Hustle, Handshakes, and Highlight Reels: Standing Out at College Camps

The secret weapon in college athletic recruiting isn't talent—it's communication. While fewer than 5% of prospect camp attendees follow up with coaches afterward, this overlooked step makes the difference between being noticed and being recruited.

College coaches aren't just evaluating athletic ability during prospect camps and clinics. They're carefully observing behavior, communication skills, and genuine interest in their program. As one coach revealed after recruiting a persistent athlete who contacted them regularly: "It proved she really had a desire to go there, she was committed, and I knew she'd be loyal to the program." This insight reveals the fundamental truth of recruiting—skills will get you seen, but communication gets you recruited.

Maximizing prospect camps requires a three-phase approach. Before the camp, athletes should research participating coaches, send personalized introduction emails, and know their athletic metrics to understand how they compare to peers. During the camp, making direct introductions to coaches, demonstrating coachability, asking intelligent questions, and maintaining positive body language can significantly impact a coach's perception. The most critical phase comes after the camp, when sending a personalized thank-you email within 24-48 hours can cement your place in a coach's memory. This follow-up should reference specific camp takeaways, reiterate program interest, and include updated highlights.

Parents play a crucial supporting role in this process, but hovering during camps or taking over communications can backfire dramatically. Coaches want to recruit independent young adults who can thrive away from home—not athletes who rely on parental intervention. By helping your athlete develop the confidence to navigate the recruiting process themselves, you're preparing them not just for college athletics, but for success in adulthood. Ready to transform your approach to college prospect camps? Start by implementing these communication strategies at your next opportunity.

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Chapters

• 0:00 College Camp Recruiting Fundamentals
• 1:44 Before the Camp: Preparation Steps
• 5:08 During the Camp: Making an Impression
• 7:02 After the Camp: Critical Follow-Up
• 8:49 Busting Common Recruiting Myths
• 10:30 Key Takeaways and Final Thoughts

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

College prospect camps and clinics are so important as it relates to the recruiting process, but so many athletes waste their time at these events, not because they're not talented because they are, but because they don't know what to do before and after Raising athletes the things that causes all dads to go bald and moms to buy minivans, empowering parents to help their kids succeed. Fewer than 5% of athletes who attend prospect camps or clinics actually follow up with the coach after that event. That's a catastrophe, because the whole point of these prospect camps and clinics is for the athletes to get exposure to the coach and to that college, because there's interest from the side of the athlete to potentially go to that school. Now, what are these coaches looking for? Well, these coaches are not just looking at talent. Talent will help you be seen, but there's other things that the coach is looking for your behavior, your communication you are ready for this your follow-up. Do they know your name? Do they know your face? Did you do anything to express interest in that particular college? Because they're not just looking for talented athletes, they're looking for talented athletes who have a desire and interest to go to that college. One thing that really says that and speaks that loudly is your athlete following up with that coach right after the event saying thank you so much for having me come down and letting me participate. I love this school. I love you as a coach. I learned so much. I'm really looking forward to maybe one day playing for you at this particular university. That goes a long, long way Now.

Speaker 1: 1:45

I remember a friend of mine whose daughter ended up playing at a high level division one basketball program and the story goes that she at a very early age, in ninth grade, said I wanna play at this particular school. So what did she do? She attended every prospect clinic and camp this school had to offer. She messaged both email and camp this school had to offer. She messaged both email and then DM on social media the coach on a regular basis, sometimes daily, definitely weekly, to the point where this coach definitely knew who this person was. You talk to the coach after the fact and it said this was a big part of recruiting her because it proved to the coach she really had a desire to go there, she was committed and the coach knew that she'd be loyal to that program and she had the skills to back it up. It helped her get recruited. She got a full scholarship and was a four-year player at this particular university.

Speaker 1: 2:41

Communication, and your pre-communication and your post-communication it makes a difference in your recruiting process, because skills they're not enough. Skills will get you seen, communication will get you recruited. So what can you be doing before, during and after a college prospect camp or clinic? Well, before the camp, here's what I recommend Research, the schools and coaches that are attending. And don't be afraid to send a personal email to coaches one to two weeks in advance. You're going to want to include your name, grad year, position, gpa, maybe even a video link of you playing that particular sport, and you're going to want to express interest in their program and mention attending the camp, the dates and times of the camp that you're going to be attending, and you're going to want to prepare mentally and physically. You're going to want to hydrate, you're going to want to rest and you're going to want to prep for this particular prospect camp or clinic.

Speaker 1: 3:40

And here's another thing Know your metrics. We cannot stress enough on this show the importance of athletes to get metric tested and for them to know their metrics. I'm actually going to pull this. That's in part why I built this. I literally wrote this for my kids, knowing how important it was. There wasn't a lot of tools out there where there was a sort of one type of workbook that had everything in it, so that's why I bought this.

