Have you ever wondered why nice weather and longer days signal the end of structured sports seasons? This yearly phenomenon leaves many parents scratching their heads—what else are kids supposed to do during the summer months? And where can they go and what can they do that is both fun and worth the time spent? Look no further than a summer sports camp--either local or out of town. There are benefits aplenty for both.
Here are 8 reasons why your child should attend a sports camp this summer:
8. Get out of the house and exercise. Everyone knows this, but it should be reiterated considering our current pandemic. Some of the main benefits according to Justin Russo, director of the Justin Russo Golf Academy, are the social and recreational skills. According to him, these are skills that “they can use throughout their lives to be consistently fit socially, mentally and physically.” Exercise is the number one activity we can do to stay healthy, and it’s best to instill that thinking early on. With the rise of technology to keep kids entertained, they can easily become accustomed to unhealthy ways of spending their free time. In these sports camps, they’ll be anything but idle. Whether it’s soccer, golf, basketball, lacrosse, or even something more obscure like soccer tennis, they’ll be in constant motion.
7. Have fun. After speaking to various camps, I found the number one lesson spearheading all of them: to have fun. It wasn’t about the sports or getting better (although these are important goals), but the bottom line was that the camps are built to ensure kids are able to be kids. “Our tagline is to have fun—it’s that simple,” explains Michael Saks, Marketing Director of ADVNC Lacrosse. “We use it because it’s true. That’s what summer camps are designed to do—have fun, play multiple sports, build friendships, and meet other kids. These are all seminal life experiences.”
6. Stepping stones for success. “We try not to make the skill the activity,” Russo says. “While we want to create lifelong golfers, we want more to mix in a range of daily fun and find activities so that all kids are successful.” Camps in general can show children that there are other lessons to learning a movement or athletic skill beyond the sport. At camps, kids will be in an environment that is designed for them to succeed in all areas, including but not limited to sports.
5. Foster pride and spirit. In a sports camp, one of the best things a kid can pick up on is a sense of pride. “What I look for is how we develop that relationship with them so that they have a sense of belonging and spirit,” Russo says. “When they have that sense of pride and friendship, they can do some really powerful things because they’re all working together towards a common goal.” It’s important to develop that sense because it teaches kids what they can do as opposed to what they cannot, and it helps instill that belief in both themselves and others.
4. Creating character and integrity. Sports are a remarkable learning platform for kids--and not just for athletic skills. “We believe in cultivating Division 1 human beings,” says Josh Steinharter, director of the JCC Maccabi Sports Camp. “Most of them won’t go on to the professional level, but they will all go off to be human beings who need to learn how to navigate successes and challenges. These [camps] are a wonderful platform to introduce, emphasize, and celebrate those life lessons and values.” He emphasizes how learning sports is just a pebble in the larger skillset that camps provide and says, “Caring about the product, resiliency, putting others’ needs before your own, learning how to prepare and reflect—these are all things that we use in the workplace and in relationships.”
3. A different type of education. Camps often create a unique environment that can spark different ways of learning and give opportunities to share knowledge. “It’s an opportunity for cross-pollination of age groups and skills,” says Steinharter. “It gives kids an opportunity to learn from coaches of different ages and from other peer athletes, so it’s very different from the normal year-round homogenous environment at school or club sports.” Being around peers of varying ages also fosters generosity and kindness, which is evidenced by the relationships often standing the test of time. According to Russo, most of his older campers often return as coaches, excited to be role models and create a genuine connection with younger campers.
2. Be themselves. Sometimes it’s hard for kids to feel like they fit in. Camps can play a big role in easing those feelings, particularly those that emphasize core values. In sports camps, especially overnight ones, there isn’t just talk about being an inclusive community, but actions that prove that. “We have rituals upon welcoming campers,” he says. “The nature, the vibe of our camp is happy. It’s really about transparency, establishing a culture, and sticking with it to thrive and grow.” Most camps have such core values well-integrated within the experience that provide kids with a safe, valued space in which they can embrace who they are and work toward who they want to be.
1. Transformative experience. As parents, we always want to give our kids meaningful life experiences. According to Steinharter and Saks, overnight camps are where those benefits can really stand out. “Some of the most rewarding stories aren’t necessarily about sports, but about kids who have come home and are doing their own laundry or being nicer to their siblings because they’ve learned what responsibility is and have dealt with cabinmates all summer,” Steinharter says. This isn’t exclusive to overnight camps. Day camps are still a great choice for kids and provide many similar benefits, but if you are looking for something more extended, Steinharter and Saks highly recommend looking out of your local area. Either way, kids are sure to get a hands-on, transformative experience that will help shape them into well-rounded people.
Lisa Wong is a freelance writer, editor and in-house editor and ghostwriter for ArtHouse Literary Agency and LCS Literary Services. She has a background in journalism, having written for Embarcadero Media and The Davis Enterprise before transitioning primarily to book publishing.