Soccer ID Camps?

GKUnion
Tue, 20 Feb 2024 18:06:52 +0000

I should have said that there is no recruiting downside to your son attending a D1 camp. The coaches literally aren’t going to look at him in terms of recruiting. If nothing else, it will be a good test for him.

At many D1 camps there are players that register, and then there are players the coaches encouraged/invited to attend. The assistant coaches will mostly monitor the registered players. The head coach will monitor the invited players. Each group of players will, at some point, be mixed together during the camp. In the end, though, only the best registered players will end up playing full field with the invited players, at least in my experience.

All that being said, my son’s very first camp as a high school freshman was with the school that ended up recruiting him. He was big, strong, fast and confident for his age. He is also a bit crazy. What caught their attention initially is that he wore a short sleeve t-shirt and shorts, in February, when it was in the 30’s and windy. He doesn’t get cold. Every other player was bundled up with sweatshirts, sweatpants and winter hats. LOL! The coaches pulled him aside after the camp and spoke with him for 5-10 minutes. It was a good sign.

After the camp he barely received an email at all from the school, even when he reached the point where they could communicate. He was being recruited by several schools during his junior year, but not the school mentioned above from the camp. They attended his games at showcases, but again, radio silence. It was 4 days before my son was headed to the summer showcase after his junior year that they called and offered him a spot on their team. My son was a day away from committing to another D1 school. It was a crazy time, but he chose the school from that first camp in the end.

You’re in for a rollercoaster, and you’ll likely be flying blind 95% of the time. Enjoy the ride, but don’t worry too much about camps for another couple of years.