drago Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 A lot of you guys seem to have some younger kids, so i have a question for you. What would you pay for a camp, in whichever sport your kid was interested, and what would you expect to get out of it? Like; a lot of fun, a lot of knowledge, t-shirts, food...? I'm running a camp this weekend and was just curious what you all thought of past camps, good or bad... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borgoguy Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 My 10 year-old son attends a sports camp through a very good gym in our area. They keep the kids busy all day playing basketball, racquette ball, soccer, swimming, etc. Unlike a standard camp, they don't do activities like arts and crafts or archery. The only thing I hope to get out of the experience is that my son has fun and stays active during the day. I would send him to a sports specific camp if I wanted him to concentrate on-- and really start to learn--a sport. The cost of this camp is $265/wk for non-members. There goes my vacation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joewilly Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 good for both of you. a parent & an instructor. This kinda stuff is important imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drago Posted July 22, 2008 Author Share Posted July 22, 2008 Thanks for the input. We have a pretty good day of events going (2 hours on friday, 4 hours on sat and sunday). We are only charging 50 bucks so we should have solid numbers but i just want to make sure it goes on without a hitch. like you said, make sure they stay busy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borgoguy Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Thanks for the input. We have a pretty good day of events going (2 hours on friday, 4 hours on sat and sunday). We are only charging 50 bucks so we should have solid numbers but i just want to make sure it goes on without a hitch. like you said, make sure they stay busy. $50 bucks!? It might be cheaper to fly my kid out there to you everyday. My gym is in northern Westchester (NY), which is ridiculously overpriced. Good luck with your program. You are doing something very worthwhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drago Posted July 22, 2008 Author Share Posted July 22, 2008 yeah 50 bucks for 3 days...figured its a good price to get interest i can still make a grand on it and have a better turnout for the following year. probably at a better price...for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebabyny Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 A lot of you guys seem to have some younger kids, so i have a question for you. What would you pay for a camp, in whichever sport your kid was interested, and what would you expect to get out of it? Like; a lot of fun, a lot of knowledge, t-shirts, food...? I'm running a camp this weekend and was just curious what you all thought of past camps, good or bad... back in the early 90's when i was in 7th-11th grade my parents sent me to the 76ers camp in the poconos. I see they have a site. It REALLY helped me out a lot. I would generally go for 3 weeks a summer, other than the first year when I went one year. I also went to other camps for basketball, at Holy Cross, and Syracuse U, and Invitational Basketball Camp. I think my parents were cool with it as long as I enjoyed it and saw some form of improvement when I came home. MY parents were pretty awesome when it came to things like this, they never complained about the money. To give you an idea of the immediate effect I saw, In 6th grade the first year I ever played basketball organized or unorganized, I scored 6 points and was just a total embarressing mess. In 7th grade I scored 14 points and at least wasn't throwing the ball over the backboard too much. In 8th grade after a week at 76ers camp and a summer really using the drills I had learned, I scored over 400 points, started on all-star teams for both leagues my school was in winning all star mvp in one, led my pretty terrible team to the championsip game, and winning the high scoring and team mvp trophies. So I would say the camp helped my game a LOT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joewilly Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 back in the early 90's when i was in 7th-11th grade my parents sent me to the 76ers camp in the poconos. I see they have a site. It REALLY helped me out a lot. I would generally go for 3 weeks a summer, other than the first year when I went one year. I also went to other camps for basketball, at Holy Cross, and Syracuse U, and Invitational Basketball Camp. I think my parents were cool with it as long as I enjoyed it and saw some form of improvement when I came home. MY parents were pretty awesome when it came to things like this, they never complained about the money. To give you an idea of the immediate effect I saw, In 6th grade the first year I ever played basketball organized or unorganized, I scored 6 points and was just a total embarressing mess. In 7th grade I scored 14 points and at least wasn't throwing the ball over the backboard too much. In 8th grade after a week at 76ers camp and a summer really using the drills I had learned, I scored over 400 points, started on all-star teams for both leagues my school was in winning all star mvp in one, led my pretty terrible team to the championsip game, and winning the high scoring and team mvp trophies. So I would say the camp helped my game a LOT. hey joe, while I congratulate you for learning how to score at an early age(wink wink) not sure we wantin our youngins followin in yer footsteps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebabyny Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 hey joe, while I congratulate you for learning how to score at an early age(wink wink) not sure we wantin our youngins followin in yer footsteps ah, what's that saying about the guy who builds great bridges his whole life, but sucks one c$$k. He is never remembered as the great bridge builder but only as some c$$$sucker. