How To Choose The Right Basketball Camp

If there is one thing that all parents across all age groups will find confusing, it’s finding the right basketball camp for their child.  Are you just looking for something for your child to do, keeping them active in the summer and out of trouble?  Do you just want them to play and have fun?  Or, do you want them to actually improve?  You have to answer that first, then you can research what camp is right for your child.  

You probably want a mix of them having fun and improving their skills.  There are certain qualities that you need to look out for when it comes down to choosing the right basketball camps for your child. As well as looking through these qualities, you need to ensure that you are matching the camp to your child. Not every basketball camp is going to suit their needs and skill set. So, let’s take a look at the qualities that you should be looking for in a remarkably good basketball camp.

Teaching

When you land on a camp registration page, take a look at the camp schedule.  As an example, you can see Breakthrough Basketball offers a variety of basketball camps.  You can easily scroll down and view the dates, location, type of camp, and grade levels each one is for.  You can see right off the bat each camp has a specific curriculum for the skills they are teaching at that camp as well as what grades they are for.  So far so good, we check a couple boxes.  

When you click on a specific camp you will be taken to the registration page that gives you more details on the times of the camp and everything that they are covering.  Right there you can see there aren’t too many games being played and the emphasis is on teaching.  The right basketball camp should promote an environment where learning is the primary function.

Busy Players

When you are touring camps, always look for those where the kids are active. Well-run camps will have stringent structures, and your child will be adhering to this structure. If you are visiting camps to choose the right one, and you see kids standing around not doing much, it’s not the right camp. The right camp has no waiting around and lots of activity and fun. The busy camps keep all the participants improving their basketball skills.

Connected Players

The well-run, impressive camps are those that can command the attention of a hundred children with ease. Good camp instructors connect well to the children, and if the children are listening, you know that this is a camp your child will love.

Player Development Matters

Excellent basketball camps will teach your child the skills, athleticism, sportsmanship, and fundamentals that they need to know to be good players. If the coaches are solely focused on the player and their development, your child could have a place somewhere that will teach them and ensure they develop well.

Active Coaches

There’s nothing worse than witnessing coaches lounging around waiting to do something. The good camps will have coaches being active, correcting techniques, and ensuring that the kids are doing things correctly. The leaders should be delegating to the assistants and ensuring that everyone is engaged with the kids and doing something to stay active and busy.

Character

Ball is life?  No, it’s not.  Basketball can be an obsession, sure.  But life goes well beyond the game.  About 2% of high school athletes are awarded an athletic scholarship to compete at the collegiate level.  Your odds aren’t great.  Find a camp that will teach you how to be a good person, how to communicate, and improve self confidence.  These skills will get you a lot further in life (even if you are one of the lucky ones to get a scholarship).  The American Camp Association outlines the importance of character development at a young age.

Seven Different Types Of Basketball Camps

Children need to attend a good basketball camp if they want to learn more than just how to play the game. Sure, the rules and regulations are essential, but more than that, children need to understand how they can cultivate many different skills and abilities. They can then start growing into stronger players and more confident people all around. There are seven different types of basketball camps, so let’s explore them below:

Exposure Camps

Exposure camps are known as showcase camps for basketball. These camps are organized for the purpose of putting players in the spotlight as superstars in the making. For older children, they are an excellent way to evaluate players as potential college prospects. Usually, these camps aren’t affiliated with any particular college but are organized by private groups. These are an excellent recruiting tool for athletic high-schoolers with interest in college.  You can go to Exposure Events site to see a list of offerings around the country.

Skill Development Camps

These camps focus on the overall skill development of each player. They focus on those fundamentals of basketball that we mentioned earlier, including passing, footwork, ball-handling, and specific skills for positioning. These camps cater to children of all abilities and ages, and it’s especially beneficial for those eager to learn. Students are given the techniques and skills to help their court development. Breakthrough Basketball is a good example of a youth basketball camps organization that is all about skill development camps.

Team Camps

Mainly for playing games, team camps are there to help teams to become better, more unified, and strong enough to compete in the next basketball season. It gives teams the chance to play and perform well. The atmosphere of encouragement and tournaments can improve both coaching and team play, leading to better team chemistry.

General Camps

General basketball camps do a little bit of everything. General camps play a lot of games, learn challenging basketball skills, and have fun with activities for team building. The skills learned are those on and off the court, included to give a better-rounded camp experience.

Youth Camps

Young players looking for some structure in a game they are keen to learn will love the atmosphere lended by youth camps. These offer the players an action-packed environment so that they can improve their skills and learn about the game in more detail. High-quality instruction and training are provided, and players get to try their skills in games and drills, receiving feedback and correction right away from happy and enthusiastic coaches.

Day Camps

Day camps can last for a week or more, with daily attendance to help your child to have a fun, action-packed week of learning the skills to master basketball correctly. These camps work to help players to develop their abilities and mindset on the court, while improving their confidence off the court, too. Most day camps have professional coaches and state of the art facilities that put the personal development of the player in the center of it all. Day camp days are balanced between games, team practices, and stations of drills. These are all areas where they are encouraged to push themselves and feel challenged.

Overnight Camps

During the long sessions in the day, campers can learn to develop their basketball skills, and they’ll spend their evenings and weekends indulging in team bonding activities to relax after hours of playing! Some overnight camps offer drills that current pro players have to use to elevate their game and be better players all around.

As you can see, there are a lot of things to think about when choosing the right basketball camp.  Take your time to research analyzing the factors above and you will have a happy (and tired) camper by the time it’s over.