<p>I posted this in the other active thread on summer camps. In case OP missed it there, I am posting it again here.</p>
<p>We went through the summer camp dilemma two years ago now. Here’s some of the advice I gave then, it may be a bit repetitive because it was culled from two separate posts. I think it remains relevant.</p>
<p>1- New England Elite is likely the best multi-school camp if you are looking for academic colleges. It is heavily attended by the NESCAC and D3 coaches, and many head coaches. The individual Ivy camps are also attended by many NESCAC and other D3 coaches. My suggestion would be to try really hard to work out the dates for NE Elite, and also figure out which schools you are most interested in and find out which Ivy camps they will have coaches attending.
Get your tape and other info into the hands of the coaches BEFORE the camps. Unless your child is a superstar, it will be very difficult to attract attention at these camps without having first made contact.
I disagree that coaches are looking for position players. I believe coaches are mostly looking for athletes. I read a statistic somewhere that more than half of Ivy and D3 football players end up playing a different position in college than they played in high school.
And it’s not too late, but will be in a couple of weeks. camps start in June/July, and all the Ivies still have camps open. Most important, however, would be to send out those emails and information to coaches NOW!</p>
<p>2- Every coach is going to tell you he really needs you to come to their camp so that “his coaches can work with you.” It’s all a lie. Coaches want you to come to their camp because their camp is a revenue generator for the coaches, period. If you’re a good football player coaches will recruit you whether or not you go to their camp. If you tell a coach you’re going to the camp of a competitor but not theirs, watch how much immediate attention you get from them. It means nothing.</p>
<p>3- Unless your times (40, shuttle, etc.) are so impressive that you’re going to wow everyone at camp, camps are likely to do more harm than good. If your times aren’t that great, coaches will weed you out based on times alone and won’t pursue you further and you’ll never get the chance to have them see your film. Alternatively, if the coaches don’t have camp times for you, they will recruit you based on film alone.</p>
<p>4- If you decide to go to one or more camps - if it’s a multi-day camp, only go for one day (even if they don’t offer a single day, they will let you if you ask.)</p>
<p>5- Know that the NESCAC and other D3 coaches will go to most Ivy camps, but an Ivy coach will never go to the camp of another Ivy.</p>
<p>6- NE Elite is fun but it’s a zoo. Over a thousand kids. Very few kids get serious looks there, but it does provide you with an opportunity to get some face time with coaches.</p>
<p>7- Start sending film and emails now, then send them regularly whenever you have anything that resembles news to report (eg, 1st quarter grades, awards, etc.) You need to make the coaches familiar with your name, etc., so that when you introduce yourself to them at camps they recognize your name.</p>
<p>8- If you go to one or more camps, you MUST(!!!) take every opportunity to go up to every coach and introduce yourself to him. If you’re going to go to camps and run your drills but not be VERY aggressive in meeting coaches the camps will be of little value.</p>
<p>9- Be prepared that if you want to go to a NESCAC school you will only get coach support if you apply ED to that school. More support with ED1, less with ED2 depending on how many commits they already have.</p>
<p>10- Know that the only players who get serious looks and offers at these camps are those players that the coaches are trying to “pick off” from D1 schools or, at the very least, schools higher up the food chain than them. All other players (which includes almost all of the players who eventually end up on their team) are recruited through the regular fall recruiting schedule.</p>
<p>11- The Yale and Harvard camps are, for the most part, D1 camps filled with D1 prospects who are entertaining the idea that they might consider going to Yale or Harvard (maybe to make their moms happy).</p>
<p>12- Don’t forget about the high academic non-NESCAC D3 schools that have football programs - MIT, Hopkins, WashU, UChicago, Carnegie Mellon. Your grades and scores may be good enough to get into one of these schools with coach support.</p>
<p>It’s an exciting time, but filled with much stress and uncertainty.</p>
<p>Try to enjoy the process.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>