When it comes to camps, and the sheer volume of them, there are some very simple common-sense ways to begin to establish the value of each camp to you, the player.
There are some camps that throw up red flags, that some players and parents do not see. Some of these red flags are obvious, some are not.
The biggest red flag of them all is any camp that requires you to miss more than a full day or day and a half of school including travel time. This type of camp does not care about your education, and if they are touting the NCAA aspect of the camp while asking you to miss several days of school, that is a camp to never attend.
Why?
The USHL combines only require players to miss one maybe one and a half days of school. The TJHN Showcase Series only requires missing one or one and a half days of school. NAHL, NCDC, and all the other Canadian Tier II leagues operate exactly the same way. Interfering with school should be at a minimum. It is that simple.
Camps advertising specific coaches as scheduled to attend need to be very carefully researched, especially when they are listing NCAA coaches. One camp in April in New York is advertising a whole lot of NCAA coaches, and on the dates that the camp is taking place nearly all of those coaches will be at the USHL Combine in Chicago.
If you believe those claims that almost 40 NCAA coaches will be working the benches on the same weekend as the USHL combine, you may be in the market for some beach front property in Afghanistan.
Geography. Look at where a camp is being held. How close is it to NCAA programs? If it is more than a two-hour drive, they will likely have to fly, get a hotel, and factor that into the school scouting budget.
Unless it is a big summer event in Vegas, Boston, Detroit, Denver or Chicago, NCAA coaches are not likely attending anything not close to home. These cities have high numbers of scouts living locally and concerning Vegas its part of the summer vacation plan.
Common sense requires knowing what is going on in the hockey world, and how hockey works. You don’t have to have a whole bunch of inside connections to figure some things out. Looking at the calendar is a good place to start.
Did you know that many NCAA coaches actually own or operate their own camps? Many coaches work together in the summer on these camps. These camps all take place in the summer, and almost always on one campus or another. They do not take place in arenas with no NCAA or high-level junior program. Back to geography.
Where is the camp advertised? If they have no advertising on the Hockey News or The Junior Hockey News then it’s not a well-known or well-funded camp. Anyone can buy a website and say they have a camp. This does not apply to individual team or league camps. Teams and leagues have their own scouting departments and their own advertising sources.
If you have an adviser, and the adviser is recommending you attend a camp that is not league or team operated, not advertised, does not publish its alumni, requires you to miss more than a day or day and a half of school, then you have an adviser that is not doing his job for you.
There is a difference between camps and showcases. Camps, unless being run by a team, league or specific coach are generally not scouting events. Showcases are scouting events where scouts from all leagues and all levels from the NHL to AAA are invited and welcomed to attend.
Combines, when held by a reputable league, or scouting service are also different. If it is a league event, your information and you will only be seen by that league holding the event and its affiliate teams. The USHL is not sharing your information with the OHL, WHL or QMJHL for example.
Central Scouting departments are only sharing your information with subscribers to their services. Only the top-level teams subscribe to these services.
I wrote this article today after getting a lot of emails regarding camps who simply have no value, and are basically money grabs. Lots of copies of messages sent from Elite Prospects, and lots of screen shots of text messages. It’s disappointing to read about people flying to events without actually understanding the process or how to value events.
If you have a question about a camp, or if any of these red flags are standing out, every initial consultation is free of charge and I am happy to answer your questions on these items and others.
Joseph Kolodziej – Adviser
