With the overcrowded recruiting landscape making it almost impossible for college coaches to see and scout all of the recruits they would like to at showcases, ID camps have become even more important to every player’s recruiting process. However, between camp and travel costs to attend these camps, plus the many types of current ID camps out there, its extremely important to find the right camps to attend, and not waste your valuable time and money.
Here are some major factors to look for when trying to decide which camps to attend.
NCAA D1 MULTI-SCHOOL ID CAMPS vs SINGLE COLLEGE PROGRAM D1 ID CAMPS
Generally speaking, the more impactful NCAA Division 1 ID camps will typically be a camp that is held on a college campus, run by the college staff at that college, and only attended by that staff. In short, ask yourself why a college program would want to ‘share’ potential recruits with other college programs and coaches by making it a ‘multi-school ID camp?’
There are some rare occasions where a college staff will invite ONE coach from another staff that they have a very good relationship with and from a college program that is in a very close proximity. However even in those occasions, the two schools are typically not on the same level and NOT competitive with each other. (as an example, these are typically D1 vs D2 programs or D1 Power 5 programs vs lower D1 Mid Major programs). These rare occasions typically do not affect the overall quality of the ID camp, and occasionally can help some players attending that might not be at the Power 5 conference level, but might be at the Mid Major conference level.
However, there is a HUGE difference between a SINGLE SCHOOL ID CAMP having one coach from another nearby college attend, and the many MULTI-SCHOOL ID CAMPS that tend to be much less impactful.
THE ISSUE WITH SOME MULTI-SCHOOL ID CAMPS
Some consistent patterns and issues with multi-school ID camps that cause that ID camp to be potentially less impactful are:
– College coach attending lists not being updated. This is a common occurrence and many times a college coach or staff will be baffled when they find out they are on an attendance list that they are NOT attending and/or haven’t attended in years. When trying to confirm IF a certain staff is actually attending (always recommended), email the coach or coaching staff directly vs asking the ID camp company that is managing the camp or attempting to boost the overall camp attendance.
– Even if a college coach IS attending a multi-school camp, in recent years it is typically the newest and/or lowest level assistant coach of that program’s staff attending, and that coach has no ability to make recruiting decisions.
– The overall purpose of multi-school camps is to typically have the highest recruit attendance possible. Therefore, even with multiple college coaches (with no ability to make recruiting decisions) attending, the overall ratio of coach to player is still typically extremely high.
(***NOTE: D2 and D3 multi-school ID camps are much more beneficial if that is the path for your child as they are typically smaller and there is a much lower coach to player ratio. In addition, most D2 and D3 coaches who attend those ID camps DO have the ability to make recruiting decisions.)
EXPECTATIONS OF FEEDBACK AFTER D1 ID CAMPS
This varies wildly from ID CAMP to ID CAMP and many coaching staffs are VERY diligent in attempting to give at least some feedback. However, the trend lately is that typically only the top 5-8 players at the entire camp will be provided that feedback. This is for no other reason than just how incredibly busy college coaches are on a daily basis throughout the entire year. There are a few coaching staffs that will be straight forward at the end of an ID camp, and will come right out and say “do not expect or ask for feedback- if we are interested, we will provide you with feedback’, and there are many college coaches that will tell the camp that they will ‘provide feedback eventually’. In either cases, the 5-8 BEST PLAYERS AT THE CAMP guideline is the most accurate and happens the most in recent trends.
Based on this current trend, increasing your chances at feedback is obviously based on how large the overall ID camp will be, and asking a coach on the staff before the camp is a completely appropriate way to find out. However, similar to feedback, a response to that inquiry is typically based on just how busy the staff is in the days and weeks before the event, so always review the ID camp invitation email or the ID camp information on the college program’s website as another way to try and find out the szie of the camp, since many college programs WILL include if they will ‘cap’ an ID camp with a maximum number of recruits that can attend. (typically, the most beneficial ‘MAXIMUM’ number of recruits at the better camps to consider attending are between 40-60)
ONE DAY ID CAMP vs TWO DAY CAMPS
This is another important factor in deciding which camps to attend, and unfortunately, there are pluses and minuses on both sides. While attending BOTH days of a weekend camp is obviously more expensive, the players that DO attend both days will ALWAYS make a bigger impact in one on one interaction with the coaching staff which can be a huge factor in a players overall scholarship chances at that program. So if it fits into a family’s financial situation and travel ability, attending both days is definitely a benefit. However, college coaches also know that it is a difficult thing to do and will not hold it against a recruit if they are unable to attend both days.
In the end, many college programs use an ID camp as a final decision for multiple recruits they are considering, so if you are absolutely sure you are on a college program’s recruiting board and that the program has GENUINE INTEREST in you, attending an ID camp later in your recruiting process at that school is always something you should consider, as a way to help secure that scholarship offer.
