Big camps feature smaller schools

Camps are a form of recruitment

 

“It’s a very, very savvy move by a school like Ohio State,” said recruiting guru Tom Elias of College Prospects of America. “By inviting all these Mid-American Conference schools and other regional schools, they expand the audience that can see players. That means all the kids who aren’t necessarily Ohio State caliber still have a reason to go there.”

 

“To have a kid work out for a coach and see where he stacks up is good and fruitful. But kids sometimes think they’re going to get a scholarship when they go to a certain camp. Our expertise says there must be an ongoing dialogue and relationship between coach and kid long before the camp. So when the kid gets there, the coach is on the bubble, but he wants to see how he performs next to four kids who look just like him.

 

“When a kid just goes to the camp and nobody knows who the kid is – there’s been no dialogue – and they think they’re just going to dazzle everyone, that’s usually disappointing.”

 

– Tom Elias, College Prospects of America

 

Link to full article: Big camps feature smaller schools By Ryan Ernst • rernst@enquirer.com • July 2, 2009