The only thing that we did, as a program, was forward an email advertising the camp. I think the other assistant who sent it added a plug, since it's run by some people we know at a rival school (rival to the kids - I like their coaching staff) but no personalized sell to them in particular.

The mother is supportive of her son, but is pretty wait-and-see when it comes to full enthusiasm for his extra-curricular interest. Which seems like a prudent choice with a sixteen year old son, but it means I'm just friendly with her without having any expectation that she'd take my advice on anything. The father is a bit more into it. But the last time I talked to him was at the very end of track season. The kid had a nice day, running as a substitute in our 4x800m and doing a good job in a winning relay. And so we talked about the push/pull all spring with the sprints and distances. And I mentioned I think he has a lot of potential in the longer track events, but never got into the wholly unhelpful specifics of "I think your son can run a 4:15ish mile, which would get him some D1 attention" because he's still so far away from actually doing that.

The dad is actually pretty receptive to his son getting a strong push on this. I think he knows he can be pretty good but also appreciates that it's something they can do together since he's kind of a fitness jogger. My guess is that he saw the email and thought it was a good opportunity to give his kid a pit of a kick in the ass on this sport he enjoys *while* he's doing it but doesn't really seem to regard as a serious pursuit.

Plus, my understanding is that if they've got the money, parents LOVE camp. Otherwise, you've just got your teenage son sitting around all summer. Nothing good ever came of that.