How To Pick The Right Summer Camp For Your Child

Following such a challenging year, there is one sure thing that families can look forward to in the coming months: SUMMER CAMPS! That said, in our new world, selecting the best day camp for kids  is not as easy as it once was. This article offers multiple ideas and suggestions of what to look for in a summer camp in 2021.

Benefits Of Summer Camp

The benefits of summer camps are endless. Regardless of the camp selected, having your child outside, sharing experiences, creating memories, and having fun with other kids, is a gigantic win for the entire family.

Socialization

After a year with distance learning, isolation, travel bans and quarantine, without a doubt the #1 biggest benefit of summer camp for kids is the opportunity for socialization. With schools shut down, activities cancelled and too much alone time, kids have lost almost a full year of meaningful socialization. In great camps camaraderie is built between the campers and staff. These camps provide ample opportunities to engage in sharing, conversation, as well as learning to forge new and lasting friendships. Without a doubt, opportunities for socialization are the #1 perk of a kids summer camp program.

Exposure To Something New

A healthy developing adolescent brain requires a diversified portfolio of stimuli. Because of the Pandemic, discovering, identifying and exploring new hobbies and interests outside the home has been particularly challenging.  This summer, the best day camps for kids are those which offer activities and experiences one couldn’t access during the school year. By exposing kids to new possibilities, we open their minds and activate different parts of their brain. Kids who love only sports might be surprised at the fun they have at a non-sports camp…a coding or lego camp, for instance.

Be A Kid Again!

It is said that “play is the work of the child.” Play is the most important social and emotional element of the developing brain. After 2020, any summer camp with loosely structured play incorporated into the schedule is a great fit for kids. In our fast paced world, where it’s easy to get wrapped up in achievement and outcomes, camps can let kids be kids again by leaving them to space to simply laugh, play and just have fun again!

Identifying The Best Summer Camps Near Me

How does a parent know what the best “fit” is when choosing a summer camp for their child(ren)?  While there are no guarantees that the camp selected is “perfect”,  there are certain requirements that camps must meet before even being considered for your child to spend time during the summer.  The camp should be effective in communicating this information to parents in its marketing and through other types of communication.

Positive, Present & Purposeful Leadership

All great camps have a Camp Director (leader) who embodies the values of the camp.  This leader should be front and center at camp, approachable by both parents and campers and accountable for anything that happens at camp. The best camp directors exude positive energy and have a fervent passion for the camp and the programming provided. Most importantly, during Covid, the Camp Director should be well versed in the varied Covid guidelines and protocols, and exhibit the necessary leadership to ensure that everyone at camp is safe and potential virus exposure limited.

Questions which parents can ask when trying to identify whether the camp has strong leadership are:

• Who is the camp director? What is their background and what is their philosophy about camp and its purpose?
• Will the camp director be on site at all times?
• How long has the camp director been with the camp?
• How have specific scenarios been handled in the past?

A Repeatable, But Adaptable Daily Agenda

No two kids are the same and every camp group is diverse in their make-up. Great camps, while offering multiple activities and having routines, always leave space for “going off script” and adapting to the moment. Sometimes what’s planned is just not right for that particular day or time.  The best day camps for kids have set blocks of time for certain activities but allows flexibility in the activities themselves so as to keep the program fresh.

The best way to learn whether a camp has a proven routine is to ask some of the following questions:

• What does a typical day look like? (If they can easily rattle of how a typical day might unfold, this camp director has a formula for success.)
• Do you do the same activities every day and every week?
• Would my child play new games and learn new things if attending a second week? (If they mention having different types of challenges and activities, you know the camp designs custom experiences instead of a cookie cutter experience which does not work.)

Proven Track Record Of Success

Establishing a successful camp program can take years. Great camps have an army of raving fans who light up when asked about the camp. Before signing up for a camp, make sure you search for both Yelp and Google Reviews. Ask your friends if they have heard anything about the camp. Chances are if the camp has been around for more than a few summers and the camp is well designed, finding positive reviews or people who can speak positively about the camp will not be difficult. If it’s a new camp you will want to find out if the camp does:

• Pre-camp reminders and communication

• Counselor screening and background checks
• Satisfaction surveys
• Emergency protocol
• Name tags

What Makes A Good Sports Summer Program

What to look for in a summer camp for kids who love sports can be difficult. Unlike other camps, which don’t require as much coaching and instruction, the philosophy and approach of a sports camp director will vary from camp to camp. What follows is a general summary of the most important elements to look for when trying to identify the best summer camp program for your kid(s) who wants to go to a sports camp.

Competitive Coach To Camper Ratio

By learning about the coach to camper ratio, you can easily understand whether the camp is focused more on skill building or simply playing games. While a focus on both would be ideal, camps which offer a coach to camper ratio of 10:1 or more (meaning at least 10 kids per 1 coach) simply cannot claim that they help develop players. While a quality instructor can develop skills if working with groups larger than 10, the ability to provide individualized instruction is minimized when there are 10 or more kids with a single coach.

