By Zuriel Lozano
Know when soccer summer camps are helpful or a waste of money
If you are involved with a youth soccer club in any way, it is very likely you are receiving TONS of emails from different soccer camps. Such as Spring/Summer camps, college ID camps, showcases, college recruiting websites, “sport agents”, international soccer camps and the list goes on & on!!
For example, last month 2 parents, who do not know each other, sent us an email at, ZProfutbol office. This email came from the same University inviting their kids to an ID camp. These parents wanted us to verify the legitimacy of the emails.
Moreover, the email stated “We’ve seen you play at (showcase or tournament etc)…and we want you to know that we’ve put you on our prospects list. We have a camp on ‘xyz’ date. However, this camp is limited to 20 prospects and we are currently tracking players such as you” etc etc etc and then signed by the head coach.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with these email invites except that one email was sent to a 10 year old player and the same exact generic email (with different name), was sent to a 16 yr old player. Just FYI, we have not met ANY 10 year old who is currently being recruited by universities. Logically, these are tactics to get you to sign up and get your money!!
“If you are doing a soccer ID camp, showcases or ANY camp, do some research and find out more. Ask the hard questions such as, is this truly going to help my child or am I going to lose money?”
Here are other ads
You may also see “BIG NAME PROFESSIONAL CLUBS” from “overseas” advertising their summer camps in the US. Some go as far as saying that “you could potentially be discovered” to play overseas.
Other ads may even advertise overseas international camps. These are very popular today!. However, prepare yourself to spend money.
Here’s what we know:
College ID camps:
There are a number of college camps around the US who are seriously looking for players to make a difference in their upcoming seasons. You just have to do a DETAILED RESEARCH and you need to be interested in these particular schools.
We know many goalkeepers & field players who’ve been recruited directly from ID camps around the country. Therefore, we know some of these ID camps work!!!
However, many of other universities are running camps to pay their assistant coaches & cover additional expenses in their programs such as uniforms, winter jackets, tennis shoes, training jerseys, etc.
Assistant soccer coaches at DIVISION I universities barely make between $18-$27K a year (written in 2019), depending on location & what type of university. Division II, III are making much less per season. So they must supplement their income through camps, guest coaching for other camps or coach at local youth clubs.
SHOWCASES:
Very tricky…We’ve worked with a number of athletes who were discovered at showcases. However, NOT all showcases are as advertise. For example, some of these showcases have long lists of universities who supposed to be there but only a few show up. We also know for a fact that many college coaches in these showcases are often looking at someone in particular. But this doesn’t mean they can run into to you….These showcase trips aren’t cheap either, but for many people these trips are truly worth it.
Camps from “Professional clubs:”
Their “names” attract kids & many customers. Most of the time the coaches running these camps are local or US coaches who want to be part of a name brand. This is not a bad thing, we just want you to know where most of these coaches are from.
However, this is what we know… top level or first team PRO coaches are NOT in a position to recruit & represent players. In fact, if a top professional coach shows up to a camp, they will spend a couple of hours on the field, say few words and leave.
By the way, these camps are very expensive for a reason. We are not saying these are bad camps but be ready to spend money and try to look BEYOND the hype.
In conclusion, see these tips…
Everybody will have a different take on these advertised camps. Some people had GREAT experiences and others simply felt deceived. But here are simple rules to help you FILTER OUT the real from fake & helpful camps.
- DO YOUR RESEARCH about camps. If it is college camps, look at stats, rosters, players dropout rates, coaches, etc
- If is too good to be true, then be extremely cautious…. It is probably a lot of hype and you will end up losing tons of money.
- If emails sound very generic, it is very likely you are just another name on their list.
- If coaches really want you, they will do ANYTHING to contact you consistently, some will pay your flights, lodging and bring you to them. Others WILL come to your games.
- Bigger camps… you are just a number.
- During summer, most college camps are PACKED, so ask yourself this question… Are these guys actually recruiting? Some may be actively recruiting but most will not.
Again, everyone has a different experience but these are helpful tips to prepare yourself for this upcoming Spring & Summer camp.
Our Zpro Futbol camps are specifically designed to help young athletes get ready for their Fall season and help kids get excited about being goalkeepers and playing soccer again. It has been a life changing experience for many athletes around the globe.
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