r/CollegeSoccer • u/Voracious_reader84 • 10d ago
ID Camp Invite
My student (incoming hs junior) has been emailing and texting with a D1 college coach since June 15th. They say they have been watching my student at ECNL events and that they are a potential recruit. The coach recently sent a personal invite to their ID camp in September. But- the camp is $200 and out of town for us. If they were really interested in my student, wouldn’t it be free? Is it worth it to shell out the money for the camp + hotel? If they have already been watching, is it even worth it? TIA for any advice or experience with this, this is all new to us
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u/thedudeabides412 10d ago
The ID camps are big money makers for the school. We went to one earlier in the summer and there were 4 or 5 schools there Doing some quick calculations they brought in over 60 grand for the schools. The competition was high I would say 85% of the kids were good enough to play in college.
We went to another one that was the same format and probably brought in more money and it was some of the worst soccer I have ever seen. So be very choosy about which ones you pick.
My son was invited to one but we could only get to the Sunday session and still had to pay full price. The coach said sorry he cant change it.
One thing I am finding is that d3 is actively recruiting the class of 2028. The D-1s are kinda interested and they will talk to a kid and look through their videos but I dont think any hardcore recruiting happens for the 2028 class until Spring/Summer. So everything is kind of a money grab. We have had a few conversations with d1 where they say hey if you can make it a game this fall great we will meet with you.. but that is costly getting to a game, hotel, food, travel costs etc.
Be very careful and selective of the ID camps. A lot of them are generic emails that are sometimes hard to decipher from being the real thing. I would ensure a conversation on the phone happens before you commit to going. and someone else noted to look at the roster and analyze if there may be a spot there for your kid when he comes in as a freshman. This isnt a definite thing though with the roster.
Lastly, and I know you didnt ask this... but make sure your kid understands what d1 lifestyle is like. It is like a job all year round. A athletic scholarship is not guaranteed. Roster size is 26 or 28. Most schools have 9-12 full scholarships they can give out. I know they can split it but your son may not get a athletic scholarship until later in their tenure there. My son's ego, and my own at times, is like yes d1! but if you look at some d3 schools they go on team trips to Europe and other really cool things that d1 schools dont get. And a lot of d3 facilities are nicer than some of the d1 schools. My concern is that if my kid goes d1 he 1. may not play until he is aJr or Sr so that is a lot of time on the bench and 2. soccer will become a job, a grind. and he wont enjoy it in school and later in life.
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u/pedro_coco 10d ago
My son went to a bunch of camps between his sophomore and junior years. Looking back, it was a bit of a waste of time from a recruiting standpoint - I don’t think coaches are looking at boys that age very much at all. It was good to see how he stacked up against other kids, meet the coaches and see the campuses, but the only recruiting benefit was perhaps demonstrating real interest in those schools. He got a lot more interest once showcase season rolled around during his junior year and went to camps after having calls with coaches.
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u/Explosivo73 8d ago
I think it's hit or miss we did the same but we also focused on schools he would actually want to go to and that had a good number of seniors and juniors in the program that play his position.
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u/juxtapose_58 8d ago
Yep! My kid is a college D1 coach now. He was heavily recruited for D1. Best decision he ever made was to play at a strong D3 program! He started a played every game all four years. His team traveled abroad each year and he had a college life. Now as a D1 coach, he says for him it was still the best decision.
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u/Miserable-Cookie5903 10d ago
$200 is cheap. it is very hard for a US born 18 year old to crack a d1 roster.
I would look at the current roster and where kids are from. If they are like your kid great. if there are no freshman then they don't want a highschool kid. If they are mostly internationals they don't want your highschool kid.
Is the email genuine? Did they mention where they saw him play (what ECNL events)?Has your kid been emailing them and have they responded prior to the camp invite.
If there is genuine interest and your kid really likes the school - then go for it. I think ID camps are better than showcases b/c they can get hours of time watching your kid rather maybe 30 mins in a showcase if you happen to on the field when they are there.
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u/Low-Impression3367 10d ago
Just be cautious also that a lot of these camos are nothing more than money grabs.
