When I first became a head varsity coach, I was certain that organizing and executing a young summer basketball camp at the high school was vital. At that time, I was 40 years old and felt that such a project would pay off generously in the future.
When you initiate a change, it will always cost you a few years to get it precisely the way you have desired. You’ll have to go through some experimentation before you’re fully satisfied content with what you’ve formed.
These are some questions I had to ponder critically
How many weeks? What week is best? How many hours?
After more than a couple of years, my coaching staff thought that if the camp is run for just a week, parents plan their vacations around that time, and more students attend the camp.
As I was the first-ever coach to have run an organized camp at high school, I had the leverage to choose on my own. It is essential to check school calendars to determine the last working day, confirm the coaches’ availability and, it is favorable to avoid holidays that might result in disruptions.
A few years in, we started running camp from Monday through Thursday as we discovered families mostly planned their holidays from Friday.
What facilities can we use?
You can always begin by availing of school facilities and making the most use of them. We were fortunate to have exceptional camp facilities at the school. We used a field house, full-sized courts, and the main gym for our activities. It is also important to note the number of campers to rethink the facilities.
What’s the cost?
It depends on your goal. My goal wasn’t to make money for myself, so we tried to keep the lowest possible cost. I wanted a very high attendance, so it was important to evaluate the cost in such a way that most people attend.
Who will coach?
I usually had a five-coach staff, myself included. For several years, I had three coaches working the camp who was also on my high school staff, as well as one excellent junior high coach. Because the entire value of a camp is influenced by the crew that operates it, I paid the coaches as high as I could.
Read more: Four Significant Tips for Choosing a Summer Basketball Camp
How do I advertise?
If you’re planning to operate a basketball camp, having several means to market or communicate information to potential campers is critical.
For this, you could use newspapers. Once our camp had been running for a few years, we started mailing brochures to recurring campers and contacted local AAU programs to get addresses of prospective campers.
Read more: The Sports Require more Fans- Rules for Basketball Parents
Will I make money?
Not profiting was never a problem for us. Every camper left with a lot of souvenirs and kits to work on during the offseason for their improvement.
What’s the purpose?
Here are a few reasons why this idea was initiated
Inspire people to join the basketball team.
Provide high-quality training on the fundamentals of basketball.
Introduce our basketball program’s concept to the campers and society.
Allow athletes to interact with the high school basketball coaching staff.
Introduce our offensive and defensive strategies to eighth and ninth graders.
Ensure that the campers have a pleasant learning experience.