Are football prospect camps worth it?

I’m often asked by parents how to decide what camps and clinics to send their kids to. Well I’ll give you my take on this sticky subject. In most sports you can find many valuable camps and clinics to attend that will increase the athlete’s talent level and pit them against some of the best competition out there. This can be a great way to evaluate their talent and compare them physically to others in their sport that will be competing against them for those scholarship offers.

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Are prospect camps worth it?
Do football camps really help?
Are showcase camps worth it?
Are college sports camps worth it?

Many football and baseball parents ask my opinion about sending their kids to expensive showcases. In my opinion, most of these EXPENSIVE showcases are simply money-makers for the coaches or organizers of the events. Keep in mind that after their seasons end college coaches make extra income by participating or putting on such events. With that in mind, I would recommend that as long as the cost of the event is under $200 it may be worthwhile attending so long as the schedule includes a good amount of high quality instruction. I strongly recommend choosing camps and clinics hosted by a college where your son or daughter would consider attending. Then you could make the trip an “unofficial visit” of sorts. In our “Student-Athlete & College Recruiting” handbook you will find a complete section on unofficial visits and what to do while you are there. Now you just turned a camp into an economical college visit.

I allowed our son Coy to choose one (1) camp per summer to attend and we did make each one a family visit. They were very productive and helped our son to decide what type of college and setting he would be most happy attending. Be very selective in choosing camps and look very carefully at what they have to offer. Then ask yourself, would my son/daughter benefit from attending? As long as the cost is reasonable and you don’t have to travel very far then maybe it would be a good fit. Best of luck to you.

Most college bound athletes, especially in the summer between their junior and senior year, get invitations to one-day prospect camps from various college programs. It is impossible to attend them all and picking more than a couple can be expensive and time-consuming. It is important for families to understand what to expect from college one-day prospect camps so they can make informed decisions on where to spend their time and money.

We’ve surveyed hundreds of college coaches across all collegiate divisions to better understand the dynamics of one-day prospect camps. Our survey found that the majority (65%) of colleges invite all of the athletes on their mailing list to their camps, with 35% of programs focusing on athletes that have a shot at a roster spot/scholarship. The focus on roster spot/scholarship athletes increases at the D1 level to 44%. This means that you are likely getting dozens of camp invitations from schools that are not actually interested in recruiting you.

Most coaches surveyed (85%) told us that they look at the rising seniors class at their camp. Division 1 FBS programs split their attention between rising seniors, juniors and sophomores. It’s important to note that FBS schools from major conferences told us that they focus on Sophomores and Juniors. The rest of the collegiate divisions (D1 FCS, D2, D3, NAIA, Juco) focus almost exclusively on rising seniors (94%).

Our data shows that while at camp, coaches mostly focus on individual and competitive drills. The emphasis on these two types of drills differs between divisions, with 78% of D1 coaches telling us that the competitive drills were the most important, while other coaches are split between individual drills and competitive drills.

The question most athletes want an answer to is: Can attending a college prospect camp help me earn a scholarship?

Our survey indicates that college programs overall are split on how an athlete’s performance at a camp impacts scholarship offers. Our data shows that 30% of programs will make an offer based on a great camp performance alone, 30% of programs will make an offer only if the film is also good, and 30% of the programs say that the camp performance only matters a little, and they mostly look at in-game performance. If you are attending a D1 camp there is a higher chance that you can get an offer based on a performance at the camp. 44% of D1 schools told us that they will make an offer based on camp performance alone and 33% will make an offer if the film is also good.

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While most schools won’t offer based on a good camp performance alone, attending prospect camps at D1 schools is really important to jump from being just on the board to a scholarship offer. Our data shows that between 50% and 75% of D1 scholarship offers go to athletes who attend their prospect camp. Schools from other divisions focus on in-game performance and only 25% of their team roster/scholarship offers to to athletes who attend camp.

Takeaways:

If you receive an invitation to a one-day prospect camp from a school it does not mean that the school is actively recruiting you. Most schools send invitations to all of the athletes on their mailing lists.
If you are looking for offers from major conference D1 schools (Big 10, Big 12, SEC, ACC, PAC12), you should target those camps as a rising sophomore or junior. If you are already entering your senior year, you should be targeting smaller D1 schools (small conference FBS and FCS). Attending camps at schools from other divisions is great to develop skills and learn about the school and coaches, but it is not necessary to get an offer or roster spot. See a breakdown of different divisions HERE.
Chose camps at schools that are actively recruiting you. Most D1 schools use camps to evaluate athletes already on their recruiting board and decide who to offer a scholarship to. If you attend a camp for a school that is not recruiting you, you are just paying for the coaching and likely will not get a serious evaluation. To learn more about how to know if a school is actually recruiting you, read our article by clicking HERE.
If you are not being actively recruited by any schools, we suggest going to the schools you are most interested in at a variety of different division levels. This will help you understand what you like about different schools and divisions. This way you are prepared when you need to make a decision. Hopefully, it also attracts the attention of coaches at the camp and you can figure out what schools will be most likely to recruit you.

Are prospect camps worth it?

The short answer to this big question is yes, prospect camps are worth it. However, there are some specific guidelines that will make some more valuable than others for you, and it's very important to understand what to look for in a prospect camp.

Do football camps really help?

College sports camps, combines, tournaments and showcases can sharpen your skills and help you gain exposure to college coaches. The more chances a coach gets to evaluate a player, the more likely they'll recruit them.

Are showcase camps worth it?

Showcases are usually more expensive than camps and combines, but they're worth considering because they can help you get exposure with colleges when you might not otherwise have it.

Are college sports camps worth it?

As a young student athlete, attending sports camps is a crucial part of your recruiting process. College coaches want to see recruits attend camps for numerous reasons. One of the most important is being able to validate your level of play, skills, and abilities.

football prospect camps worth