A deep dive on which camps are worth your time, energy, and money.
I knew it was bad, but I didn’t know it was this bad.
- Soccer ID camp: $525
- Volleyball combine (1.5 hours): $130
- Baseball showcase: $199 – $325
- Softball showcase: $180
- Basketball showcase: $279-$350
- And the grand finale… another baseball showcase: $299.50 – $699 😳
These are events that only last a few hours and cost several hundred dollars, all under the guise of getting your athlete recruited.
Where do you invest and where do you hold off? Even if your money pool is infinite, your athlete’s time is not. You need to steward those resources wisely.
Don’t let FOMO win. Saying no is a super power.
Here’s how to tell which camps are worth your investment and which are a waste of your money.
What’s the point of the camp?
Since there are a cess pool of camps to choose from, instead of breaking down specific camps, it’s best to learn the principles of what a camp can do and why a camp may or may not be worth your investment.
There are two different benefits that camps can offer: exposure or development. (There is a 3rd reason: just because it’s a fun experience. But, I don’t think that’s why you’re reading this article.)
Exposure is the act of showcasing your athlete’s skills and physical abilities to get recognized by college coaches.
Development is the process of making your athlete better at their sport. They’re learning new skills, learning training strategies, going over game tactics, etc.
Exposure
Exposure has gone from being a precious resource to a mundane commodity. It’s easier than ever to get exposure.
By the time I was in 8th grade, it was pretty clear that I was a talented football player and I had big dreams of playing at the Division 1 level. However, the public school that I grew up in hadn’t made the playoffs in 30 years. There was nobody playing any high level football where I was from.
I had to actually transfer schools to get the exposure that I needed. Recruiting was analog and network based. I needed a high school coach that had relationships with college coaches, so I could shake their hands and give them my DVD highlight reel.
In today’s world, that really doesn’t matter. You ball out on game day, throw your film up on Twitter, and market it the right way, then you’ll get exposure.
A big question that needs to stay front of mind: does your athlete have anything that you even want exposed right now?
Going to a combine where your athlete showcases average sprint times, average jump heights, and average anthropometrics isn’t going to help them get recruited.
Don’t invest in showcases until your athlete has developed physical abilities that are worth showcasing.
Development
Until your athlete’s prime recruiting years and until your athlete has undergone significant training to maximize their athletic potential, 100% of your investments should be in developing physical abilities and technical skills.
Signs that an exposure camp is a good investment:
- The camp is directly in front of the college coaches that you are looking to connect with.
- Camps at colleges run by the coaches themselves will always trump camps put on by 3rd party businesses.
- “Mega camps” run by bigger colleges are usually a good bang for your buck, as there will be many college coaches at all levels of the sport. Make sure this is actually run and hosted by a main college, though. 3rd party companies promising that they’ll be “30+ colleges there” are usually lying.
- Your athlete is in their prime recruiting years.
- Your athlete has trained their tail off to develop physical abilities and technical skills that are worth showcasing.
- Your athlete is prepared to:
- reach out before the camp to let the coaches know that they are coming,
- introduce themselves to the college coaches and shake their hands when they get there,
- speak enthusiastically about how much they appreciate the opportunity to learn from the coaching staff and showcase their abilities,
- be relentless at every drill,
- shake their hands and thank them again at the end of the camp,
- follow up with a well-written email a few days later,
- and do this all by themselves without mommy and daddy’s help.
- The coaches are personally interested in your athlete.
Look, I hate to break it to you, but those camp invites and “letters” from college coaches are mass produced. They’re revenue generators- the more kids that come to the camp, the more money the program makes.
I used to get “letters” from Alabama twice a week, but I wasn’t getting recruited by Alabama at all.
Hand-written letters and truly personal emails are meaningful, the other stuff is not. If you’re unsure if a letter is hand-written or if it’s printed and made to look like it’s hand-written, then it’s not hand-written.
If you and two of your teammates got the same camp invite from a college coach, then it’s not a personal email.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t go to those camps, ball out, and get them to notice you. I’m just telling you to prioritize the camps where you are getting personal interest.
Signs that a development camp is a good investment:
- Your athlete has a specific skill that they’re looking to develop and the camp coaches are known for developing that.
- Your athlete is young, thinks they might like that sport, but is inexperienced and wants to learn more before their season comes around.
- The coaches are highly involved in actually coaching during the camp, not standing around and evaluating.
Some additional common questions…
What are my athlete’s “prime recruiting years”?
These are the years where most D1 scholarships are given out for your athlete’s sport.
For most sports, this is the end of sophomore year until the beginning of their senior season.
What about those recruiting services?
This should be a whole post in itself, but you don’t need a middle-man recruiting brokerage in 2024.
Save your cash and invest elsewhere.
Wait! What should I write about next?
I want to write about stuff that you care about. So, I want you to choose what I write about next week.
- If you want me to write about what to do in the later stages of muscle strain rehab, click here.
- If you want me to write about what you can do to rehab from a concussion, click here.
- If you want me to write about how to train the core like an athlete, click here.
A quick thought on 2 lifts per week.
There are 3 recurring themes required for success, regardless of the realm: consistency, intensity, and intent.
- Consistency = show up every time you’re supposed to show up.
- Intensity = work your tail off and be completely focused when you do show up.
- Intent = have a plan and be purposeful with your actions.
They’re all important, but nothing matters without consistency.
Mike Boyle, a well-known strength coach from his time with the Boston Red Sox, Boston Bruins, and Boston University, was recently on a podcast where he stated that his rule for his kids was that they were going to get 2 lifts per week from age 11 until the end of high school.
There were not excuses. They didn’t take the in-season off. It was just a staple of who they were and how they were going to develop.
That doesn’t sound earth shattering, but 2 lifts per week compounded for 7 years (700+ workouts) leads to staggering results.
Consistency wins, just like Aesop told us.
A couple of important things…
- This newsletter is completely free. I spend many hours each week researching, writing, and illustrating (okay, maybe the drawings don’t take that long). The best way you can support it and allow it continue is to share it with people you know. You can just send them to gtperformance.co and they can subscribe there!
- Everything in these newsletters and on our website is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice for you or you athlete. Consult directly with a healthcare professional.
Thanks so much for your help in spreading the word about athlete development!
Be >,
Zach
Dr. Zach Guiser, PT, DPT, CSCS