills? Are you serious? What, take an hour or two more after playing 5-7 hours per week over the past 10 or so years? Yeah, that’ll do it. Guarantee is a bit strong. Some players may not look technically strong but surprise in game situations. College coaches dedicate the majority of time to scrimmages for a reason.

You showed you can’t accept a competing opinion. Throwing idiot around shows a lot about you.

Every player is different. Don’t overthink the process. Encourage your player to go for what they want and work down the list. There is a small window and limited number of camps that can often conflict with others.

It's refreshing to see some sanity on this board. 100% agree with this approach.

[Unregistered]

So you are going to brush up on technical skills? Are you serious? What, take an hour or two more after playing 5-7 hours per week over the past 10 or so years? Yeah, that’ll do it. Guarantee is a bit strong. Some players may not look technically strong but surprise in game situations. College coaches dedicate the majority of time to scrimmages for a reason.

You showed you can’t accept a competing opinion. Throwing idiot around shows a lot about you.

Every player is different. Don’t overthink the process. Encourage your player to go for what they want and work down the list. There is a small window and limited number of camps that can often conflict with others.

Actually, yes. Plenty of drills and activities on the youtube and various club websites that you can do to get your skills sharp. 90% of club practices is scrimmages and tactical activities in the high school ages we’re talking about for recruiting. Same goes for juggling. Might want to work on those touches and heading accuracy which can be done with juggling, but hey, just show up. Maybe your kid is good enough without some prep work. From what I’ve seen, most are wasting their time. Only a few really shine, average role players don’t make the cut.

[Unregistered]

Depending on where you play if you're doing camps this summer it may be several weeks since you last touched the ball. Get out in the yard and get to the gym. Lots of kids want to play in college but you have to put the time it.

[Unregistered]

Actually, yes. Plenty of drills and activities on the youtube and various club websites that you can do to get your skills sharp. 90% of club practices is scrimmages and tactical activities in the high school ages we’re talking about for recruiting. Same goes for juggling. Might want to work on those touches and heading accuracy which can be done with juggling, but hey, just show up. Maybe your kid is good enough without some prep work. From what I’ve seen, most are wasting their time. Only a few really shine, average role players don’t make the cut.

It all comes down to knowing your kid. You need to know how she performs in tryout situations, how she engages (or not) with strange coaches and players, how long it takes her to feel comfortable in a situation so that her skills/talent shows.

My own 2 kids could not be more different in camp/tryout/showcase situations. One is more outgoing and exudes confidence, whether her game is sharp or not. She excels in tryouts, meeting strangers, bonding with new teammates, and seems to be able to play her very best in the chaotic environments of camps and showcases right from the first minute. The other is more careful, needs to assess the situation before committing, more guarded in her interactions. She used to prepare for camps and tryouts (not to build skill as much as to reinforce confidence that she was leaving no stone unturned), and she never played her best on the first session or first day of any camp. She would be fine by Day 3 or 4, but that was often times way too late to make a strong enough impression.

You can guess where the 2 would situate themselves in a group talk or in a class room, or in line to do any kind of drills.

Because of this, we've always pushed one of our kids to get into tryout situations whenever possible, as she actually looks better than she is. For the other player, we kept her away from camps or any situation where she wouldn't have time to get really comfortable. It worked for us, as our introvert is playing at a top 30 school, and our extrovert is getting plenty of recruiting interest from her target programs.

[Unregistered]

Well said above. There is no one size fits all approach. I know my oldest benefited from getting one under his belt when he started. Truthfully so did I having not been through recruiting since I did a hundred years ago. He did well and had some much needed confidence when it was crunch time (GK btw so you need to exude confidence). The next one is still early but she might not do a practice run partly because of time constraints. She has a very healthy list and good feedback so she feels good about her priority schools.

[Guest]

Stay away from these. The ones that have multiple schools. Total money grab. Go to one and see for yourself. You need to go to school specific camps. Trust me. Check one out. Coaches could care less to be there. No feed back. Complete crap IMO.

[Guest]

It is a camp. They scrimmage. What kind of experience do you need?

Camps vary a lot in how they run things. Some scrimmage a lot. Some do a lot of drills. Some camps have 60+ players at them. Some camps have less than 30.

Particularly if your kid has only played for 1-2 coaches in their youth careers, being in a new environment with unknown players and coaches that have a wide range of styles can be intimidating. Also, if your kid is a 9th grader, they may not have a lot of experience playing with older players (10th-12th graders) which can also be intimidating. Saw this happen to one of D's teammates...player was one of the top defenders on D's team, but at her first ID camp was completely frozen with nervousness when coach wanted her to play midfield in the scrimmages. It wasn't that she wasn't capable, but the situation was overwhelming for her and he camp was a disaster for her.

So the idea is to go to a camp where the kid won't worry so much about making mistakes because it's in front of coaches from a school they don't really care about. Get the jitters out.

[Guest]

At some point, the hand holding has to stop. What a woos, who wants to look like an authority but offers poor advice. Nothing you see at a college camp is any different from what a player already does. In high school, players play up against other players as much as 4 years older. Performing technical skills and drills are not going to be as important as the scrimmages, to see how your player can put it all together.

Dont waste your time going to a school not of interest. Go after what you want.

Yes, at some point the hand holding has to stop. For some kids, they can go into these ID camps fine. For others, they might find it intimidating. Do you really want to find out which one your kid is attending their first ID camp at their top choice college? Or would you rather spend the $100 to attend another one first just to make sure the jitters are gone?

[Guest]

We actually used ID camps as the excuse to visit colleges to see if she liked the environment or not. D had no idea what kind of college she wanted, so she signed up for ID camps at big schools, small schools, urban schools, sub-urban schools, D1 schools, D3 schools all up and down the Northeast from Philly to Maine. Got campus tours as part of those visits and was able to talk with current players and other students. Went to 12 in total, and by the end of it, she had a great sense of those types of schools and it helped her figure out what was important to her and what wasn't. All along the way, she got in some good soccer training and playing with a variety of different coaches and players and it helped her end up at her top choice school (NESCAC).