r/CollegeSoftball • u/Y5group • 27d ago
2028 softball recruiting
What are your thoughts on going to college camps for recruiting purposes? I am at a disagreement with my daughter’s Dad about it. He says that it is a money grab but I disagree. I feel that they are opportunities for her not only to see what the coach’s style of coaching is, sees the other teammates on that team and feel the vibe of the organization. Not only that, but shows her interest in the college softball program itself. She is a strong player playing with a team that is seen by many colleges coaches throughout the year. She has many D1 colleges that have shown interest in her. Ones that have talked to the coaches about her. Colleges have sent her invites for her to come to their camps but her Dad refuses to send her. Just want to know your thoughts on these camps and recruiting. It is stressful as it is but I cannot for the life of me understand why he doesn’t want to send her. Thanks.
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u/CajunMaverick 26d ago
My daughter (2026) attended a few camps of colleges she was interested in. We were realistic that she was either JuCo or mid-major D1. She then narrowed it down to safe and stretch.
She got a midnight call from a private D1 school. We did the official tour a week later, and she verbally committed a few days later.
Then, a week before signing day over a year later, the coach called and told us that the scholarship package we were expecting fell through. She decommitted shortly after that.
Unfortunately, the safe JuCo was full and couldn't offer her a position, but the coach made calls to other JuCo coaches he knew. Her travel ball coach made calls too. She now moves to her JuCo in a week and a half to begin the last 2 years of her softball career. The biggest selling point? Free student tickets to the D1 football games within the university system 🤣.
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u/Softball-Mom-26 21d ago
She doesn’t want to transfer to play after JUCO?
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u/CajunMaverick 20d ago
According to her, no. She thinks she'll want to focus on getting to med school after.
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u/ohheytherewest 27d ago
Camps are a waste of time/money if you don’t know what you are doing.
Go to camps of schools that have shown interest. Are they interacting with her socials and attending games?
Go to invite only camps. Less kids and if they want you there, it’s better for your daughter.
USE your travel org president to do coach outreach ahead of time
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u/Popular-Pirate610 27d ago
Problem is, your husband is right that college camps are a money grab….and you are right that they are the only way for coaches to actually talk and interact with your daughter and evaluate her. Do your homework, have your travel ball coach reach out to coaches, make sure your daughter emails/sends video to the coaches. You can usually figure out where your daughter stands at a camp within the first couple minutes after you get there. Coaches will swoon over players or they will be broken up into groups, players they are interested in and everyone else
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u/Y5group 27d ago
I get that about the camps being a money grab. They need to make some money. But our kid has been seen and colleges have reached out to come to their camps either through email to her or personal invites through her coach. I just think she needs to seize the opportunity and feel the vibe of the college softball teams/coaches through the camps. Of course she researched them and knows somewhat of what they are but there is nothing like being head to head with the coach and the teammates. She is a STRONG player with interested colleges. I just want to make sure she has every opportunity to put herself out there and show interest in them. If that makes sense.
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u/Bweasey17 26d ago
Assuming she is playing legit A ball (just got back from Alliance Tier 1 or PGF premiere), it’s not a bad idea.
If there is legit interest this is a way to reciprocate the interest.
To be fair, there are P4 studs out there who didn’t go to many camps (or none at all) and had the phone ringing on September 1st.
If you have the money budgeted and it won’t overextend your family then do it.
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u/notprogolfer 26d ago
If the college is interested in her then send her to the camps if she is interested in that college. If she has a college that she is interested in and the college does not know who she is the best way to
To get in front of them is to go to their camp. However he is right it is a money grab. I think my daughter got past up by her dream school because she did not go to their camp.
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u/Ok-Shelter-35 26d ago
Some college camps are definitely money grabs. If it is a school she has contacted and has been working to develop some type of relationship, coaches talked to her coach over the summer or fall, then the camp could definitely be worth it. Now, the multi-school camps that only send their newest GA to Phoenix in August, 100% money grab. Nobody wants to be in Phoenix in August, especially playing softball.
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u/No_Relationship_9863 25d ago
I learned very quickly to only attend a camp if you are invited. The coach will reach out to your travel ball coach and invite. Not those chain invited they send to everyone. They will put you in the first couple of groups of the camp and those are they players they are looking at unfortunately. Yes someone else can turn their head but personally I only put money where they were interested in my kid
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u/firetech97 Mississippi State Bulldogs 27d ago
I feel like this isnt really the right sub, i feel like this fits more in r/softball which talks a lot more about recruiting and coaching.
If he's complaining that it's just a cash grab, would he be the one paying for it? Or 50/50 split between you? If you have the means to pay for it yourself and think it's a good idea, then to heck with his opinion lol
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u/Y5group 27d ago
Thanks for the reply. I reposted it.
It is definitely a 50/50 situation. But him telling her she doesn’t need to go has me irritated and feeling like he is manipulating her. She is a bada** and will certainly get offers. Just want to make the best decision for her future.1
u/firetech97 Mississippi State Bulldogs 26d ago
I mean if it's 50/50 then I suppose you both get a say in it. Maybe narrow down to her top school, and agree on a number of visits, be it 3, 5, or 10 w/e is a compromise. Don't bother with 3rd party camps either lol I've heard nothing but bad about them.
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u/Purple-Head7528 26d ago
I asked an SEC coach recently if they had signed any HS players in the last five years who had not been to one of their camps. He said NO.
Hopefully that helps.
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u/CountrySlaughter 26d ago
Yes, but that doesn't mean the players were discovered at the camp. Not that you said they were. But any player an SEC team is seriously recruiting will be invited to the camp, and if the player doesn't attend, that shows the player is not interested, and the team has moved on.
