I’m trying to get a grasp on how to use private camps for scouting, to use my $ efficiently, but still haven’t got it after reading the new player guide and some other past posts. None of the areas for the listed camps suit my location so I assume I would host my own camp.

I’m in D2 and have scouted 64 D1 players to level 2, so a private camp would bring any scouted players to level 4. (Nice.) I only want to level up those I’ve already “discovered”, but I also only want to go to level 4 on about 40 players across all positions right now - though I’m sure I can get up to 50 by additional scouting before RS1 starts if needed. If I click the ‘Schedule Camp’ button am I then committed, or can I back out before finishing follow-up steps? If I elect to host a camp will I get to choose individual players to invite, or choose a mile range and whichever partially-scouted players show up are the ones who get leveled up (potentially leaving out some players of higher interest)? I don’t know what lies behind the ‘Schedule Camp’ button – could anyone provide the steps that follow clicking SC? Many thanks…

1. Private camps process at certain time intervals, so depending on when you schedule it, you typically have to wait a couple hours for it to process. I’ll leave it to someone with more experience to say exactly when those time intervals are, but they are on the hour mark, so if you hit the schedule button at like 10 past the hour, you’ll have plenty of time to cancel. Before the camp processes, you have the ability to cancel it and get all your money back.

2. All you can select for a camp is what level to invite (D1, D2, and/or D3) and how many players (starting at 50 and going up to 300 I believe). All players will come from within a 500 mile range from your campus, but besides that will be random. Therefore you likely will hit at least a few of those level 2 D1 guys but definitely not all of them, especially if you are in a dense recruiting area.

3. I do not know what method you used to find these D1 players but if they are near by, I’d recommend using the assistant search to level them up, because you can select to only scout already discovered and not waste money on finding new recruits. The reason near by is important is you’ve already discovered the top 100 so you’ll have to waste a little money scouting those players but if you limit by distance than you’ll waste less money on the far-away top 100. If there are some that are far away and you have not yet used the scouting service, I’d first do all the close ones in the nearby manner I just described then I would use assistant search by position (plus division level and already discovered) five at a time to get all the far away guys to scouting level 3 and then use the scouting service to get to 4. Assistant search’s already discovered is a very powerful tool in targeting the recruits you want but you have to be very careful to not increase you discovered pool before using it.

Personally, I think private camps are only useful as the first action of recruiting because they are not very targeted but can build out a reasonable pool quickly and even then, I rarely use them if I have a limited budget

Hope this helps.

The con to private camp... random players show up (I believe within 500 miles).

The pro... every player is scouted up 2 levels. It’s the most efficient use of scouting $ per dollar (if you don’t mind the random players. And if you invite D1s, that will include recruits in the Top 100.)

Technically FSS is more efficient, at $15 per level.

At D3, I don’t like private camps (though out west where recruits are more spread out, I think it works better than in the east where I was). At D1, they’re a must. At D2, I use them, but I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary. bpielcmc hit most of the important points, though I would say FSS is a good first step; and at D2/3, if you’re going to scout the D2 international pool (and you should) you want to FSS and assistant scout the internationals before anything else, so when your pool is big and wide later (post camp) you can limit the radius without missing all the internationals.

Interesting. D1 is the only place I don't consider the private camps a must. In fact I don't know if I've even used them (maybe at Portland as a cheap way to scout the few local players that it can reach). I religiously use it at D2 unless I am only recruiting 1 or 2 players, which isn't often for me.

At D1, i don't even care if I get a lot of the 4* and 5* players to L4 or not. When you see a player at L3 with the colored attributes, and they're all As and Bs in their ratings, you can tell for the most part if it's a player you'd sign or not. It's not like D2 where it may be super important to discover if a C- is blue or green in a core. Also at D1 having a large budget, I'd rather learn a decent amount about a wide region of the country (up to L3 reaching farther out states) than I would prefer to know everything about every kid nearby (L4 on every kid in a close proximity). At D1 I maybe only sign 20-30 of the kids in the 200 player pool. Why do I need L4 to tell me that? At D2, I'd maybe sign 50-75 of the 200 player pool. With a smaller budget and more detail needed, the camp seems much more ideal for me.

It doesn't take much as a D1 coach to know if you'd be interested in a, kid or not. But at D2 and D3 you gotta do a lot more in depth sifting thru players to find guys that are worth a signing.

