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. A lot of colleges and universities offer camps (depending on your sport) during the summer which can be a huge benefit if the schools you are interested in are one of them.

Here are 3 keys to know when attending sports camps and why they are so important to the recruiting process.

Exposure

Colleges who host camps offer direct exposure to that coach and university. So, it is important to take advantage of any camp at a school that you are interested in. Being able to attend a camp offers direct contact with the school and gives you a glimpse of student life at that college. When you make your plans to attend a sports camp, make sure to get in contact with that coach ahead of time so that they are familiar with you before you show up. The coach might not have shown interest or reached out to you during the season, but if you want to be seen, let them know you will be there!

Training  

Attending a camp will also be beneficial to your training. Training year-round is important for many athletes so you can use the camp as a training goal to perform your best at camp. You should plan on training up until the camp or combine, and then use what you learned to develop or change your training plan. With that being said, hit up as many camps as you can. Regardless if it’s a school you are interested in or a local D1 University that is out of your league. The exercises and drills that you complete at camp are like what you would perform in college. Use the knowledge and training you get from such camps, and further your game.

Evaluation

Many coaches can’t travel to watch you play whenever they want, so they rely on reports from camps to evaluate distant athletes. Getting supportable stats from camp allows college coaches to take interest in athletes even when they can’t be there in person. Being evaluated at a camp also allows you to send information to coaches at schools you are interested in. Take advantage of having those stats ready and available to you and market yourself.

Summer is coming, begin researching and registering for camps ASAP!