Soccer is a huge part of our lives whether we wanted to admit that or not. Most kids nowadays express a wish to either play or actively train soccer and that is what we should allow them to do. When a kid approaches you and has a reasonable wish you should go to ends meet to make that happen, especially if it is a recreational one. There is a lot less success in something if it is being forced upon kids which is why we should listen to them and try to allow them to undertake sports and recreational activities which they prefer.
Now to get back to soccer, as one of the main activities’ kids take on. Soccer camps are a great place for them to develop certain skill, train and get to know new kids and new ways to improve themselves. Choosing the right camp is very important which is why we are doing this article today.
Many have asked the same question over and over again – what is the best soccer camp and how to recognize the right one out of the sea of others that pretty much look alike. This article and https://looking-for-soccer.com/en-US/soccer-camps/girls will help you root out the mediocre and poor soccer camps and point you in the right direction of finding that one that your kid will remember for the rest of their life.
Table of Contents
1. Camp priority
Now, this is a bit tricky to find out but if you do your research no info is unobtainable. Most of the camps, soccer ones included are there to make money with little to no regard to players or their development. Need we say that these camps are not cut out for you kids. These camps will boast with kids of famous people or they will host camps in some nice places while putting the practices, drills and learning in a second plan. This is not good. The best option is to ask around for impressions from parents who sent their kids there. Check and see if they and their kids were satisfied with everything. Look for rating systems and comments regarding a certain camp. All of this will come in handy when deciding.
2. Coaches and kids
At these soccer camps, there are a few very important things. The first is the ratio of kids per coach and the second is free time or dead time. A good camp boasts of good coaches and plenty of them that are supposed to make a decent ratio meaning one coach per 6 kids for instance. Why is this important? Well if you have a lot of kids on one coach then you have a situation where there is a lot of looking and listening and a lot of kids sitting around and not doing anything. There is no learning there and there is no development there. A good ratio would be one coach and up to six players. That coach could quickly show what he needs to show and explain and instantly make all of them active by repeating and practicing what they saw. If there are more children that whilst one group or a pair finishes with the practice or a drill the other group sits idle not doing anything. Constantly moving and touching the ball is the trick to make them improve and to make them better, smaller camps that are somewhat exclusive have that and their coaches work in these small groups where they can give them more attention and make them work harder by constantly moving around instead of sitting idle.
3. Level of the camp
Another thing to consider when choosing a camo is what level is it for and for what ages. There is a camp for older children but that are just beginners and there are camps for younger ones that are just learning the ropes of soccer. This is something to watch out for because you can easily make a mistake. If your children are intermediate level make sure you find a suitable camo and for that kind of knowledge look for the camps from the second point, smaller ones that don’t have a lot of players and where the coaches can turn to them in important one-on-one sessions where they learn the most.
4. Types of drills
This is what most camps should have explained before you sign up and it should be available to parents and kids to see. Camps should describe what the kids are supposed to do every day and there are supposed to be drills laid out so you can see if that particular camp will cover the needs of your child. There should be a schedule that they are supposed to abide by and that is supposed to make them improve. Some leisure time is a must but training should be the focus of the camp. They shouldn’t exhaust the children but much free time isn’t good as well. Look for a well-balanced camp that has a lot of different practices and drills. Those will do the most for your child.
5. Camp organization
Every camp should have a plan of training and should divide children accordingly. Upon arrival the coaches should make a preliminary division of children by age and after they should hold an initial training to see their positions. After that, there should be another division of the children by their abilities. This kind of organization gives the best results although it may seem a bit excessive. The worst thing would be if children with different abilities were in the same group and ones that are somewhat better move on faster while others struggle to keep up. This is why so many divisions and separation according to age, positions, and abilities is so important if you want them to improve equally according to themselves.
In the end, we only have to point out one thing. No matter their skill, no matter their age or abilities make sure that your kids have fun. Believe it or not, having fun is part of the learning and it is that part that eases the learning process. Anything forced out or too difficult will bring to their dissatisfaction and they will leave without learning much probably not wanting to return the next year. The worst thing is that they give up the sport entirely. Look out for their best interest and make sure they are having fun in the process.
