Is an ID camp worthwhile?
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Anonymous
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My U17 son plays on his HS varsity team and is on the CCL team for his club. He’s interested in playing D3 college soccer (he’s a rising junior), D3 because he intends to be a science major and the commitment for D2 would probably be too much). There’s an upcoming ID camp for a D3 college he’s interested in applying to, and I’m wondering if it would it be valuable for DS to go in terms of exposure to the coach of this school?
This upcoming season he’ll be playing in some college showcases and we intended to email some D3 coaches to notify them, but ahead of that I didn’t know if this one-day ID camp at the school the end of July would be worthwhile. DS has gotten some conflicting advice on ID camps... Thanks for any insight! |
Anonymous
| If he's interested in that school, I think it's worth going to the ID camp. He will be able to spend the day on campus, meet the coaches and maybe some of the team, and see if he feels like it could be a fit. |
Anonymous
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Should reach out to the school before camp and start establishing the relationship if he hasn't already.
If a school is interested, it will want you to attend its ID camp at some point in the process so be proactive won't hurt. |
Anonymous
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ID camps are huge money makers for the programs. There are ids who go to one every week in hopes of being discovered starting the first year they offer them.
Starting in 10th grade, if you have interest in certain schools is when you should begin that but also know that the top Div 3 schools recruit very heavily because they know most of the kids playing soccer at any level are not going to be playing after college so more and more the talented players are going to top academic schools where their grades and soccer combine to get them in. Our club coach says the more ID camps you go to the more you are helping that program pay for soccer balls and swag. So pick the ID camps for schools you are interested in going to. |
Anonymous
| My DD likes them. At the better schools, lots of ECNL and DA players from multiple age groups get to play together. Great quality training while getting in front of a school she is considering. |
Anonymous
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They are not a recruiting tool as much as a money-maker. $650 for a few of the hottest days of the summer? Offer them for $50 as invite-only to kids who the school is genuinely interested in, and we'll talk. We've gotten so many "come to our camp" letters that the allure of what would be a true "ID" camp has been diluted.
If going merely to get good training, that is fine, but for 99.9% of kids attending, there is little chance of being recruited as a result. All of this is too bad, because our kids ought to be evaluating coaches and coaching styles as much as coaches are evaluating the kids. To see if there might be a "fit" shouldn't require a $650 camp. NCAA should also allow a school to waive the camp fee for anyone they please. |
Anonymous
| My DD just did a three day multi-college ID camp and is now talking with a coach at a school that she is very interested in. Before the camp she emailed said coach to let her know that she would be at the camp. The email was not a form letter, it was more personable and mentioned why she wanted to go to the school. She had met the coach before and mentioned that as well. At the camp she ended up on the coach’s team for all three days. I’m guessing the coach requested the placement based on the email. On the last day the coach gave her the team award which is a bright shirt that she got to wear during the closing tournament. At the end of camp they did a 1v1 review with a coach and also got a written evaluation. DD got a great review/eval from the coach. They will be following her at her tournaments this coming season. Hopefully things work out. The camp was expensive and I can see how it can be a waste for some. |
Anonymous
Is your daughter a rising junior or older? |
Anonymous
DD is a rising junior. She did two multi-college/multi-day ID camps this summer and one last spring. She will do camps at the schools she is interested in once HS season is over I think. It is tough figuring out what level of play she fits and what schools she likes. Club coach did give some direction so that helped. A few campus visits did help too. |
Anonymous
| Depends which camp |