Calhockey.com
Hockey Discussions => Midget Hockey => Topic started by: SkatingDad on March 05, 2019, 08:46:20 AM
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USHL, BAHL, WSHL, combined camps, etc...
Money grab or worth while?
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Money grab. I compare it to the Shattuck camp. How many kids go to the Shattuck camp and end up getting recruited by Shattuck?
EVERY school, coach and team is looking for that .01% player oozing talent and dominating competition. Those kids don't need a camp to get noticed. So if a camp appeals for the coaching, cost, variety etc., and is an end in and of itself, then they are fine, but if people are going to those camps expecting that they involve evaluation and recruitment in the present or near future, I doubt that seriously.
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It’s all about money and how many kids they can get out there. I’ll tell you what the best thing I invested in was putting a video clip of my kid and sending it out. Just started sending it out last week and have had 2 offers already from junior teams. WSHL and EHL. its been a lot of work getting in touch and having coaches talk to us but with the video we have had opened some doors and I’m hoping for more to open really soon.
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Do the coaches get a fee or stipend to attend the camp?
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Hipcheck - who did the video for you? Blackdog or some other service? Expensive?
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Hipcheck - who did the video for you? Blackdog or some other service? Expensive?
I used my oldest son who does it. He has done alot of softball videos also. It you have the videos what he does is puts a video clip together with music.
This a test video he did for me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kXsyaUkMe4
copy and paste it
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hipcheck34 (https://www.calhockey.com/index.php?action=profile;u=4982) - Nice video! What software did your son use to make the highlight video?
Just curious, your son plays for THA. Thought THA promised to do all kinds of showcasing and promoting of their THA players during the season to get them to the next level? Sounds like THA is dropping the ball if they are making you do all the work getting your son recruited. Thanks!
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Unfortunately I have no idea what software he uses. As for THA this is all because of them, and the video was my choice and it was free so why not. My kid wouldn't be where he is at if it wasn't for THA and the coaches. Its been a roller coaster ride there but worth it. Its almost over and time to move on.
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It’s all about money and how many kids they can get out there. I’ll tell you what the best thing I invested in was putting a video clip of my kid and sending it out. Just started sending it out last week and have had 2 offers already from junior teams. WSHL and EHL. its been a lot of work getting in touch and having coaches talk to us but with the video we have had opened some doors and I’m hoping for more to open really soon.
Is this also true for the USHL Combine in Illinois next month for 03/04?
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Anyone have any experience or heard anything about the following Jr Hockey Recruiting Camps?
Cali Prospects Camp https://www.caliprospectscamp.com/
Pacific Identification Camp https://pacificidcamp.com/
Western Futures Super Camp http://greatwesternfuturessupercamp03.com/
Global Las Vegas https://www.globalsportscamp.com/global-las-vegas/
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If you think it's a money grab, it is. 😳
https://www.facebook.com/1162141630482915/posts/2162136027150132/ (https://www.facebook.com/1162141630482915/posts/2162136027150132/)
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What about the WHL Bantam Prospects Camp? Same guidance - if it smells like a money grab, it is? Anyone attend it in the past?
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What about the WHL Bantam Prospects Camp? Same guidance - if it smells like a money grab, it is? Anyone attend it in the past?
My comment was NOT a serious answer. It is a point about mindset, self fulfilling prophesy, and the Rosenthal Effect. The link elaborates much more
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What about the WHL Bantam Prospects Camp? Same guidance - if it smells like a money grab, it is? Anyone attend it in the past?
My comment was NOT a serious answer. It is a point about mindset, self fulfilling prophesy, and the Rosenthal Effect. The link elaborates much more
You care to give a serious opinion? There is only so much time and money. We will be doing something... What is the best use of time and money is what I am trying to decide.
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Anyone have any experience or heard anything about the following Jr Hockey Recruiting Camps?
Cali Prospects Camp https://www.caliprospectscamp.com/ (https://www.caliprospectscamp.com/)
Pacific Identification Camp https://pacificidcamp.com/ (https://pacificidcamp.com/)
Western Futures Super Camp http://greatwesternfuturessupercamp03.com/ (http://greatwesternfuturessupercamp03.com/)
Global Las Vegas https://www.globalsportscamp.com/global-las-vegas/ (https://www.globalsportscamp.com/global-las-vegas/)
My son was recruited to play on a Canadian tournament team for Chowder Cup, which he did, and a USPHL team from the Cali Prospect Camp.
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I enjoyed your post, Thanks Brad. I've made some mistakes. I am going to make some course corrections.
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It's a great question, and the flippant responses don't well reflect the actual struggle parents find themselves in. These are hard choices.
Most organizations (teams) will try to convince you to go to no camps apart from their camps. There is a (valid) concern on their parts that hockey is too expensive, and they all have experience with parents complaining about that, and in some cases going way overboard, spending too much money on camps, and just funding a false dream. They also all realize (whether conciously or not) that a dollar spent on someone else's camp is not a dollar spent on theirs.
I see two 'camps' as 'above and beyond' the rest for Californians. The California WHL prospects combine, and the USHL national combine (in Chicago). Both are high value, with excellent competition, plenty of games, and good lectures. They will do the complete on and off ice combine, and you will get a readout of how your player did on each event and whether they were above or below average. Good information. Bring a camera and video them and others going through the combine events as a coaching tool for later. They are also both scouted by people that actually matter. I do know of players that have been drafted right out of the WHL camp, and I'm sure it happens occasionally with the USHL combine, but of course that's not what usually happens - the scouts have a list of people they are going to watch. Set your expectations accordingly.