If I was an A+ D1, maybe. It would be important to me to find the absolute elite of the elite. But if you're anywhere from A thru B or B-, it's more important to find the preference matches and get the guys that you CAN get, as far as smart decisions and leading the rolls. Any of the high ranked recruits will work. As long as you can actually get them on your roster and get them signed, while also making a team out of them. I scout way outside the 500 mile radius of the camp. So I'd prefer to just assistant coach it a bit more.

Posted by topdogggbm on 4/8/2021 10:24:00 PM (view original):
Interesting. D1 is the only place I don't consider the private camps a must. In fact I don't know if I've even used them (maybe at Portland as a cheap way to scout the few local players that it can reach). I religiously use it at D2 unless I am only recruiting 1 or 2 players, which isn't often for me.

At D1, i don't even care if I get a lot of the 4* and 5* players to L4 or not. When you see a player at L3 with the colored attributes, and they're all As and Bs in their ratings, you can tell for the most part if it's a player you'd sign or not. It's not like D2 where it may be super important to discover if a C- is blue or green in a core. Also at D1 having a large budget, I'd rather learn a decent amount about a wide region of the country (up to L3 reaching farther out states) than I would prefer to know everything about every kid nearby (L4 on every kid in a close proximity). At D1 I maybe only sign 20-30 of the kids in the 200 player pool. Why do I need L4 to tell me that? At D2, I'd maybe sign 50-75 of the 200 player pool. With a smaller budget and more detail needed, the camp seems much more ideal for me.

It doesn't take much as a D1 coach to know if you'd be interested in a, kid or not. But at D2 and D3 you gotta do a lot more in depth sifting thru players to find guys that are worth a signing.

If I was an A+ D1, maybe. It would be important to me to find the absolute elite of the elite. But if you're anywhere from A thru B or B-, it's more important to find the preference matches and get the guys that you CAN get, as far as smart decisions and leading the rolls. Any of the high ranked recruits will work. As long as you can actually get them on your roster and get them signed, while also making a team out of them. I scout way outside the 500 mile radius of the camp. So I'd prefer to just assistant coach it a bit more.

I 100% agree with all of this. I haven't used a camp in D1 in a long, long time. It seems so wasteful when you know that 80% of the camp attendees will be worthless.

I think that the assistant search method is very good for new coaches.

If the action is cheap, you’re getting guys you’re not going to want to recruit. That’s how it works. I know not everyone values the L4 as much as I do, and that’s ok. Personally, I would never recruit at any level without it unless I had to, but to each their own. I also know folks enjoy the “global method” at high D1, and I talk about this in the scouting efficiency thread, this foregoes the camps altogether. You might FSS very locally and pick a couple other states depending on the size of the pool you want, and then internationals, then just send out the assistant until you’re out of money. You’re basically recruiting the Top 100 and internationals then, along with guys from whatever states you picked. You’re still getting info on guys you’re not going to want. If that’s waste to you, it is what it is, I guess. The yield is pretty good. Efficiency isn’t just about avoiding waste, it’s about maximizing return on investment. Some folks enjoy going through at each level and hand selecting which guys to scout up, and if that’s you, have at it. Again, to each their own.

How many levels are players scouted up to a camp?

Posted by mbrehm81 on 4/10/2021 7:19:00 AM (view original):
How many levels are players scouted up to a camp?

The regional public camps - 1 level
Your private school camp - 2 levels

I agree that getting to level 4 is important when scouting players of interest. I was trying to save some Scouting $ so I could search broader, but I'd much rather pay the individual player price. It saves money overall, since I can control both the specific players to scout and avoid spending money on players I can either not sign (too high for a D2 coach, like the Top 100) or players who don't have the attributes I'm seeking.

Posted by fletch1313 on 4/10/2021 11:27:00 PM (view original):
I agree that getting to level 4 is important when scouting players of interest. I was trying to save some Scouting $ so I could search broader, but I'd much rather pay the individual player price. It saves money overall, since I can control both the specific players to scout and avoid spending money on players I can either not sign (too high for a D2 coach, like the Top 100) or players who don't have the attributes I'm seeking.