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joewilly Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 ah, what's that saying about the guy who builds great bridges his whole life, but sucks one c$$k. He is never remembered as the great bridge builder but only as some c$$$sucker. lol haha thats pretty funny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drago Posted July 23, 2008 Author Share Posted July 23, 2008 back in the early 90's when i was in 7th-11th grade my parents sent me to the 76ers camp in the poconos. I see they have a site. It REALLY helped me out a lot. I would generally go for 3 weeks a summer, other than the first year when I went one year. I also went to other camps for basketball, at Holy Cross, and Syracuse U, and Invitational Basketball Camp. I think my parents were cool with it as long as I enjoyed it and saw some form of improvement when I came home. MY parents were pretty awesome when it came to things like this, they never complained about the money. To give you an idea of the immediate effect I saw, In 6th grade the first year I ever played basketball organized or unorganized, I scored 6 points and was just a total embarressing mess. In 7th grade I scored 14 points and at least wasn't throwing the ball over the backboard too much. In 8th grade after a week at 76ers camp and a summer really using the drills I had learned, I scored over 400 points, started on all-star teams for both leagues my school was in winning all star mvp in one, led my pretty terrible team to the championsip game, and winning the high scoring and team mvp trophies. So I would say the camp helped my game a LOT. I hope to have that kind of impact. The camp is only days, so i'm trying to hammer home the skills of shooting and hard tackling and a bit of counter attacks. I am handing out some really nice flyers about having the younger kids play on my indoor teams, which is all ex college and a couple ex pro guys. We did it last year and a kid's improvement was immeasurable. I'm trying to get this off the ground a bit so i have to under charge on everything but i do hope to get these kids to take a large step in their abilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebabyny Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 I hope to have that kind of impact. The camp is only days, so i'm trying to hammer home the skills of shooting and hard tackling and a bit of counter attacks. I am handing out some really nice flyers about having the younger kids play on my indoor teams, which is all ex college and a couple ex pro guys. We did it last year and a kid's improvement was immeasurable. I'm trying to get this off the ground a bit so i have to under charge on everything but i do hope to get these kids to take a large step in their abilities. Well, the most important part for me was just having some people with real understanding of the game teaching me how to practice. You have to teach the kids the basics, but just as important is to show the kid the right way to practice with drills to hone technique. That is what really made the improvement for me. Sadly, a lot of coaches are just parents who don't know a whole lot about the game, about how to train for it and take players to the next level. My grammar school coach was a great guy but our practices generally consisted of layups, three man weave drills, and then just scrimmaging all practice. When I got to camp, we would go through stations where we didn't actually play basketball, but would just do different drills, and when I went home I knew these drills and had a game plan for practicing on my own that some of the counselors helped me set up. Anyway, you are a young guy who seems to really be into the sport, so I am sure you know exactly what I am talking about here. Good luck with it dude! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxman Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 Thanks for the input. We have a pretty good day of events going (2 hours on friday, 4 hours on sat and sunday). We are only charging 50 bucks so we should have solid numbers but i just want to make sure it goes on without a hitch. like you said, make sure they stay busy. Camps here are much more expensive. $250 for a four hour all week daily camp. What do parents want? The Dad's want to make sure you get as technical as possible with regards to the sport. The Mom's? They want the kid out of the house for four hours. Don't let them go a second early and they will be happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraightCash Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 When I was in high school I used to go to rugby camp at Cal. In my opinion its worth it if your kid is into it and has a future in it potentially. I learned a lot of good stuff, got some good recruitment