You will be told they are invite only. Neither of them is. Though both start by inviting 'known' players (I'm guessing largely based on who attended in any way the year before, and some scouting input), in both cases you can submit information on your player online and you may or may not get an invite. My guess - if you are a AAA player on a reputable team, there is a good chance that you will get an invite. Anything else, and I don't know. Nobody is going to tell you how many kids are pre-invited versus submitting. Of course it will also depend on openings. They are big camps - the USHL camp in particular will have 12-16 teams at any year. The competition is STIFF - there are no bad players. If your kid is playing AA because they could not make a AAA team for any reason (speed, athleticism, hockey sense), they will likely be overwhelmed, and the money will not be well spent.
If you do go to those camps, you will then be absolutely flooded with invitations to other camps (most USHL teams, some BCHL teams, many others). We get probably 30+ invites a year. I have no experience with them specifically, but if you are interested in a particular team, it may be ok, particularly if the travel is not too bad (like, if you had another reason to actually be in a city apart from a camp, why not?). Note that USHL teams are mostly midwest, and BCHL teams are in BC of course, so it's not cheap.
Beyond that, I would look VERY carefully at the content of any camp. Don't worry about scouts and exposure. They don't really matter at these other camps. But the camps can be useful for experience. How many ice hours? Are they doing combine style measurements? Are there good presenters from well known teams or programs? It can be an incredible experience for your player to attend the right camp, and if in their draft years they plan on going to the combines, having attended a combine previously will definitely give them a leg up in terms of performing well. There are definitely 'tricks' to doing well in the tests.
Beyond the major combines, I would bias my camp selection to skill/training camps versus showcases. Look in Canada in particular, as they can be very reasonably priced, but it depends somewhat on how much time you have. There is also nothing wrong with 'treating' your player at the end of the season to a fun weekend where they get to feel like a bit of a 'big shot'. IF THEY WANT TO. Don't force it.
We were very interested in one camp this year at a college my son is interested in, but when we looked at it, it was for 2006-2004's. In one camp. That's nuts. I wouldn't even let a 2006 on the ice with 2004's for safety reasons, and 2006 way too early for a camp that advertised itself as an exposure camp. That's a joke.
But regardless, don't go overboard. One camp, that has good development or experience potential? Ok. Two camps? Pushing it. Anything more and you have to ask if you should be spending the money on on or off ice training instead.
-
It's a great question, and the flippant responses don't well reflect the actual struggle parents find themselves in. These are hard choices.
Most organizations (teams) will try to convince you to go to no camps apart from their camps. There is a (valid) concern on their parts that hockey is too expensive, and they all have experience with parents complaining about that, and in some cases going way overboard, spending too much money on camps, and just funding a false dream. They also all realize (whether conciously or not) that a dollar spent on someone else's camp is not a dollar spent on theirs.
I see two 'camps' as 'above and beyond' the rest for Californians. The California WHL prospects combine, and the USHL national combine (in Chicago). Both are high value, with excellent competition, plenty of games, and good lectures. They will do the complete on and off ice combine, and you will get a readout of how your player did on each event and whether they were above or below average. Good information. Bring a camera and video them and others going through the combine events as a coaching tool for later. They are also both scouted by people that actually matter. I do know of players that have been drafted right out of the WHL camp, and I'm sure it happens occasionally with the USHL combine, but of course that's not what usually happens - the scouts have a list of people they are going to watch. Set your expectations accordingly.
You will be told they are invite only. Neither of them is. Though both start by inviting 'known' players (I'm guessing largely based on who attended in any way the year before, and some scouting input), in both cases you can submit information on your player online and you may or may not get an invite. My guess - if you are a AAA player on a reputable team, there is a good chance that you will get an invite. Anything else, and I don't know. Nobody is going to tell you how many kids are pre-invited versus submitting. Of course it will also depend on openings. They are big camps - the USHL camp in particular will have 12-16 teams at any year. The competition is STIFF - there are no bad players. If your kid is playing AA because they could not make a AAA team for any reason (speed, athleticism, hockey sense), they will likely be overwhelmed, and the money will not be well spent.
If you do go to those camps, you will then be absolutely flooded with invitations to other camps (most USHL teams, some BCHL teams, many others). We get probably 30+ invites a year. I have no experience with them specifically, but if you are interested in a particular team, it may be ok, particularly if the travel is not too bad (like, if you had another reason to actually be in a city apart from a camp, why not?). Note that USHL teams are mostly midwest, and BCHL teams are in BC of course, so it's not cheap.
Beyond that, I would look VERY carefully at the content of any camp. Don't worry about scouts and exposure. They don't really matter at these other camps. But the camps can be useful for experience. How many ice hours? Are they doing combine style measurements? Are there good presenters from well known teams or programs? It can be an incredible experience for your player to attend the right camp, and if in their draft years they plan on going to the combines, having attended a combine previously will definitely give them a leg up in terms of performing well. There are definitely 'tricks' to doing well in the tests.
Beyond the major combines, I would bias my camp selection to skill/training camps versus showcases. Look in Canada in particular, as they can be very reasonably priced, but it depends somewhat on how much time you have. There is also nothing wrong with 'treating' your player at the end of the season to a fun weekend where they get to feel like a bit of a 'big shot'. IF THEY WANT TO. Don't force it.
We were very interested in one camp this year at a college my son is interested in, but when we looked at it, it was for 2006-2004's. In one camp. That's nuts. I wouldn't even let a 2006 on the ice with 2004's for safety reasons, and 2006 way too early for a camp that advertised itself as an exposure camp. That's a joke.
But regardless, don't go overboard. One camp, that has good development or experience potential? Ok. Two camps? Pushing it. Anything more and you have to ask if you should be spending the money on on or off ice training instead.
...spot on....