UNC Winter Camps

I noticed today that UNC announced its Hitting/Skills Camp for December 3-4, and its Pitching/Catching Camp for December 10-11. Its instructors will include current UNC coaches and players. Here's a link to more information:

UNC Camp Info

 

Thanks, Prep, for the information. I need your help, though. Can you explain to our posters why the camps are important? How to determine which one's they should attend? What can they accomplish by attending?

 

Happy to oblige, Braves.

I've always felt that camps can meet a variety of objectives; and that, as a player matures, the relative significance of those objectives change. Here are a few that come to mind:

(1) Expert instruction. An obvious one, perhaps; but, it brings to mind the fact that I often hear parents complaining that they can't find adequate instruction on the fundamentals in their locale. Well, here’s a ready way to combat that. In my opinion, this is the most important dimension for the young player.

(2) Exposure to motivated players from other places and of differing ages. Let's face it, it typically takes a pretty motivated player to carve out the time to attend camp (especially those that are a week long), and it's never a bad thing to bring a bunch of motivated players together. They'll learn from each other and size themselves up against their peers. More about the "other places" part in a minute.

(3) Exposure to the college coaches and players. The obvious point here…which is particularly pertinent to the older camper…is that camps provide a great environment for both sides to check one another out, as both players and persons. There’s really no better place to get a feel for “fit.” NCAA regulations prohibit tryouts at the Division I level…but, they don’t prohibit players from attending their camps!

(4) Exposure to a college environment. Ever see the face of a young player the first time he steps on a college baseball diamond? There’s real value in exposing a player to the environment to which he aspires, both on and off the diamond.

I said in point 2 that I’d get back to “other places:” I’ve always thought that it made sense for young players from the Carolinas to go to camp with players from “sunbelt” states. Logistically, that always meant Florida for us. Beginning when he was a month shy of his 13th birthday, my son attended his first camp at a college in Florida during the week between Christmas and New Year’s.

In keeping with my earlier comments, at that young age, we chose a camp that was particularly strong in providing individualized instruction. However, the opportunity to play among Florida players who worked at the game year-round was probably just as valuable as the instruction. It opened his eyes to the fact that his competitors really didn’t come from his home area. Instead, they came from places like Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California. Along with this, he had the chance to look at the older players there (He was the camp’s youngest, as most campers were in high school.) and visualize what he could become if he worked year-round the way they did.

Until he was approximately 16, he went to at least one camp in Florida per year. As he approached 16, he began to use camps more as an enhancement to the recruiting process in two, distinctly different, ways. He’d attend camps out of either an affinity for a particular school or because he knew little about them. A good example of the latter occurred during the winter break of his junior year, when he attended a school’s camp because they were recruiting him, but he knew relatively little about the program and the school. By the end of the camp’s three days, he felt like he had a much better knowledge of their situation.

As you might expect, there are many excellent camps from which to choose; and they can vary tremendously. As you begin to narrow your choices, I’d strongly encourage you to identify players (and their parents) who have attended the ones of interest to you and talk with them about their experience.

You should also be aware that a handful of college camps function as showcases for a sizable number of colleges. Two that come readily to mind: the “Best of Virginia” camp held at Fork Union Military Academy (put on, I believe, by former UVA Head Coach Dennis Womack) and Stanford’s summer camp. In both cases, the host staff invites other college coaches to attend as instructors. Naturally, the visiting coaches also end up evaluating the campers’ talent and recruit from their experience there.

A word of caution about some letters of invitation: Apply a healthy amount of skepticism to the letter of invitation that arrives from the big-time program suggesting/hinting that recruitment to that school is somehow tied to your attendance. Recognize that camps can be important sources of revenues for the programs that conduct them. Yes, you can improve your chances of being recruited there if you attend and shine; but, it’s a fact of life that only a small fraction of a major program’s campers end up playing there.

Finally, a suggestion to players: If you choose to attend a camp because you think you might want to play there, for heaven’s sake, act like it once you get there!! I was always amazed at the campers who’d profess to be dying to play at whichever school was hosting a particular camp and then spend the entire time disrespecting the sport and/or their surroundings. Instead, hustle at all times, play the game in a sportsmanlike manner, show that you can be counted upon to “go to war” for your teammates; the sort of attributes that cause coaches to want players on their teams. It should be important to you because I can guarantee you that it’s important to that college coach, whose livelihood depends upon the quality of players he recruits to the school.

Hope this helps, Braves. Best of luck to all the player-campers and their families!

 

Prepster....great post. Thanks for the info!

 

Prepster - All good points.

 

Thanks, guys!

A couple of additional points that have occurred to me since my last post:

(1) A fun and relatively inexpensive way to introduce players to camps in places like Florida is to organize around whatever team they're on when they're around 13-15 years old. Like some others from this area, we made it a "team thing" to go to a college camp. We cut travel expenses by consolidating the players into 2-3 vans/SUV's, and they had a blast being together in the environment once they got down there.

(2) Braves had asked how to learn about camps: Apart from word-of-mouth, I think the High School Baseball Web (www.hsbaseballweb.com) can help out in a couple of ways. First, if you're interested in a particular geographic area; but don't know which are the best, say, from an instructional point of view, use one of that site's state or regional message boards to inquire. There are plenty of knowledgeable people who read their area's board on a regular basis and many of them would be pleased to recommend top camps.

Additionally, that website maintains website and e-mail links for many colleges. If you've got a particular school in mind, chances are their contact information is available there. As an example, here's a link to their Division I contact list:

HSBaseballWeb Division I Contact Info

Happy camping!

 

Thanks prep.... GREAT POST!!

 

This topic has progressed very nicely. Good stuff.

However, I have to comment on what started it - UNC winter camp. My son attended this one as well as Clemson's camp last winter. We were very unimpressed with the camp at UNC. It seemed to be loosely organized and be geared toward the younger camper - very basic. There was a lot of standing around at stations waiting for the horn to sound to rotate.
The former pitching coach appeared to be the one in charge. He's gone now, so maybe things will change. The UNC players seemed to be very helpful and encouraging, but also seemed to be out of the loop as to what was expected of them.

Coach Fox showed up at the beginning and the end of camp for a couple of speeches. With the assistant coaching turnover there, maybe things will improve this year.

For my money, Clemson was much better in all facets - instruction, organization, and coaches involvement.

 

Red Bear,

Did your son go to the hitting or pitching camps?

 

Sorry. It was the pitching camp. They did get to hit indoors however. They took ground balls, worked some on pick off moves, and did bullpen work.