opportunities, made a lot of friends all over the country. Well worth it in my opinion but not for everybody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drago Posted July 24, 2008 Author Share Posted July 24, 2008 Camps here are much more expensive. $250 for a four hour all week daily camp. What do parents want? The Dad's want to make sure you get as technical as possible with regards to the sport. The Mom's? They want the kid out of the house for four hours. Don't let them go a second early and they will be happy. The cost is kind of killing me, but i can't just say, "hey i'm having a soccer camp, pay me money and give me your kids". So this is kind of the set up camp that should make things much easier next year. One of my ideas was to take from 80 to 100 pictures (well my mom will take them actually, and she's hot...yowzer) and post them on my website. Gets me good traffic and gives me the ability to advertise on my own site for the future camps. Max, I have heard you have a site, any other ideas? When I was in high school I used to go to rugby camp at Cal. In my opinion its worth it if your kid is into it and has a future in it potentially. I learned a lot of good stuff, got some good recruitment opportunities, made a lot of friends all over the country. Well worth it in my opinion but not for everybody. How old were you? One problem i have is the age disparity. 10 to 18 is the age group so i really have to break them down by skill to make sure everyone is challenged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxman Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 I have ideas. First send me a picture of your hot Mom. Thanks. If it is on tictac's myspace let me know and I will just get it there. Just let me know which album. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drago Posted July 25, 2008 Author Share Posted July 25, 2008 I have ideas. First send me a picture of your hot Mom. Thanks. If it is on tictac's myspace let me know and I will just get it there. Just let me know which album. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drago Posted July 28, 2008 Author Share Posted July 28, 2008 So the camp went over pretty well. As you all said, 50 bucks isn't much at all for a camp but we did get 30 kids for the three days...30 to 40 i guess. Good news is, i cam out ahead, bad news is, it was no where near worth the time put in (monetarily). We through a lot of photos up on the site hoping kids would like to see them and check us out for next years camp. if anyones interested, i'd like feed back on the layout, or if you were a parent of a young soccer player you'd look to us for a camp and what have you. i just want to make sure the layout is professional enough to draw local attention. www.cheeseathletics.com/soccercamp.htm thanks for your input guys, i appreciate the outside perspective. ---i forgot to add, we will be putting up prices and things we covered in the next couple of days, so all we have now are pics of the kids... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraightCash Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Try running two camps. If its a week camp then week 1 is 10-14 or whatever, week 2 is 15-18... best way to go about it in my opinion edit: sorry about the delayed response.. maybe next year haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drago Posted July 28, 2008 Author Share Posted July 28, 2008 Try running two camps. If its a week camp then week 1 is 10-14 or whatever, week 2 is 15-18... best way to go about it in my opinion edit: sorry about the delayed response.. maybe next year haha Thats what we did at the high school i used to be at. Pluses and minuses to both, you'd get about 75% attendance on all three weekends but never in the 90% range, that we'll never get anyway. I think you're right, we do need to split it up, get more bodies and not phase out families on vacation. Next year we are shooting to do two area club camps (both ones that i play for) and one from la crosse (other side of the state but where i am from). Despite us only drawing 35 kids, the camp was a strong success due to my coaches taking great interest in all of the players. Our player coach ratio was about 5:1...cuts in to profit but kids get extra attention, which is what i was going for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joewilly Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Thats what we did at the high school i used to be at. Pluses and minuses to both, you'd get about 75% attendance on all three weekends but never in the 90% range, that we'll never get anyway. I think you're right, we do need to split it up, get more bodies and not phase out families on vacation. Next year we are shooting to do two area club camps (both ones that i play for) and one from la crosse (other side of the state but where i am from). Despite us only drawing 35 kids, the camp was a strong success due to my coaches taking great interest in all of the players. Our player coach ratio was about 5:1...cuts in to profit but kids get extra attention, which is what i was going for. great stuff drago. glad theirs guys like you in this world to take interest in this kinda stuff. the site looks good but I don't know anything about it. good luck in the future Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drago Posted July 28, 2008 Author Share Posted July 28, 2008 great stuff drago. glad theirs guys like you in this world to take interest in