Volleyball Tip
How To Choose a Summer Volleyball Camp for Your Child
Campers can enjoy some stretching warm ups before volleyball camp begins.
Here are some helpful hints on how to choose the best volleyball camp for your daughter or son this summer:
Location. Are you looking for a camp nearby, or maybe scheduling a camp while on a family vacation? In state or out of state? Begin your search with a simple search by sport or search by zip code by clicking on the search icon in the top right hand corner. There are over 45 Nike Volleyball Camps across the United States, plus a new Nike Volleyball Camp European Tour for the whole family in Italy, Austria and Germany. The following information will help you narrow the options.
Day Camp vs. Overnight Camp. This is a big question for many campers and parents and ultimately is best determined by your child's age or readiness for a sleep-away camp. If your camper is looking to fully immerse him or herself in volleyball, get the full campus life experience, make new friends, and create lasting memories, a overnight volleyball camp may be the way to go. The curriculum is a perfect blend of expert instruction, intensive training, and focus that is essential to improvement. In addition, campers get to experience the day-to-day life on a college or prep school campus by living in the dorms, eating in cafeterias, and exploring the campus. Many sites include a variety of team competitions throughout the week and/or nightly themed activities for additional camp fun. These camp sessions are a great fit for both the “first timer” looking to test out sleep-away camp, or the repeat camper who comes year after year to continue to improve, make lasting friendships, and have “Serious. Fun.”
The Nike volleyball day camps typically run from Monday-Thursday, between the hours of 9:00am-4:00pm, and consist of both morning and afternoon training sessions. Day camps are a great option for a kid who wants to get a lot of court time, but prefers to stay close to home. Geared for all skill levels, day only camps offer the same high-level instruction as the overnight camps, but without the “campus life” experience.
Many of the overnight camp locations offer a full day component or even an extended day camp option (includes lunch and dinner and evening camp program), so be sure to check out the details for each location.
Type of Program. This can be a tricky one for parents as we all want to be sure the camp is a good “fit” for our child’s ability level. The good news – all of these camps typically attract players of all ability levels and ages, so there is an option for everyone. But, if you are trying to narrow your options based on level or age, here are some basic guidelines to the programs offered:
All Skill Levels
These programs are geared towards campers, ages 10-18, of all skill levels. Campers will master the fundamentals and develop proper mechanics through a mix of drills, games and competitive play.
Advanced
Advanced programs are geared towards high school and club level players (ages 14-18) with 2-3 years of competitive experience. This intense and challenging program stresses position play, advanced team techniques, physical conditioning, and a higher level of competitive play.
Position Specialty
These camps are an intensive day or two focused on a specific position, and meant for campers who have volleyball experience and know what position they want to play. In these programs, campers will focus on just on their position for the duration of camp and receive specialized training on the latest techniques. Options typically Include: Setter, Hitter, and Libero.
Ask Questions. Last, but certainly not least, do your homework and call or email with questions. Whether you’d like to find out more about the director, staff, dorm configuration, food options, ages of campers already enrolled, whatever it may be, call 1-800-645-3226 and ask to speak to a sport representative. You can also email [email protected]. At the end of the day, you want to find a camp that your child is excited about and is a place you feel comfortable with. The Nike Volleyball Camps motto: SERIOUS. FUN.