I’d really advise in future recruiting sessions to strategically plan out your scouting and then just use assistant search to do what the individual player scouting does. You’ll just end up with a much larger recruiting pool for the same amount you’re spending right now which will include what you are currently getting with individual scouting plus some bonus discoveries, even if part of it is not usable. And, in my opinion, a large recruiting pool is key because, while the first most important skill in recruiting is evaluating (both talent and “getability”- players that’ll fall to the lower divisions or battles to resources ratio at D1), a very close second is flexibility and that’s only possible with a large recruit pool.

Posted by bpielcmc on 4/10/2021 11:57:00 PM (view original):

Posted by fletch1313 on 4/10/2021 11:27:00 PM (view original):
I agree that getting to level 4 is important when scouting players of interest. I was trying to save some Scouting $ so I could search broader, but I'd much rather pay the individual player price. It saves money overall, since I can control both the specific players to scout and avoid spending money on players I can either not sign (too high for a D2 coach, like the Top 100) or players who don't have the attributes I'm seeking.

I’d really advise in future recruiting sessions to strategically plan out your scouting and then just use assistant search to do what the individual player scouting does. You’ll just end up with a much larger recruiting pool for the same amount you’re spending right now which will include what you are currently getting with individual scouting plus some bonus discoveries, even if part of it is not usable. And, in my opinion, a large recruiting pool is key because, while the first most important skill in recruiting is evaluating (both talent and “getability”- players that’ll fall to the lower divisions or battles to resources ratio at D1), a very close second is flexibility and that’s only possible with a large recruit pool.

I prefer to individually scout also. It's just a personal preference. But as a few coaches have stated, so many coaches do it so many different ways, that none are wrong or right. It's whatever you prefer.

My reasoning? Let's say at D2..... I use FSS and my private camp in my area. That gets me about 150-175 recruits to L3 at $75 each. At L3 I can tell if I would even consider a player or not. From there, I don't scout ANY more at all. Until the first cycle of RS1 processes. You mentioned talent and "getability"..... well after one cycle, you have the blueprint to figure that out now...... the considering list.

So you may spend of your budget, have hundreds of players to L4, and have to sort thru the ones that are garbage, ones you can't get, and the ones you can get. Which is perfectly normal and what most coaches do. Me, I generally have about 15k left (at D2) after that first cycle processes, and I individually scout to L4 ONLY the players with the talent I want, and have that "getability".

My technique always leaves me thousands left over to scout more players as recruiting goes on if I need to. Rather than just having a giant pool to start with and sorting thru it repeatedly. Personally I feel like it's "better" and that's why I use it. But it's just personal preference. Some coaches don't want to put in the work to look at each considering list. But if you do, I assure you it's worth the knowledge. The considering list is actually the most resourceful scouting tool in the game. It may not relate to a players talent. But the talent doesn't even matter if you can't get the player to begin with.

Posted by topdogggbm on 4/11/2021 8:30:00 PM (view original):

Posted by bpielcmc on 4/10/2021 11:57:00 PM (view original):

Posted by fletch1313 on 4/10/2021 11:27:00 PM (view original):
I agree that getting to level 4 is important when scouting players of interest. I was trying to save some Scouting $ so I could search broader, but I'd much rather pay the individual player price. It saves money overall, since I can control both the specific players to scout and avoid spending money on players I can either not sign (too high for a D2 coach, like the Top 100) or players who don't have the attributes I'm seeking.

I’d really advise in future recruiting sessions to strategically plan out your scouting and then just use assistant search to do what the individual player scouting does. You’ll just end up with a much larger recruiting pool for the same amount you’re spending right now which will include what you are currently getting with individual scouting plus some bonus discoveries, even if part of it is not usable. And, in my opinion, a large recruiting pool is key because, while the first most important skill in recruiting is evaluating (both talent and “getability”- players that’ll fall to the lower divisions or battles to resources ratio at D1), a very close second is flexibility and that’s only possible with a large recruit pool.

I prefer to individually scout also. It's just a personal preference. But as a few coaches have stated, so many coaches do it so many different ways, that none are wrong or right. It's whatever you prefer.

My reasoning? Let's say at D2..... I use FSS and my private camp in my area. That gets me about 150-175 recruits to L3 at $75 each. At L3 I can tell if I would even consider a player or not. From there, I don't scout ANY more at all. Until the first cycle of RS1 processes. You mentioned talent and "getability"..... well after one cycle, you have the blueprint to figure that out now...... the considering list.

