March 13, 2019
At Headfirst Honor Roll Camps, players have the opportunity to demonstrate their versatility by playing multiple positions in each of their games. During registration, players select a primary and secondary position and will play both at camp. With a different set of coaches on the field and in the dugout with you each game, you have the chance to highlight your versatility – a coveted skill in high-academic recruiting – in front of the top schools in the country.
Showcasing your versatility at Headfirst can help you make immediate strides in your recruiting process for several reasons: coaches value versatility, increased opportunities at camp, and the way in which high-academic coaches go about their recruiting.
With the limited number of roster spots available at high-academic schools, the coaches that join us at Headfirst Honor Roll Camps value student-athletes that can play multiple positions and can contribute to their teams in a variety of ways. If coaches see that you can play at a high level at different spots, it’s easier for them to envision ways that you can make an impact on their program. The more versatile a student-athlete is, the more opportunities the coach has to get them in the lineup to help the team.
Selecting a primary and secondary position at Headfirst gives you extra playing time and additional opportunities in front of the coaches in attendance. While you will receive the majority of your playing time at your primary position, you will also receive at least 4 innings at your secondary position throughout camp (this exact breakdown looks somewhat different for secondary catchers and pitchers – contact our team for more details on the specifics). The extra chances in the field allow you to showcase your skill set – speed, arm strength, athleticism – and help coaches get additional looks at you to project the type of player you’ll be at the next level.
While coaches do sometimes recruit specific positions (namely at more highly-specialized positions like catcher and pitcher), they are also recruiting your “tools”, your potential and the athlete you’ll become at the next level, regardless of the position you’ll play in their program. Each year, we see players showcase at Headfirst at one position and go on to play a different position at the college level. If you have a tool (power, speed, a great arm, etc.) that stands out, coaches are going to find where that best fits into their program and into the team’s needs, rather than pigeonhole you as a specific position.
We encourage players to ask coaches about their current roster and recruiting class to see if that school is a positional fit, but you should also ask coaches how they think your tools translate to the college level. It’s important to keep your mind – and options – open during the recruiting process, before finalizing decisions and narrowing the field based on what you think is more important.
