September Update:

ID Camps, Clinics, & “High Academic” Showcases: Really?

Should students need or want to do a “pay-to-play” event/camp/showcase? Whether we are talking about a camp, a clinic, a showcase: anything that you sign up for as an individual without qualifying through a national organization or affiliated team – EVEN if marketing says it is for “elite” athletes – these are environments where college coaches have a challenging mission to evaluate you. Participants need to consider their “why” before investing money or time in them.

THIS IS NOT A DISCUSSION ABOUT TOURNAMENTS YOU PLAY WITH YOUR CLUB TEAM (i.e. AAU/ MLSNext, etc.) OR AT AN EVENT WHERE YOU QUALIFY WITH A USOC AFFILIATED ORGANIZATION (i.e. USA Track & Field/Rowing/Swimming/etc.) – if you have to qualify with your team/league or sport governing body – that is “outside competition” where college coaches really want to evaluate the best athletes in high stakes competition with each other.

Before we get too far, sure, “Johnny did a showcase/camp and HE got recruited” IS NOT an endorsement. You don’t know what else Johnny did or the steps that lead him to find the school he wanted or whether the whole thing even worked out in the end! Doing things that CONSISTENTLY help students and coaches connect are a FAR better use of your time and resources!

The basic principle here is YOU CANNOT BUY BEING RECRUITED OR EVEN BEING EVALUATED IN A SERIOUS WAY, but you can get an opportunity to learn if you understand what you are purchasing. I generally think of these pay-to-play options in two categories:

College “Elite” or “ID” Camps

These are any camps or clinics run ON CAMPUS by a SPECIFIC COACH or PROGRAM. They may have coaches from other schools as well, but you are on campus with at least some staff coaches from the college and hopefully some current student-athletes are coaching you.

What YOU can get out of these events as a prospective recruit is a bit of an inside look at the coaches, athletes, and facilities. If you have never been on a particular campus and it is an aspirational school for you – why not go? You might fall in love, you might decide you need a new dream… either way you have learned something and at least met the coaches. They can also be fun! What you can NOT get out of these events, despite implications to the contrary is getting recruited.

Combines, Showcases, or Camps Run By Outside Groups

These events often promise coaches from MANY schools will attend at some facility either not associated with a college or at an institution you are not interested in. The downside here is you are not learning much about any particular college or the recruiting process (you can get that “coaches panel” discussion on YouTube), but you ARE getting your name in databases to be spammed with more “pay to play” events, not to mention fake “student-athlete recognition” scams and everything else. Also, even if a coach likes you, it’s probably an assistant and who knows whether the head coach will listen to that person? Ultimately, an email with decent video probably gets you a more meaningful evaluation!

This INCLUDES “High Academic” Showcases. Good marketing for companies to use the pull of highly selective schools but directly communicating with the coaches you want to play for is far more likely to move your recruiting process forward!

The one possible exception COULD be “high academic” events added on to real competitive tournaments. They are still not the most useful things you can do, but if you are already there and coaches are already there... it’s just a matter of whether it’s worth it to you to spend the money knowing that you could probably get the same attention from an email and an invitation to watch you play in the serious competition instead!

Ultimately, you have limited time and resources – the question for camp is NOT “could it possibly help” but “is it the best use of my time and resources?” Most of the time, camp experiences are more valuable for 9^th and 10^th graders who can get on a campus and make their future choices more concrete and real. Also, remember a camp invite is NOT a “recruiting communication” according to the NCAA – react accordingly.

As always, if you are looking for the individualized or institutional consulting help that puts you ahead of your peers, check out our services here! You can make an initial appointment through the link on our homepage! School administrators and counselors access our free resources, appointments and programs for school collaboration here.

For more information, contact Dave Morris, College Counselor & CEO, College Athletic Advisor, dave@collegeathleticadvisor.com or phone: (719) 248-7994

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