Summer Camps Give Athletes the Opportunity to Get Noticed

With Summer now here, it's time to start thinking about summer sports camps.  If you play your cards right, camps can offer a terrific exposure opportunity for high school athletes looking to move on to the college level.

Many college coaches attend camps where they evaluate incoming seniors for scholarship consideration.  This is just one example of why camps can be valuable in getting your name out to colleges as you head into your senior year.

Let's answer the question, "Why should I try to attend a summer sports camp?"  There are a few good answers to this question.  First, it gives you the opportunity to get better as an athlete.  Competition for scholarships is fierce, and if you aren't doing things to improve your overall skill you are hurting your chances of earning a sports scholarship.  Second, it allows you to be seen by college coaches who might be attending the camps.  At the very least, you’ll be seen by the coaches running the camp. 

The next most frequently asked question is, "What camp should I attend?"   It’s a tough one to answer, but generally we recommend attending a camp at a college you think you might want to attend.  It will allow you to talk to the coaching staff at the school and help you find out more about the college.  There are also many camps and combines that are run by outside organizations and not hosted by a specific school.  These offer coaches from many different colleges the opportunity to evaluate talent and are therefore, great options as well.

While at the camp, be sure to introduce yourself personally to the head coach or recruiting coordinator of the school hosting the camp and find out what opportunities exist.  Then, following the camp, make sure you follow up with any and all coaches you know were there.  Use the template letters in the My GAMEplan pages of our web site to help plan your follow up letters.

An important point to note is that many college coaches who attend camps are there to evaluate the talent they are already aware of.  That means that if you play in a tournament or attend a camp that has 50 college coaches present, these coaches may not notice you since they are there to scout players they already know about.  Assuming that's the case, there are two strategies:  First, use the information and services provided by College GAMEplan to help you distribute your Player Profile to college coaches BEFORE the camp.  And make sure to be very proactive at these events.  They are not a time to be shy!  Walk up and introduce yourself to the college coaches you see and hand them your Player Profile (summary of information about your academic and athletic abilities).  Use this time as an opportunity to get to know them so they remember you once they return to their campus.

Summer camps and tournaments represent a great opportunity for you to be proactive and maximize your time.  Use the Virtual Tour links on the Choosing A College page of your College GAMEplan subscription to read about each school’s upcoming camp programs.  Build your Player Profile by following the instructions and examples on the My Student Athlete pages, and use the letter templates on the My GAMEplan pages to introduce yourself before the camp and to follow up after the camps.  Use these camp to improve yourself as an athlete, to improve your chances of playing college sports, and position yourself to earn the most amounts of scholarship money.