Most club soccer camps are run by the coaches. I have seen notable improvement from my ULittle. It also helps that most of his teammates attend camp so it provides a few extra weeks of practice and bonding for them between season. As your DC gets older, if they are interested in playing soccer (or any sport really) at an area private, they should go to those camps because they're usually run by the Head Coach and a source for recruiting.

Soccer camps that are tacked on to larger camp programs and not associated with a club or a school's Head coach are usually a waste of time.

The big camps with lots of kids have been about fun for my kid. The spread in ability level is so high that it's not really about development.

My kid does some small group training with high level players when we have the opportunity, which seems to really help. It's better than team training where the skill level is on average lower than the high level group training.

I've asked the coaches who do the smaller group trainings about private sessions and they say it's not as helpful as the group of strong players. I was told I don't need to pay for my kid to do cone drills.

We've done the camp thing every summer though because my kid enjoys going and comes back with lots of stories of the fun at camp but also tells mom and dad there's not much development.

What are some elite camps your kids have said were good?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son has been to camps of all levels, from local rec camps to sleep away "elite" camps, and although he's enjoyed them, he's admitted that he's learned very little.
If you really care about improvement, take what you would have spent on the camp, and hire a personal trainer/coach instead.

“Elite” camps (say, one week) cost about 1K.

How much personal training could a player get for 1K?

Probably around 12-15 sessions/hours depending on format. Camps are great for the experience, being with friends and making new ones, but most aren’t game changers from skills perspective.

Anonymous wrote:This makes me feel better about not signing my child up for soccer camp.

Our kids have also been at all levels of camps too but we now only go to super competitive camps bc the level of fun my kids experience correlate to how good the other kids are.

So while kids aren’t necessarily learning anything new, the 1v1 or small scrimmages they often get or doing drills and exercises in a competitive setting is something they enjoy and motivates them to do better. I’m a big believer in private training too but the experience of competing and performing under pressure is not easily replicated in private sessions.

Otherwise, regardless of what camp ur goes too, they’ll only be seeing significant improvement if they get daily touches on the ball outside of team practices and camps.

Do not rely on club and coaches to develop your kid. Your kid has to put in the work.

This makes me feel better about not signing my child up for soccer camp.

Anonymous wrote:My son has been to camps of all levels, from local rec camps to sleep away "elite" camps, and although he's enjoyed them, he's admitted that he's learned very little.
If you really care about improvement, take what you would have spent on the camp, and hire a personal trainer/coach instead.

“Elite” camps (say, one week) cost about 1K.

How much personal training could a player get for 1K?

My son has been to camps of all levels, from local rec camps to sleep away "elite" camps, and although he's enjoyed them, he's admitted that he's learned very little.
If you really care about improvement, take what you would have spent on the camp, and hire a personal trainer/coach instead.

Unless the kid is a complete beginner, my guess would be virtually none. The vast majority of soccer day camps are basically child care IMO. Above rec level, you're not likely to see any meaningful improvement if real coaches (i.e., not teenagers who happen to be good at soccer) aren't providing the instruction. A kid would be much better off practicing ball skills at home instead.

First time poster as I just found the site. I am curious how much improvement do players get during soccer camps? I have my DS in a local rec camp through the county. I chatted with one of the counselors and she mentioned there was one kid who has been to seven weeks of camp this summer. Also curious about camps for next year if anyone has recommendations that they have seen work for their child?