8th & 9th Graders: Consider Florida Camps

Let's say you're an 8th or 9th grader in the Carolinas, and your game is really beginning to develop. You're giving some thought to attending one of the many, good college-sponsored camps; either over the holidays or next summer. I'd encourage you to consider going to one of the camps in Florida.

The reason I'm an advocate of this is that it broadens the baseball horizons of Carolinas players at a time when many are facing a crossroads of sorts in their development. In the process of learning and playing in an environment populated mostly with kids who train and play virtually year-round, they confront and gain insight into at least two things pretty quickly about themselves as ballplayers:

(1) Does my current skill level measure up?

(2) Do I have sufficient love for the game to make the same level of commitment that many of the Florida kids have made?

Many Carolinas players will come away from a Florida camp with a renewed level of confidence and commitment to the game because they'll do just fine. Some may gain a new appreciation for how much additional effort they'll need to put into it to play at a high level. In any case, they'll all have a much better appreciation of the REAL nature of the competitive scene several years hence.

As players age into their sophomore and junior years of high school, they should shift their attention to the camps of those schools which line up best with their college aspirations and baseball skillsets. For Carolinas players, that naturally brings many of them to their home region. At some point before then, though, I'd give Florida a try.

 

Mrs. Prepster mentioned this to us in Chapel Hill the other weekend. It was very ironic because Jim had scoffed at the idea prior to that. A local girl married a guy from Tallahassee who is very good friends with Mike Martin, so I was confident that I could get him a spot there(FSU), only to find out that he's playing a tourney at Disney World the same week. Would the FSU camp be one you are speaking of, or some others? I'll tell you Prepster, I feel truly blessed for Jim and I to have made the baseball contacts that we have in the last few months. If there's a better sport for my son to have gotten interested in I'd sure love to see it. Q

 

Since I'm addressing this recommendation to players before they enter the recruiting process, the goal would be to get them to camps where the instruction level is high and most of the campers come from Florida; rather than getting them seen by recruiters. The camps at FSU and U of F have the reputation of attracting so many players that it has the effect of diluting the quality of instruction. Not having had any direct experience with them, myself; I'd invite other members of this site to post if they have first-hand experience there.

To get the most current information I could on those offering high quality instruction, I called an old friend who lives in Florida and is very plugged into the baseball recruiting process and Florida baseball, generally.

Here are the college camp names that came to mind for him...grouped roughly in a north-to-south order. The list is not meant to be all inclusive. If others know of additional names, you're invited to add them to the list.

Stetson
Jacksonville University
U. of North Florida
Flagler
Daytona Beach Jr. College
Florida Tech
Berry
Lynn
U of Miami
Florida Gulf Coast
Florida Atlantic
Florida International

 

I would have to second Prepster's idea. My son attended the camp at Jacksonville University several times and loved it. Coach Terry Alexander and his staff do a wonderful job and make sure each young man gets plenty of one on one time. They also do some things a little out of the ordinary as far as camps go (like a trip to the beach, weather permitting). I have also heard very good things about Stetson from some friends. Only two I can speak to.