ID Camp Season

Here is my advice... 
1) Clothing does not matter one bit.  When you have 100 people at a camp.  Technical ability or lack there of compared to the others at camp will be easily seen no matter what the current league or clothing.  Most schools will either give the player a camp shirt with a number or a penny with a number on it...
2) Always communicate with coaches before, during and after the camp.  More specifically ask your player to ask the coaches for immediate verbal feedback right after the camp dismisses.
3) This depends on alot of factors primarily related to the where does the player want to play.  Do they want to stay close to home?  What is the possible major in college?  
  - We havent ever been to a multi college one so I cant speak to it, but the individual school ones are pretty different school to school.  The quality of competition seems to be different from school to school as well.

I hope this helps.

1) Wore team practice jersey, but always received a school jersey with a number to pin
2) Communicate before and after. Learned from one school that they had been to her state cup game and had notes on her already!!
3) Only did multi-school camps that the club sponsored. Went to specific school camps that had her major and atmosphere she was looking for.

Saying all that, she ended up at Georgia College and State this year, and before the first season game realized she was done with competitive soccer. Heartbreaking but she loves the school first, and is on intramural indoor and outdoor teams. Loves the relaxed play instead and can focus on her pre-nursing classes.

I don't understand recruiting rules at all.

When kids go to single school camps, are coaches allowed to talk to them about their standing? Just give feedback on performance in camp? Nothing?

Technically they are not supposed to talk to the player about their standing until June before their junior year even at a camp. This is for D1 and D2. I think with the rules being new some coaches aren't doing a great job of communicating. Some say more than they should and some won't say a thing to a player for fear of being outside the rules. Of course it is ok for them to say things while they are actually playing like "nice shot" or "cheeky little backheel pass. I like it!" which are things I overheard coaches say to my daughter during play. More feedback than that runs pretty close to the line so they have to be careful.

Meh - I'm not a fan of the ID camp route. Most of the time those are just money makers for the school/team. My daughter is in her sophomore year playing in college and the only ID camp she ever did was the one at the school she's at now while he was recruiting her. She works them with her teammates now and said it's usually only girls he's already recruiting to see how they mesh with each other.

She got more looks at tournaments (Disney, CASL, etc.) and ODP SubRegions and Region Camp.

The plus side of ID camps:
1. The player gets a chance to see the campus and interact with current players - helps give them a real feel for the school and team
2. Because it's on campus, the player and/or parent can speak directly with the coach and not be in any violation of NCAA recruiting rules. The coach can't and won't say your player is the best they've ever seen and offer a full ride on the spot - they will give constructive feedback on ability and play. If you're lucky, you'll get some honest advice (see my example below)

The cold hard truth - unless your kid has already reached out or is on the radar of a big top tier school (ACC,SEC) don't bother with the ID camp at those schools. We had a very good friend - a very good club player - who went to the Clemson ID camp and luckily one of the coaches there was honest and said she had great potential but not at the D1 level. Once she had that knowledge, she tailored her choices to good D2 schools although she did get looks from smaller D1 colleges but had no interest in them academically. She ended up playing for a rival school in our D2 conference and has done very well there getting lots of playing time and starts.

If you want to go the ID camp route, do it early in the process to rule out any school your kid isn't interested in at all. Drawback of the single school camp is cost and time - you have to choose where and when you go and if your player hasn't already reached out to the coach, they're less likely to get a good look - if any at all. The multi school ID camps are not the best in my opinion. You always do better being at a big tournament or event that draws lots of coaches rather than a for profit ID camp that invites those who have a free weekend to show up.

Final thought - college play isn't for everyone even if you do get an offer. The kids are there for the academics (should be) and trust me, no high school - private or public - really prepares these kids for college classes. Add to that the training, workouts, schedule and the fact that every kid there is a good player - probably a starter from their club teams and the rosters are huge. Getting to play at all is a feat your first year and it's an eye opener for kids who were such impact players on their club teams to sit the bench and possibly not see any playing time at all their first year. Some luck out and start but more will sit and be grateful for any chance they're in the game. It's the reason most kids will quit by their second year - a lot of investment behind the scenes to not play in a game. Add to that, college coaches are there to win - not develop players or play a beautiful game. I've seen D1 and D2 games that were ugly sloppy wins that no club coach worth his salt would have accepted - but a college coach is judged on the wins not how well played the game was.

For my kid, she loves her teammates and her school and knows to get out with a degree plus being a four year athlete will look good on the resume - that and the academic honors and other activities she's involved with. Big benefit to the D2 school vs D1 - the player has more options to do things outside of soccer. Several of our players are tour guides for the school or involved in clubs/societies in their major - or holding down part time jobs/internships.

My kid has been lucky enough to get to play and has made an impact on her team but nothing like she was on her club team. Getting to paly half of a college game is a thrill - this from the kid who never came out of the game in club. She truly is grateful every time she's subbed in and makes the most of it. More may come - maybe not but she's content and doing well at the adulting/athlete thing so I'm happy for her.

The ID Camp/recruitment journey is a great one so enjoy the ride and trust your kid to make the best decision for them whether that involves playing for the school team or on the club team at the school. Hardest part of parenting the college kid is letting them make their decisions, but it's OK - it does get a little easier - granted I cry every time she goes back to school so what do I know! LOL It will be weird in two years when she hangs up her cleats and she has said many many times, she intends to hang them up. It's a lot on their bodies and a huge investment from childhood on - but I think it's given her great memories and friends. That's all we can hope for our kids.

Best of luck with your journey!

We have camps at SSA this Saturday the 25th (Girls) and next Saturday the 1st(Boys) with nearly 40 confirmed coaches between the two events. We've added a few more schools not on the list and should have two great events! Camps are open to players from all clubs!

www.ssaelite.com/Default.aspx?tabid=278297