A Guide to Selecting Lacrosse Camps

Thank you to the staff of Dallas Jesuit Lacrosse for comprising most of the information below.

2. Review the different features:
The camps often differ from one another in important ways, and you will want to consider a number of factors in order to narrow your choices. Here is his partial list:

Dates. The camp needs to fit into your other plans for your child and family this summer. But if your child wants to attend two out-of-state camps, perhaps you can use the dates to combine them in one trip.

• Reasons for going. Consider why you and your child want her/him to go to camp. Is it to improve her/his basic skills, to get more “playing time,” to be seen by college coaches? Or is it just for “fun” or to keep her/him busy during the day?

• Skill level. If your child is fairly new to the game, the more realistic you are about his/her skill level in selecting a camp, the more likely s/he will be to enjoy his experience. If he is advanced, however, s/he will probably benefit most from competing with other experienced players. 

• Camp staff. Be sure to look at the instructor-to-camper ratio. Also, check who will be coaching at the camp, i.e., college coaches, high school coaches, professional players, college players, etc. All else being equal, you will probably want instructors with coaching experience. Beware of big names that don’t participate much in the daily operation of the camp. If it is an overnight camp, find out how the living areas are staffed and supervised at night.

• Daily activities. Find out what percent of the instruction time is spent on drills vs. scrimmages or games. This is a key difference among camps, which you will want to consider along with your son’s skill level and his reasons for going to camp. In general, less experienced players need less scrimmage and more drill work.  

• Recruiting camp, team camp or teaching camp. Recruiting camps are staffed by college coaches who are there to evaluate and recruit, not to teach. The activities consist almost entirely of games and can be very high pressure. Team camps are designed to develop team chemistry in a competitive atmosphere. It is an excellent option for players making the transition from JV to varsity. Teaching camps give greater attention to instruction in a more relaxed  atmosphere, where it is more important to learn than to score points. Player evaluations are also an important part of teaching camps.

_³. In March each year, Lacrosse Magazine usually publishes its Camp Issue, which is devoted exclusively to lacrosse camps state-by-state across the country.   To our knowledge, this is the most comprehensive listing available anywhere.   It is sent to all members of US Lacrosse (http://www.lacrosse.org/) , which you can join for a reasonable annual fee.