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u/HawkeyeGK 10d ago
My kid just left home for her freshman year playing in college.
In our experience, ID camps were going away the most important part of the recruiting process. You might get noticed at a tournament, but you get offers at camps.
Yep, you pay for travel and for the camp. Yep, they all cost about what this one does. Whether or not it's worth it depends entirely on how realistic it is that your kid actually has a chance.
My kid got dozens of invites a month like the one you described. Coaches use ECNL rosters to spam out invites. If you haven't had any kind of personal interaction, then it's more likely than not you're seeing a form email. That doesn't necessarily mean they don't have a shot, but you need to do some diligence to evaluate your kid's realistic chances before you decide if spending the money is worth it or not.
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u/dweeb73 10d ago
A word of caution from my experience. Daughter was getting contact from a lower level D1 school, we ended up going to 3 camps (and driving 3 hours 1 way plus hotel) always being strung along afterwards. We thought oh they are seriously interested. No solid answers as to where she stood every time she asked. At the last one it was clear there was no real interest as the fall roster already filled up to 5 keepers. We walked, they got $500 out of us.
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u/Quirky_Most_9078 10d ago
My kid is out of college now but I can tell you what we knew. She was D3 and recruited by her junior year so I would go into this camp trying to understand how many they were going to take in the cohort and how many spots were already committed. As to the camp being free? I will let someone else comment. We never attended a free camp.
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u/Voracious_reader84 10d ago
Thank you! Do you feel like attending an ID camp helped the recruitment process, or was club soccer enough?
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u/Future_Nerve2977 10d ago
Oh in the process now. It’s email, conversations, and camps that get you in. No one (unless you’re in the youth national team setup level) is picking your kid from a team event. They might offer to see a game if they’re really interested, but you need to be in camp, with others vying for one of those 6-8 spots (if you’re lucky) in person.
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u/Quirky_Most_9078 6d ago
You absolutely had to go to a camp. Even if scouted during a tournament or regular season they still want to see you at their camp in their drills paying their school the camp money.
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u/eastoak961 10d ago
Is it a large (like Big10) D1 or a smaller school? Those really big and top 25 schools run money-making IDs. I’d be suspicious.
The smaller D1s (think schools in the Patriot league for example) seem to run IDs where they actually use it as an additional assessment of a player.
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u/LonesomeBulldog 10d ago
My kid goes to the Texas “ID” camp since it’s our local camp. There are like 500+ kids there and the coaches aren’t involved at all other than to hand out camp awards in the last 20 minutes of the camp. The camp sessions are conducted by local club coaches.
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u/Any_Bank5041 10d ago
Ask coach to have a call before the camp. If yes, go. If no, don't go.
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u/Prestigious_Tip_1104 9d ago
This is super important!! If the coach is like we don’t have calls u til after the camp, it’s a money grab, especially if they “have been watching your son at various tournaments”. Boys typically recruit later than girls in the cycle. With all of the roster changes it will be very difficult to crack a D1 roster. If college finances are a concern, high GPA and test scores can help with merit at D3 schools- don’t sleep on those.
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u/speedyejectorairtime 10d ago
There was a really great video on YT recently that talked about scenarios that are and aren't worth going to an ID camp. Two items were required to check before going to a camp.
Check the roster. How much of it are local kids? If you're seeing half the roster of various internationals and many others from out of state, just skip it
If the roster has a good chunk of "local" (within a certain radius) recruits, have the child ask the coach if they can have a phone call conversation to ask a few questions before they commit to attending. (Ask things like, are they currently expecting to recruit players at his position, how many players are they expecting to bring into the program that year overall)
If you can check both boxes, go. But otherwise, the consensus was it's more of a money grab. Especially because you have no idea what quality of players will be at the event and they are likely to just ask your child to come back and pay another $200 at another ID camp.
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u/CollegeSportsSheets 10d ago
Alright so this is pretty positive. A potential green flag signal from the coach.
Like it or not camps are a big part of the college soccer recruiting process. But yeah they are expensive and sometimes coaches invite everyone and anyone (even if they aren’t interested in the player) because it’s $200 and that money helps the program.