So you may spend of your budget, have hundreds of players to L4, and have to sort thru the ones that are garbage, ones you can't get, and the ones you can get. Which is perfectly normal and what most coaches do. Me, I generally have about 15k left (at D2) after that first cycle processes, and I individually scout to L4 ONLY the players with the talent I want, and have that "getability".

My technique always leaves me thousands left over to scout more players as recruiting goes on if I need to. Rather than just having a giant pool to start with and sorting thru it repeatedly. Personally I feel like it's "better" and that's why I use it. But it's just personal preference. Some coaches don't want to put in the work to look at each considering list. But if you do, I assure you it's worth the knowledge. The considering list is actually the most resourceful scouting tool in the game. It may not relate to a players talent. But the talent doesn't even matter if you can't get the player to begin with.

First things first, I have to agree 100% with how important the considering list is. Best value tool in recruiting without a doubt.

I haven't played D2 since before 3.0, but this sounds like a very solid plan. Do you use it at D3 as well? I feel like the smaller budget might make it harder to execute.

And for D1, there's so much money to throw around that a ton of strategies are viable. I do feel like the first cycle at D1 is super important in setting up impressions, so I'd want to handle that with as much information as possible going in, but I also assume that you've got a plan and are not wasting that first cycle.

I didn't realize there was a "considering list." Where do you find that? I've been going through the recruits one by one to see if they are considering anyone, and/or filtering the recruit pool for only undecideds.

Posted by bjschumacher on 4/12/2021 3:08:00 PM (view original):
I didn't realize there was a "considering list." Where do you find that? I've been going through the recruits one by one to see if they are considering anyone, and/or filtering the recruit pool for only undecideds.

Every recruit has a considering list on the player profile toolbar. Like this.....

https://imgur.com/a/hIFVFtf

I blocked the coach names out for obvious reasons. So what I do..... when recruiting begins, I have my pool of 150-175 at L3 scouting level. If I have 80 AP, maybe I'll put 3 AP on 20 players I'm interested in the most. And 1 AP on 20 players that are a maybe for me (based off preferences and the info I have at L3).

then that first cycle process. Those 40 players I put AP on, I will look at first. Using the considering list of each player (like my imgur example above), I'll decide if each player is worthy of a scout to L4 "at this time". So for example..... as a D2 coach, if I click the first of my 40 players I put AP on, and the considering list is all D1 coaches and I'm the only D2 coach, I'm not scouting him to L4. Because I'm likely not getting him if 6 D1 coaches showed up right away. Scouting money saved. I'll move on to the next player. Say it's only me as a D2 coach, and four D3 coaches on the player after one cycle...... that's a guy I can get a lead on quickly. I'll scout him to L4 right then. Do I want him after seeing his L4 talent? Yes or no? Pursue as needed. Next guy.... let's say I'm 1 of 5 D2 A+ coaches that showed up cycle 1. He's worth a scout to L4 I'm sure, because lots of elite D2 coaches showed interest too. But if I am going to pursue, it's likely that I'm going to have to invest heavily in that player. Repeat repeat repeat.

Once I'm done viewing all 40 players, I pick the best couple players to target heavily that next cycle and get them unlocked and a ship on them. (At this point I've still got maybe $8k-$10k left of my scouting budget). Once I get enough guys that I feel comfortable with lined up (roughly 4 or 5 players for 3 openings), it's around day 4 in RS1..... that's when I REALLY start snooping around. I'll start looking around for players that maybe only a low D1 team leads on, all alone. Scout him up with my extra money? Is it worth trying to invest heavily to steal from a D1? Yes or no? Pursue as needed.

The last benefit of sprinkling AP around on that first cycle, is that the players i DON'T go after early on, they still have my name on them. So if I pay attention to everything going on around me, I can see that a player I didn't target early may still be within my reach. So while I'm unlocking his other recruiting tools, the leading coach doesn't see my name pop up as a red flag that I'm starting to pursue. He just sees me sitting there at very low, thinking I've moved on. 20 HV on one cycle, and all of a sudden I'm the leader now, with a greater chance to sign the player.

Scouting/Recruiting 101, my style! Just talking out loud. Hope it helps someone in need!