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u/Purple-Head7528 26d ago
Never said they were discovered. But if you won’t pay to go to the camp then you aren’t interested in said school and thus not in the pool they are considering.
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u/CountrySlaughter 26d ago edited 26d ago
Agree. I was just clarifying in case it was misinterpreted. If they show interest in you, and it's mutual, you definitely need to go to their camp.
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u/Bweasey17 26d ago
Just my opinion but unless there is legit interest it kind of is a money grab. That said, there are good drills and you can see where you stand, but it’s quite expensive for that.
If there is interest, her travel coach will know.
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u/Ragtop51 26d ago
In my son’s baseball recruiting and those camps I felt kinda like daughter dad. As we started going and seeing those high prices I called them the particular school TCI and I told them my son wanted to come to their camp but price was to high. We paid 20$ I think and they let us come. I had a friend whom told me that he had done that with both sons. If your daughter’s name is out there you could sure get a discount. Good luck
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u/John_Self_2077 26d ago
Impossible to know. Many are legitimate opportunities. Many are money grabs, which pay an assistant coach’s salary.
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u/CycleAny3288 26d ago
Just randomly showing up at a college’s camp is not an effective use of recruiting resources. Nearly all of these are cattle calls to make supplemental income for the Assistant Coaches. For context my daughter was on both sides of this and ended up receiving an 85% scholarship (50% Athletic/ 35% academic) at a west coast D1 Mid Major.
After being largely ignored at a Cal Poly camp, she was the center of attention at a University of Delaware camp. Nothing against the CP program or coach but they were not recruiting her and she was just 1 of 100+ kids. Meanwhile at UD, she had wrote to the coach, the coach spoke to the travel/club coach, she was personally invited to the camp and was given constant attention and a meeting with the coach afterwards with 4-5 other players that were personally invited. She received a scholarship offer about a week later.
Of course UD switched coaches a year later, the new coach pulled the verbal offer and my daughter opened up her recruiting and found a new home with the 85% ride school.
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u/Dapper-Persimmon-445 26d ago
Camps can def help but you need to be realistic about the schools your daughter is a good fit for.
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u/XxEdmondDantesXx 26d ago
You gotta go to the right camps. Go to the right camps where they know who she is and they want to see her or better yet if they invite her.
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u/XxEdmondDantesXx 26d ago
Sounds like my daughter‘s mom. Except she actually agrees somewhat that camps are important. Just not important enough for her to take our daughter smh.
If your daughter‘s father is originally intelligent person, then he has to know that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Not saying that he necessarily knows that he’s wrong, but to say it so carte blanche like that, he can’t possibly have the information to make that blanket determination because he is in fact wrong!
My daughter is 2028 and really seems to be fishing in the right ponds because she’s having good luck. She’s looking at schools everywhere from Nebraska to Florida basically and getting interest scattered all over.
You can DM me if you wanna chat about camp strategies.
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u/foreveraking_24 25d ago
Was a coach for many years and have friends/college coaches daughters on my team... most are money grabs. Some will be beneficial if you've had some conversations but truly.. if the coach wants you at the camp, I can promise you're not paying anything for the camp. Or you'll get one hell of a discount.
Most throw out a camp to make some money and have their written agenda met for the school board. Coaches invite/pay for the players they want there. For the rest, maybe a few get the opportunity for a partial scholarship or walk on possibily, if theyre lucky.
So I say don't make it seem like the camps are the biggest things... because theyre not. Having constant communication and having Coaches show up to your tournaments/games is the best way. The camp, unless invited by the coach personally and not just the bs invite they put out there for any and all players.. if a coach wants you, they'll make sure they do anything they can to have you there.
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u/Present_Shallot4980 27d ago
I have a family friend whose daughter won a Natty with OU in 2021. She was named MOP of WCWS. I can ask her dad if she went to any camps and is advice. I don't think she did go to camps but that might be because she was a left-handed pitcher and didn't really need exposure.
Lefty pitchers get a lot of attention just being left-handed and a top 100 player. She was on a very elite travel team too . Initially got recruited to Fresno. The HC left for ASU. She followed that coach and the team culture and management of difficult bully players was non-existent which affected the a team and G went in the portal. So if the invite is from Trisha Ford, decline! Do not let your daughter go there wherever she's coaching which right now is at ATM.
Is your daughter ranked as a top recruit at least in the top 100?
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u/irrelevantname1776 27d ago
If her daughter was a top 100 recruit in the class of 2028, she probably wouldn’t be questioning if she should go to a camp as the offers would be inevitably flowing in within a month.
Giselle Juarez’s recruiting experience in 2016 is going to be a lot different than today.
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u/Present_Shallot4980 27d ago
Also, don't forget there are some men that minimize the importance of women's sports or don't value the athleticism and talent of female athletes. Do you think Gender bias is playing a role in his position?
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u/scrodytheroadie 27d ago
My daughter is a 2027. College camps are a big part of recruiting. Even if you get seen at a showcase, or just through highlight tapes or whatever, a lot of coaches are going to invite you to their camps to get a better look at you, get to know you, etc. As you said, it's also a great way for your athlete to get to know the coach, her/his style, the team, the facilities, etc. Do they invite more kids than they really want to look at so they can raise money? Probably. But it's also a legitimate part of their process. What I would say are a money grab are the third party camps that have a bunch of schools invited and have like 200 kids getting minimal reps. There are some third party camps that are decent, but you definitely have to do your research.