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Pre-Camp Curriculum, Part 1: Introduction & Overview

May 26, 2021

 

Thank you for enrolling to join us this summer at Honor Roll!

Over the weeks from now until we see you at camp, you’ll be receiving a series of webinars, videos, and emails tailored to help you get ready for your time at Honor Roll this summer.

While getting targeted, guaranteed exposure to the right list of colleges is certainly a very important part of recruiting, we believe that it takes more than simply “eyeballs” and “exposure” to effectively and more assuredly make strides in your recruiting – it also takes the right tools to make sure that you’re ready when all the eyes are on you. This series will help equip you with those tools.

 

This preparation applies to the work that you’re doing with your coaches and instructors, in the weight room, and on the field, and in the classroom between now and camp – this is incredibly important preparation that you are doing to stand out to college coaches when you have your opportunity. It also applies to preparation specific to your recruiting process like building out your school list, how to use video, analytics and digital profiles to advance your recruiting before and after camp, and prepping for effective communication with college coaches, before, during, and after camp. And finally, this effective preparation also means preparing for some of the specific format of camp (objective measurements, coach meet-and-greet) so that you can put your best foot forward both face-to-face and on paper.

 

Between now and camp, we’ll be distributing this series of videos, blog posts, and emails designed to help you prepare for camp and set you up for success. The idea behind this is to provide a curriculum of sorts to get you ready for your time at Headfirst and deliver information and education on how to best take advantage of your time with us. The modules include:

  • “How to Stand Out to College Coaches at Camp”
  • “Camp Preparation: Building Your College List”
  • “Effective Coach Communication: Before, During, After Camp”
  • “Camp Preparation: Maxing Out Your Objective Measurements”
  • “Data, Analytics & Video: How Coaches Use Them, How You Can Use These Tools in Your Recruiting”
  • “Camp Preparation: Mindset & Approach”
  • “Camp Takeaways, Next Steps & Defining the ‘Win'”
  • “Using Digital Profiles to Advance Your Recruiting” (feat. our partners at SportsRecruits)
  • “Camp Details & FAQs” (live webinar in the weeks before camp)

 

All of these are meant to help you do everything you can between now and camp – as well as at and after camp – to take full advantage of the opportunity, as well as help prepare you with what to expect at the event itself.

 

Each one will have a short checklist of action items covered on the webinar that you can do before or at camp to set the table – think of these as your pre-camp “homework”.

 

Two-Day Schedule

Take a look below for more detail on the full two-day schedule. At the highest level, Day 1 will be comprised of a Showcase morning, where you’ll showcase defensively and offensively in front of all the college coaches in attendance, and also collect a handful of key objective measurements (batted ball velocity, 20-yd. dash, home-to-home, overhand throwing velo). The afternoon of Day 1, every player will play in one 7-inning game, followed by a dedicated coach connection meet-and-greet.

 

Day 2 will be entirely gameplay, with all teams playing two 7-inning games. There will also be another coach connection period on Day 2, as well as a college coach-led positional practice.

 

Day 1

Arrival & Check-In

Pre-Camp Meeting

Player Warm-Up [and Parents’ Meeting]

Defensive Showcase & Objective Metrics

  • Players may showcase at whatever position they choose – we do ask that players showcase at just one position during the defensive showcase. All players will have the chance to play both their primary and secondary defensive positions during live gameplay.
  • The order of position groups through the Defensive Showcase is:
        • Catchers
        • Outfielders
        • Middle Infielders
        • Corner Infielders (1B & 3B)
        • Pitchers
  • During the Defensive Showcase rotations, we will also collect overhand throwing velocity, home-to-home and 20-yard dash

Offensive Showcase & Objective Metrics

  • During the Offensive Showcase, players will stay with their position groups to rotate through the showcase cages with all coaches watching, as well as additional objective measurements.
  • The order of position groups through the Offensive Showcase is:
        • Outfielders
        • Corner Infielders (1B & 3B)
        • Middle Infielders
        • Catchers
        • Pitchers
  • During the Offensive Showcase rotations, we will also collect batted ball velocity for all hitters
  • The Offensive Showcase also will have a built-in “rest” or lunch rotation, allowing players to rest, hydrate, and eat.

Coach Introductions

First Game Slot (7 innings)

Coach Connection Period Meet-and-Greet

Second Game Slot (7 innings)

 

Day 2

First Game Slot (7 innings) – Odd-numbered teams playing

  • While players in the first game slot are getting warmed up, we will also host an optional panel and Q&A session on the recruiting process, featuring our Headfirst team as well as our partners at Diamond College Advisory Team

Second Game Slot (7 innings) – Even-numbered teams playing

  • While players in the second game slot are getting warmed up, we will again host an optional panel and Q&A session on the recruiting process for parents with ballplayers in this game slot

Player / Coach Meet-and-Greet

Third Game Slot (7 innings) – Odd-numbered teams playing

Fourth Game Slot (7 innings) – Even-numbered teams playing

 

On Day 2, all odd-numbered team ballplayers can expect to end their camp programming by approximately 3:30pm, and all even-numbered team ballplayers will end camp by 6:00pm.

 

Coach Group Rotations

During the game play on Day 1 and Day 2, coaches are on the fields and in the dugouts with players, helping to facilitate instruction and direct engagement between coaches and student-athletes. We’ve structured the rotations and field assignments of coaches and teams to allow teams to be on the field with as many different coaches as possible over the course of two days of camp. Coaches also have unassigned games slots on each day, during which time they’re roaming between different games, scouting and evaluating.

We will be posting the coach group assignments and rotations to the Headfirst on-site app on Day 1 of camp, to help ballplayers find and connect with coaches at camp.

 

 

Between Now & Camp

We’ll cover in much more detail specifics of what to do between now and camp to best prepare on each upcoming webinar, but as a general rule, between now and camp is the key time to:

  • Start building a list of schools at camp that you’re interested in and would like to connect with
  • Lay communication groundwork with coaches via email
  • Continue to develop on the field and in your game of softball!
    • This is ultimately why the coaches are there, and what they’re going to be looking for – the best thing that you can do to prepare for camp is to continue to develop and work within the game, while balancing this with the proper rest to make sure that you’re peaking at the right time

 

Thank you for reading this first installment of the Honor Roll pre-camp curriculum – next up is “How to Stand Out to College Coaches at Camp”

 

Action Items & Homework:

  • List out your strengths as a player, and think about what “your game” means to you – what type of softball player are YOU at your best? This will help set the table for the next installment in the pre-camp curriculum.
  • Write down some questions – it can be just a few, or it can be a lot! – that you have about the recruiting process and about your upcoming camp experience, and then start to group them together (e.g.: “what should I write in an email to a coach before camp?” and “how do I approach a coach and start a conversation at camp?” would both be in the larger bucket of Coach Communication)

 

 

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How to Stand Out to College Coaches at Camp (Pre-Camp Curriculum, Part 2)
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