this kinda stuff. the site looks good but I don't know anything about it. good luck in the future thanks man. i think the next run will be much smoother and better as a whole. Here's to next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joewilly Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 thanks man. i think the next run will be much smoother and better as a whole. Here's to next year. cool & i'm sure now that you have one under yer belt it will go well next year. cheese doesn't strike me as the best name but what do I know. advertise early. limit the # of kids so people feel panicked to sign up & you'll know how much staff to hire. when it fills up simply expand it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drago Posted July 28, 2008 Author Share Posted July 28, 2008 cool & i'm sure now that you have one under yer belt it will go well next year. cheese doesn't strike me as the best name but what do I know. advertise early. limit the # of kids so people feel panicked to sign up & you'll know how much staff to hire. when it fills up simply expand it You're righta bout the name being strange. I actually got it from Bit on this site, it's a play on Wisconsin and i'm hoping it becomes synonymous with soccer in the state and then perhaps baseball as well. It's not my favorite name but it does stick in their heads a bit. I've had a few families sign up to post comments about the camp...so its good they are following through on that. I like that idea of putting a cap on the campers...never thought of that...I'll do that next time for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebabyny Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 So the camp went over pretty well. As you all said, 50 bucks isn't much at all for a camp but we did get 30 kids for the three days...30 to 40 i guess. Good news is, i cam out ahead, bad news is, it was no where near worth the time put in (monetarily). We through a lot of photos up on the site hoping kids would like to see them and check us out for next years camp. if anyones interested, i'd like feed back on the layout, or if you were a parent of a young soccer player you'd look to us for a camp and what have you. i just want to make sure the layout is professional enough to draw local attention. www.cheeseathletics.com/soccercamp.htm thanks for your input guys, i appreciate the outside perspective. ---i forgot to add, we will be putting up prices and things we covered in the next couple of days, so all we have now are pics of the kids... Hmm, i would probably have gone a different way other than a frontpage-type template. Maybe do a wordpress blog, with a static homepage. You could state the info on the camp and stuff on the static page, and use a "blog" page to post different stuff on an ongoing basis, maybe a mix of local grammer/highschool/college/national/international soccer, and daily/weekly tips/drills/instruction along with personal posts. That sounds like a pretty interesting site that would keep the kids and parents coming back throughout the year. And the real great part is this can be done relatively free outside of minimal hosting fees which i assume you already pay for with your current site. It i extremely easy to do on your own with little to no programming/html experience as well. If you want to discuss or ask questions feel free to do it here or pm me, I'd be happy to help you out with what I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drago Posted July 28, 2008 Author Share Posted July 28, 2008 my sister is kind of running the show on the website, i've heard that having a blog section is a good idea to get repeat business. I want the forum to go over well with the high school and college crowd...i'm thinking of the articles i get together locally they'll be interested enough to read them and then tear them apart. the whole reason i started this was thinking high schoolers love reading about themselves...personally, i think there is a good market for it. I do need to fix up the appearance, make it more interactive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebabyny Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 my sister is kind of running the show on the website, i've heard that having a blog section is a good idea to get repeat business. I want the forum to go over well with the high school and college crowd...i'm thinking of the articles i get together locally they'll be interested enough to read them and then tear them apart. the whole reason i started this was thinking high schoolers love reading about themselves...personally, i think there is a good market for it. I do need to fix up the appearance, make it more interactive. well, blogs can keep people coming back to the site, make it easy to add and update content(if set up correctly), and are looked at very favorably by search engines. Take a look at wordpress.org, it is all free, and there are tons of free themes for it too, I am sure there are tons of highschool sports themed sites out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drago Posted July 28, 2008 Author Share Posted July 28, 2008 i'll check that out...i've been meaning to look into the blog side of things here. I don't particularily like them, but everyone else seems to. The search engine thing is a big deal, i need to be at the top of the list for wisconsin soccer camps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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