Do the summer sleepaway camps for fencers help with college recruiting if the camps are listing ivy league head coaches on its ads? They are at least $2,000 and I’m wondering if it’s worth it in order to establish relationships with college coaches that are attending.
It is my opinion that if you are not going to miss the $2,000, then it is worth it to spend the time with college coaches. My kid was not a fencing recruit, but we did do a couple camps to targeted schools for another sport. The times spent with coaches in tournaments are brief, but in a camp, the coaches get to see the person. Of course, if athlete is not recruitable, then it doesn’t matter how many camps you attend.
I don’t believe such camps have much value in fencing recruitment. Unlike many sports, fencing has a national ranking that is used by coaches recruiting the most competitive fencers. This would Include all the Ivy coaches. The greatest value of a camp is whether it improves the kids fencing results.
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I agree with Helmut- although I know my DS’s coach was constantly trying to sell his camps because college coaches were going to be there. The only time I might suggest it helpful is between sophomore and junior year of high school and if your fencer is a midway level potential recruit. For example, perhaps a B rated fencer with some national points but who falls in the mid-range among his/her school year cohort. For a fencer like that, spending time with college coaches who might not otherwise look at them in the initial recruiting cycle could be a benefit. My DS was A rated but in a huge cohort of peers and therefore wasn’t a first round recruit. He did a camp before junior year with a D1 school and caught the coach’s eye, which opened the line of communication and he ended up recruiting my DS. I’m fairly certain DS wouldn’t have even been a prospect if the coach hadn’t seen him at camp.
Thank you!
Thank you for your responses. After navigating the recruiting process with my older kids in other sports, I think some aspects of recruiting are still the same for fencing as they are in other sports. Timing, ability, academics are important but spending time with coaches can’t hurt if the student wants facetime. I do think coaches look at other factors besides ranking and awards. Thank you parents! Your responses are very helpful!
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