Speaker 1: 4:08

Now, you don't want to buy mine, fine, but at least buy something that enables your athlete to document and be accountable to their work. It's so very, very important. Now, this is the PGM planner. You can get this. You can reach out to me, it's not a lot of money at all and this is a daily planner that takes them through an entire year. It's important that they know their metrics because they number one. They might be asked what their metrics are for various things. What's your 510.5? What's your exit VLO? What's your overhand throwing VLO Like? There's a lot of different types of metrics. You should know that. Also. You're going to want to know your metrics so you know what your baseline data is. You're going to want to know also what's the average metric for your particular sport, your age group, because now, when you're at a prospect camp, you can know where you stack up. It's so very, very important.

Speaker 1: 5:00

Now, once you're at the camp, the clinic, you're gonna wanna introduce yourself respectfully to the coaches. Don't be afraid to go up to them and shake their hands, look them in the eye and be confident. You're gonna wanna be vocal, supportive, and you're gonna wanna show them that you're coachable during the drills. Don't be confident. You're going to want to be vocal, supportive and you're going to want to show them that you're coachable during the drills. Don't be arrogant. It's one thing to be confident, don't be arrogant. And you're going to want to ask smart questions, especially if there's a Q&A or a coach time. So do some homework beforehand of maybe what would be some really nice high IQ questions that you can ask, because that'll help you stand out, and bring some type of player info card or sheet with your contact info and that has the metrics listed on that particular player info sheet. Again, this book right here has player sheets in here that you can fill out and you can bring with you. This book right here has player sheets in here that you can fill out and you can bring with you.

Speaker 1: 5:58

Now also, body language matters Hustle, smile, encourage others, be the first into the circle when the coach brings them in, be the first to participate and be first in line so that you're visible and you're actually standing out. Parents. I'm going to talk to you for a second. This is really important. Parents, during the camp, do not hover. A hovering parent gives the sort of I'm going to say illusion because I'm going to try to say something here to make you a little bit feel a little bit better. But perception matters here, and when you are hovering, this looks like a high maintenance situation from the eyes of that particular coach. You could be there and watch, but don't be hovering where you are distracting away from the camp because you're that hovering parent. Be supportive from a distance and allow your young athlete to shine.

Speaker 1: 6:57

Now, after the camp, this is where it gets really, really important. Within 24 to 48 hours, you're going to want to send a personalized thank you email to the coaches. You're going to want to reiterate your interest in their program. You're going to want to include a takeaway from the camp that stood out to you and proves that you were there, and maybe even provide a link to your updated highlight reel. Maybe it highlight reel that includes some footage from you at the camp that maybe your parents took from the sidelines, if applicable, and you're going to want to reflect on feedback or performance. What drills did you do well in when did you struggle? Use the experience to adjust your training and development plan. That follow-up has to be within 24 to 48 hours. It is so important that you do that because that's when the coach is going to be. It's going to be so fresh in their mind of you being there and it's going to remind them that you could be a really great candidate for their program. This is why I like to encourage not just the personalized message that references the camp, but include a picture, include an updated reel and it reminds them oh, that was that girl who did this great thing. Oh, yeah, we had that conversation. You do that often enough. Now, all of a sudden, they know who you are. The recruiting process through the four years of high school is get experience, be seen, be known, get recruited. So when you are at a prospect camp being seen in order for you to now transition to being known, it's the follow-up. The follow-up helps them to remember who you are Now.

Speaker 1: 8:44

There are some common myths as it relates to this, so let's bust some myths. I used to love the show Mythbusters, so we're going to bring that into this show here. So here are some common myths busted Number one if I'm good, they're going to find me Wrong. No, visibility plus communication equals opportunity. Yes, skills will help you be seen. It's all of the other factors that'll help you get recruited.

Speaker 1: 9:11

Two my performance is all that matters Coaches these days. They're going to watch how you interact, recover and compete. They're going to want to see are you going to be a good teammate, are you coachable? Because they don't want to bring toxicity into the dugout. Number three one bad play ruins everything. I hear this so often. This is also not true. Attitude and bounce back are evaluated as well.

Speaker 1: 9:40

Four parents should sell the athlete. Trust me when I say this. Coaches want to hear from the athlete, not the parents, because when it comes to college recruiting, you gotta understand they're recruiting what they think is going to be a young adult. They want independence. They don't want mommy and daddy buttering your bagel for you. They want to see is this someone who's now going to be living outside of home, moving away from home and going to be part of this team? Are they going to be an independent young adult and being able to handle themselves without mommy and daddy? So that also stands out as well. Be a supportive mom and dad. Help instill wisdom into your child early on. Educate your child early on so that they can stand on their own. Here are some of the best takeaways to reinforce for today's episode Know that it's not just a skills showcase, it's a character showcase as well.

Speaker 1: 10:43

Prospect camps are a launching pad. It's not the finish line. The athletes who communicate intentionally, prepare purposefully and follow up professionally are the ones who stay on a coach's radar. And parents, you do play a vital supporting role, but athletes must have their own journey. I hope you guys found value in today's episode. If you did, do me a favor, share this with someone who might be in that particular part of their athletic journey as well, of raising athletes, because this is an important part. We We've had a lot of fun Little League and now getting through middle school and high school, but for a lot of athletes, for some athletes, college is the next step and that's on their radar and that's a possibility for them and we can actually help them get there together and this episode would be really good for them. All right, we'll see you next time on Raising Accuracy.