In our experience any coach to camper ratio of more than 6:1 is considered a competition and games camp. When you have very few coaches in a group of kids you cannot expect your child to get enough supervision, instruction and repetitions necessary to make noticeable improvements in their game. The price of camps with larger groups and higher camper/coach ratios should be less than a camp offering smaller groups, a better coach to camper ratio and private instruction. During Covid particularly, it is imperative that camps create smaller groups of kids working with an individual coach so Covid safety protocol can be observed and enforced.

A Balance Of Fun With Skill Building

All sports camps have different levels of focus on skill building versus just playing and having fun. The best sports camps not only keep kids active, moving and competing, but they have instructors who are willing to take the time to provide individualized instruction. By learning about the daily schedule and the types of activities provided,  you can get a better understanding if the camp offers drills and skill development or if the campers will solely be playing games while there. Great camps have figured out how to effectively offer both; learning the game and developing skills while having fun.

Ask the camp directors at the camps being considered their philosophy about the benefits of camp and how those benefits are achieved; the answers given will provide you insight into the camp’s program and whether it’s a good fit.  Please note, that even with the most organized and well-staffed summer camps, expectations for skill development should be tempered slightly as most camps will err on the side of fun and games – which is totally fine! After all, it is summer camp and fun should be king! :) That said, skill development while having fun is a double bonus!

Experienced Instructors Who Are Both Trained And Screened

Who will be supervising and coaching your kids at camp is important to know. Is the staff made up of high schoolers who have zero experience coaching? Is the staff made up of salty ex-professional players who expect ever kid to be an all-star? Do the coaches go through a training program and are they given background checks? All of these questions are fair questions to ask.

Most importantly you want to find out the age and experience level of the coaches. Many camps will staff with high school or college students because its more economical to do so.  They often pay these staff minimum wage and offer little to no training. It is imperative, particularly at sports camps that there are at least a handful of experienced and older instructors who have plenty of experience working with kids. The last thing you want as a parent, is an over competitive, under trained coach draining the fun out of being at camp. Trained, trustworthy and heavily screened coaches are what to look for in a sports summer camp for kids.

Holistic Development Of The Whole Child

Legends Summer Baseball Camps in the San Francisco Bay Area is the best choice for your child looking for a sports camp. They offer an incredible opportunity for both beginners and experienced all-stars to have fun playing ball this summer while developing and learning new skills. While there are many differences between Legends Baseball Camps and other sports camps, a key difference is that Legends is a specialty camp.  Summer camp is the  #1 focus and has been for 12 years.  While many other sports camps are simply a way for year round organizations to make supplemental income for their coaches in the off-season, Legends camps have a track record of success and have mastered what it takes to provide your child with the ultimate summer sports camp experience.

Learning Life Lessons Through Sport

Many parents place their children in sports programs while young to learn the many valuable life skills which go along with playing team sports. However, sports do not teach life lessons alone. Quality coaches teach life lessons THROUGH sports! At Legends we take time at the start and end of every day to set intentions and self-reflect about necessary soft skills which will help our campers beyond the athletic field! Positivity, teamwork, focus, leadership, hustle are just a few of the lessons we teach at camp. Throughout the course of the day Legends tokens are handed out to those who best embody the Legends Life Lesson of the day; tokens can be redeemed at lunch time at the Legends store for baseball cards and other fun prizes. We know that almost all kids will “go pro” in something other than sports; so for us, we place a heavy emphasis on offering them skills they can take with them into every aspect of their life.

Building Meaningful Friendships

With tweens and teens spending on average 6-10 hours per on devices, creating an environment which allows kids to make conversation and connect with their peers is very healthy. A few years ago Legends implemented “campfire circles” at the start and end of every camp day to allow kids to explore their commonalities and differences and get to know each other. In order to coach our campers we must get to know them. By focusing on our campers as individuals with interests, goals and hobbies we promote an environment where everyone can feel comfortable being themselves. Because our campers get to know their camp/team mates they are able to connect both on and off the field; we encourage them to talk to each other at lunch and not spend that time engrossed by their phones. Sports camps do not just need to be about skill development and competing; it can be about friendship and social skill development as well! We have observed our campers often leave camp with new best friends and every week we are passing on parent contact information for kids who want to setup playdates with others.

We Strive For Transformation 

While we place a heavy emphasis on skill building and teaching kids how to compete at a high level, at the end of the day, the camp experience is all about HAVING FUN! At Legends the overall experience is more important than athletic component itself. If for some reason a camper didn’t improve their skills but still had a blast and made some memories, we would be okay with that.

The Legends camp experience has been evolving for over a decade and was created by award winning coach and baseball experience designer, David Klein. We aim for a summer that is not only fun, memorable and enriching, but also transformative for your child. Building confidence and developing a deep love for baseball is possible in a positive environment where kids are encouraged and where each and every one of them feels seen and important.

The Legends are running baseball camps in Menlo Park, Marin, West San Jose and Los Altos/Mountain View during the 2021 summer. 

If you’re looking to provide your child with a sports camp experience they will never forget you must give Legends a shot! CLICK HERE to learn more about the Legends Baseball Camps and CLICK HERE to register!