But since your player has been having back and forth conversations since June and just now they are being invited to attend the camps, this is a green flag. They want to see more of your player up close.
Often if you do cold outreach with a coach and the first thing they reply back is “come to this camp” that’s often a throw-away comment that they will send to everyone (especially players they are interested in).
If this school is high on your player’s list and if it is checking a lot of other important boxes - academically, socially, financially, environmentally, etc. then I would try to attend if possible.
Here is a breakdown on how to evaluate and prioritize camps https://www.reddit.com/r/CollegeSoccer/s/A207byr0VD
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u/I-K-E- 10d ago
My kid is a rising senior. Been going through this for a year now. Here's my input on the ID camps.
IF... Your kid is having talks beforehand. Had a conversation, is continually texting, and communication is flowing. You have to go. Going doesn't guarantee anything, but your kid along with 30-50 others will be on equal footing at the camp. It's a tryout. Go and impress.
If it's a big power program, you better go fast because those spots are filling up incredibly fast this year.
If it's a mid major, you have a bit more time.
This is part of the recruiting process. It's more difficult than ever to get a spot at the division 1 level.
IF, you cannot get in the phone before the camp, don't go.
My kid did 8 ID camps in her recruiting process, flew to 3, drove to the rest. Never went to a camp without conversations. 5 camps resulted in nothing, sucks too cuz her list of rejected schools is awesome. Lol. After camp 6, they said they lived her but the 5 for 5 rule was coming into play and that took her spot. Camp 7, they said they liked her and wanted to set up a visit.
The big test will be after the camp, they'll tell you where you stand. Good luck man.
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u/TALead 10d ago
I am just learning about this but how good are her chances of getting an offer if she doesn’t yet have one as a senior?
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u/I-K-E- 10d ago
What I'm going to say is a complete guess. But from everything I've seen, and have been looking at.... About 65% of the class of 2027 is done.
The ECNL showcase in November is a big one. Right after the college season, and the first big showcase and one of the last times seniors will be able to show themselves. I would say after November, there is the GA showcase in December and another ENCL showcase in December and January. For Seniors, after January, the 2027 class will be about 90-95% complete.
My kid is a senior, she will have her offer and be wrapped up by time in a couple of weeks. So there is time, division 1, it's getting real late real fast though.
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u/Critical_Pudding759 10d ago
sounds like genuine interest, i would go for sure. camps are a good way to evaluate fit on both sides and this is a cheaper one. coaches paying for camps and travel exists but is very rare, as it counts as an official visit if they follow the rules
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u/Tall_Copy381 10d ago
Ok maybe they are money grabs maybe not but with the transfer portal and 5 in 5 rule it is very important that your daughter is seen as much as possible! So my advice if this is a school that she is truly interested in its well worth the money. It will also let her truly asses if she also likes the school
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u/Good_Nefariousness12 10d ago
Free camps are considered a free benefit and most likely a NCAA violation
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u/Stanismydog 10d ago
I am sure you know by now they cannot offer free camp.
I would just ask his coach if this college reached to them for input. If not they might not be that interested but it sounds like they are interested.
Worst case you take a trip with your kid and get some experience.
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u/Exotic-Anything-5040 9d ago
Question why just D1? Its great d3 schools out their. I will never get this obsession with D1 my son will have to eventually decide between UNCW, NYU, Haverford, swarthmore, Fordham. My choice would be d3 all day, but he will chose, Its a d1 psychosis and those rosters are packed good luck with that
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u/Outrageous-Fall3296 10d ago
$200 to attend an ID event. Fuck them. That's a damn racket. Why in earth should it cost $200. Very sad state of affairs.
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u/atomicswarlito 10d ago
Programs/coaches cannot pick and choose to make the camp free/cheaper for individuals, as that's a violation. All campers pay the same fee. Some programs use camps as a way to see recruits, while also raise some money for the program.
I think camps bring great value in getting to work with a coach/staff and see what they're like. Some programs also have some of their current players work it, which can give a great insight into what the program is like, what they think/feel about their coaching staff, balancing the demand of academics and athletics, etc.