College summer camps worth it?

D

dadenska

BRONZE
Hi. We’re looking to add a couple of soccer camps to our boys 05 field player and wanted to hear any experiences you can share.

Are the UC soccer camps worth it? (closely considering UCSD)

Any reviews of the ODP residential camp for older players?

We’re looking for high level and intensity as he’s hoping to play at D1 college one day.

Thanks for any feedback.
 
I only have girls however, here's what I learned over the years... It depends what your objective is, if it's just the hopes of being recruited, UC camps are a waste unless your son received a formal invite, (not the form letter, and you'll know the difference) he will however, learn new things without the fear of messing up and possibly get the chance to work with multiple UC coaches as they're hired to help out . I thought the UCSD camp for girls was okay however, again, if you're thinking of getting your son recruited, save your money as you'll need it later....for my kids, ODP was good up until U14, maybe U15, lots of ODP coaches, they'll learn a lot, have fun, meet lots of other players with the same goals but, it's a lot of $$$, super hot, great memories and that's about it. He'd almost be better off going to train at Velocity or similar type gym to develop his core and strength as he'll go through a huge growth spurt soon and he can kick the ball against a wall or 100 other things that don't cost as much, just my 2 cents...good luck!
 
Thanks for the feedback!!

Overlap said:
I only have girls however, here's what I learned over the years... It depends what your objective is, if it's just the hopes of being recruited, UC camps are a waste unless your son received a formal invite, (not the form letter, and you'll know the difference) he will however, learn new things without the fear of messing up and possibly get the chance to work with multiple UC coaches as they're hired to help out . I thought the UCSD camp for girls was okay however, again, if you're thinking of getting your son recruited, save your money as you'll need it later....for my kids, ODP was good up until U14, maybe U15, lots of ODP coaches, they'll learn a lot, have fun, meet lots of other players with the same goals but, it's a lot of $$$, super hot, great memories and that's about it. He'd almost be better off going to train at Velocity or similar type gym to develop his core and strength as he'll go through a huge growth spurt soon and he can kick the ball against a wall or 100 other things that don't cost as much, just my 2 cents...good luck!
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Go with the ODP camp. UC camps are a waste of money and is just a fundraiser for the soccer program. Your kid will get a hell of a lot more out of private’s with a good trainer than they will from the UCSD camp.
 
Its almost worthless to generalize if UC camps or any ID camp is worthwhile or not.

It depends on the player and how impressive he is during the camp. If he stands out head and shoulders above the rest, then there isn't a coach that would ignore such a talent.

Being that he is '05 (going into 9th?), he is on the younger side for men's program recruiting. The bulk of boys are recruited during their 11th grade year. If he is going into 10th, then he might catch some interest.

I can site you few examples of how kids I know and my own that were recruited from on-campus ID camps but it would be the exceptions and not the norm. It is not common, especially if the first time intro to the coaches is at the ID camp. Usually, you invite coaches to come see games and if they do and get a positive feedback, then the following ID camp is worthwhile. These so called "real invited" players are put together into a pre-selected grouping within the camp for scrimmages and activities.

Having said all this, every college coach we ever talked to have said essentially, "we take interest in players that takes interest in us". So my recommendation is for your son to start contacting coaches since we're starting the summer tournament season.

General consensus for most camps is that it is a fundraiser for the program. If you know that going in, then your expectations are in-check. Any positive follow-on from it are all windfall then.

My older kid is playing in college (going into 3rd season) and so are about half of his teammates from his last year in the club. They all got there (D1, D2,D3 & NAIA) in a different ways so each case is different. My younger (will be in 12th grade) has no interest playing for any college so he's not doing anything other than playing in his club team and at his high school. He has had coaches noticed him and have contacted him but he shows no interest so it is what it is.
 
Overlap said:
I only have girls however, here's what I learned over the years... It depends what your objective is, if it's just the hopes of being recruited, UC camps are a waste unless your son received a formal invite, (not the form letter, and you'll know the difference) he will however, learn new things without the fear of messing up and possibly get the chance to work with multiple UC coaches as they're hired to help out . I thought the UCSD camp for girls was okay however, again, if you're thinking of getting your son recruited, save your money as you'll need it later....for my kids, ODP was good up until U14, maybe U15, lots of ODP coaches, they'll learn a lot, have fun, meet lots of other players with the same goals but, it's a lot of $$$, super hot, great memories and that's about it. He'd almost be better off going to train at Velocity or similar type gym to develop his core and strength as he'll go through a huge growth spurt soon and he can kick the ball against a wall or 100 other things that don't cost as much, just my 2 cents...good luck!
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You have dd’s but your talking about boys???
 
Justafan said:
Boy soccer world and girl soccer world are very different in many respects so I wanted to be clear if he/she was talking about boys Id camps or girls Id camps.
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interesting, your explanation was just a longer version of the same thing, I guess your the master of all things camps and answers, must be nice knowing everything :rolleyes:...I'd love to hear what you think the difference between is between boys and girls camps...
 
Overlap said:
interesting, your explanation was just a longer version of the same thing, I guess your the master of all things camps and answers, must be nice knowing everything :rolleyes:...I'd love to hear what you think the difference between is between boys and girls camps...
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Overlap, I wasn’t talking smack. You indicated the UCSD camp was ok for GIRLS but then said if you’re trying to get your SON recruited to avoid that camp, so I wasn’t sure if it was a boys or girls camp you were talking about. I am seriously looking at the UCSD id camp for my soon to be 10th grade daughter so I am interested in any feedback on that camp. I know they have a new coach and will be going D-1 after next year. I sincerely wanted to know which camp it was, that’s all.
 
Justafan said:
Overlap, I wasn’t talking smack. You indicated the UCSD camp was ok for GIRLS but then said if you’re trying to get your SON recruited to avoid that camp, so I wasn’t sure if it was a boys or girls camp you were talking about. I am seriously looking at the UCSD id camp for my soon to be 10th grade daughter so I am interested in any feedback on that camp. I know they have a new coach and will be going D-1 after next year. I sincerely wanted to know which camp it was, that’s all.
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Thanks for clarifying, my bad for misunderstanding...my initial reply was to a dad who's "son" was interested, I replied as my daughter attended the girls camps at those schools he was talking about. They all have TONS of players attending, better if the player was actually invited since there are so many kids, she got good feed back and met several coaches from other schools (and of course they want you to attend their camps) My personal view after attending 4-5 different camps, some with invites, some not, was that they were all kind of a waste. My oldest was recruited out of the Las Vegas Players Showcase when the time came (going into her Junior year), now going to be a Junior at college and still playing. Our youngest didn't attend any camps (she thought they were a waste) and she was recruiting from her highlight video prior to the Las Vegas Player's Showcase. So, with that in mind and all the kids I know that are playing on in college, none of them were recruited from the ID camps and only a few attended any of them. The thought (and even some of the coaches admit), the ID camp's just make money for their program, the $125-$150 isn't that expensive but, still a waste of money in my view....best of luck!
 
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