Helpful Hints for Choosing the Right Soccer Camp for your Child
Choosing the right soccer camp for your child involves some important research. Because the soccer camp experience will have significant impact on your child’s game and their general attitude, it’s important for parents to learn to choose a camp wisely. Parents often make the mistake of sending their children to soccer camp without doing their research. Researching a camp should always be done first, and parents should consider what their child wants, what type how their child can benefit, the type and location of the camp, and how well the staff works with children.
The most important thing to consider when choosing a soccer camp, is considering what your child wants. Regardless of the age of your child, it is important that the ultimate selection of the soccer camp accommodate all or their interests, goals, and expectations. Parents should make an effort to understand what their child wants and why. A great way to do this is to do your research with your child. With your child, narrow your camp choices down to the most promising camps. Review their brochures and videos with your child, and then arrange meetings with representatives from the camps you and your child are most interested in.
The next thing every parent should consider is what is this camp? Ask yourself how can benefit child benefit from it? Parents and children should be prepared to ask representatives a lot of questions. The first question to ask is: What are the camp’s goals and philosophy? Next, What kind of child is most likely to have a good experience at this camp? Also, What happens when the weather is bad? The most important question is: What is the total cost of the camp including extras? Parents should ask all of these questions and more, because you want your child and the camp to be a good fit.
Parents should consider all the different types of soccer camps before making a final decision. The first types of soccer camp are day camps. Day camps generally operate during a one-week period from the hours of 9 am – 4 pm, with instruction in most areas of soccer. If your child wants more instruction then you might consider a residential camp. Residential camps offer overnight accommodation. Residential camps generally offer more hours of instruction, and provide room and meals as part of the camp program. A community camp is best for parents trying to keep their children closer to home. Your local soccer club or athletic community usually sponsors community camps. They provide 15-20 hours of soccer instruction and cost less than day camps or residential camps. Position specific camps are specialized camps. Position camps offer instruction in a specific position; an example would be a goalkeeper camp. These camps operate as day, residential, and community camps. The last types of camps are Elite or Advanced camps. These camps are usually reserved for older or the more advanced soccer players, offering instruction in advanced technical and tactical topics throughout the enrollment in the camp. These camps are often residential.
All soccer players should be introduced to all areas of the games at early ages so stay away from the position specific camps until players have a good understanding of all positions played on the field. Community camps are the best for the younger soccer players, especially around the ages of five and six. Attention spans are short at this age, and many community camps gear curriculum to address these issues. Because these camps are located within your community, parents will feel comfortable knowing that their child is right down the road. Day camps can be ideal for many soccer players and parents because of the number of hours available for instruction, and many camps are located within surrounding communities. Residential camps might not be the right choice for younger soccer players, because younger children don’t have the experience of sleeping away from home.
Staff is the most important area of the camp, because ultimately you choose to attend camp to improve, and the staff quality, and ability of the staff to teach should be explored. Many camps offer a “Camp Director” or may have more than one. Be sure to educate yourself on the credentials of these people, while asking questions about who will actually be staffing the camp. While coaching licenses and diplomas don’t make the coach, these credentials are indicative of the level of a coach. Coaches are important role models, and should be available to kids during the week and never engage in yelling. Speak to the coaches during the week to find out how your child is responding in the camp, and the areas your child can improve in.
Tags: camp experience, parents and children, soccer camp