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Benefits Of Attending Sports Camps For Youth & Teen Athletes

Published
03/19/2021

boys-soccer-team-huddle-1The advantages of summer sports camps include a list of physical and mental benefits for children of various ages. Transferring from elementary school, middle school and high school, kids need positive influences. Summer sports camps help give them the tools to develop and succeed not only physically, but also mentally and socially as they grow.

girl petting a horse

Summer is a time of stagnant activity because many sports teams are no longer in-season. With no structured sporting activities with a school or travel team, the next best option is to register your son or daughter for an athletic camp. They will have the opportunity to have fun while learning and gaining experience. Consistently working on the mechanics of a sport will increase a child’s skill level and confidence while also taking them outside their comfort zone — forcing them to persevere through uncertainties and fears. Spooky Nook Sports hosts some of the best summer camps in Central Pennsylvania, so register your child and give them a summer with a lasting positive impact on their lives.

Summer Camp Experiences Are More Valuable Than Ever

Summer camps provide much-needed and sorely missed enrichment opportunities that allow kids to grow socially, cognitively, and physically. The benefits of these experiences include:

  • Socialization: Kids have spent more time in virtual classrooms than in physical spaces where they can truly interact. Facilitating face-to-face peer experiences for children is more important than ever. A summer camp is a place to make new friends and develop interpersonal skills.
  • Health and exercise: Too much time at home has many kids spending hours on the couch rather than getting the exercise they need. Summer camps fill kids' days with exciting activities that get their growing muscles moving.
  • Learning opportunities: Summer camps give every child opportunities to learn lessons they wouldn't get at home. Campers hone their problem-solving capabilities, learn to work as part of a team, and gain valuable perspectives from others. Plus, the time away from home tests campers' responsibility and independence in a safe environment where they can fail with little consequence.

Activities for All Kids

Summer is a time for kids to explore their extracurricular interests and discover what they like. Spooky Nook Sports' camps give kids the chance to try new things or expand on the skills they value. We offer sports camps that put young athletes' skills to the test in a fun, engaging group environment. Our sports camps include:

  • Field hockey
  • Volleyball
  • Lacrosse
  • Basketball
  • Soccer
  • Baseball
  • Softball
  • Gymnastics
  • Horseback riding

In addition to our sports options, our Experience Summer Camp and Adventure Camp expose kids to numerous activities so they can find what they love. We also offer combo camps that let campers try everything the Spooky Nook Sports facility has to offer.

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Athletes Reap Benefits From Camps

The primary purpose of summer athletic camps is to immerse kids in specific skill developments for their chosen sport. It can be a fun time for beginners who will learn basic skills and determine if they want to pursue the game. If they do, they will have a foundation to carry them forward. Sports camps are also an excellent refresher of abilities during the long summer break for more advanced players.

Through most of the duration of camp, boys and girls learn new techniques while reviewing common drills. Consistent play is the best way to improve their game. Children learn that hard work pays off, especially if they wish to continue to higher levels. Exposing an athlete to valuable mentorship and elite professional instruction helps them develop trust, self-esteem and a competitive advantage. Colleges can recruit players with strong characteristics in the future.

coaching with players

The coaching staff at sports camps offers superior training and modern techniques to help each athlete improve their speed, conditioning, strength, agility and sport-specific skills. Kids can be competitive in a safe and controlled environment.

Sport-Specific Skills Learned Through Athletic Camps

All competitions have a primary goal — to win. But to win and be the best they can, children need to learn specific skills about their sport. While there are hundreds of techniques kids can perform, summer sports camps are not for professional athletes. Instead, they focus on improving your child’s skills one step at a time.

girl holding field hockey stick

Training comes in all forms from different coaches and mentors. Although teaching techniques may vary, the result is to support children in gaining new abilities, self-confidence, perseverance and other qualities.

Several techniques learned and developed during different sports camps include:

  • Basketball: Shooting, passing, running, ball-handling, jumping, foul shots and physical fitness.
  • Field hockey: Push pass, hit pass, trapping, dribbling, shooting, poking and leading.
  • Soccer: Dribbling, shooting, passing, heading, goalkeeping, pass plays and one-on-ones.
  • Baseball: Hitting, throwing, base running, fielding, catching, eye-hand coordination and pitching.
  • Lacrosse: Cradling, scooping, shooting, passing, catching, checking, dodging and proper running.
  • Softball: Base running, catching, fielding, hitting, pitching and throwing.
  • Volleyball: Serving, blocking, sliding and setting.
  • Cheer and gymnastics: Handstands, forward rolls, back handsprings, round offs, one-handed cartwheels and many others.
  • Horseback riding: Saddling, posture, mounting and dismounting, trotting, turning and backing up.

Benefits of Summer Camps for Parents

Aside from gaining personal time, parents have the opportunity to encourage their children. You can inspire your son or daughter to try new things, meet new friends and practice a difficult technique. And whether they succeed or fail — and they can’t fail at a camp — you can support them. You can help them practice skills and techniques at home. Sports camps give you the chance to model fairness and kindness and the importance of following rules and playing a fair game.

group of people cheering

Because parents work, chauffeur their children around and take care of their home, it’s common to feel left out of the social circle. But when your child participates in a summer program, you, too, can develop a sense of community with the fellow parents and guardians. You can discuss ways to support your kids and share ideas on how to continue their training.

More Than Improving at a Sport

When you register your child for a sports camp, you may have the initial intention of helping them improve their skills. Your daughter may play basketball and take part in gymnastics, and your son may play baseball and have fun learning about horseback riding. And while enhancing your child’s skills is the ultimate objective in sports camps, the benefits are more profound than meets the eye. For example, building relationships, learning valuable interpersonal skills and staying active and healthy are additional aspects your child can gain.

graphic explaining sports camps are more than just improving at a sport

For a more in-depth look at how sports camps can make a positive impact on children, refer to the following benefits:

1. Exercise

It’s no secret that childhood obesity is a growing problem within our country. As children become more addicted to technology, their lives become more sedentary and less active. In fact, childhood obesity has more than tripled in last 30 years according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If a child has an inactive lifestyle relating to online gaming, watching TV, playing video games and checking social media, they can accrue severe health problems.

soccer playing tying cleats

Sports camps are an alternative activity that promotes exercise. Whether your child participates in soccer or lacrosse, a sports camp encourages healthier habits. When you expose children to positive behaviors, they will be more likely to include physical activity in their routine as they mature. Exercise is vital for the growth, development and health of every child.

2. Independence and Responsibility

Sports camps foster a sense of independence in children as coaches and mentors teach kids to pursue what they want. If your child wishes to play catcher or practice on the balance beam, then go for it! Camps allow kids to have personal responsibilities with little risk of failing. While they are responsible for playing their position and upholding the goal of the team, children don’t fail during camps, as it’s a time to learn. Kids take responsibility for their actions and success while participating in sports camps without relying on their parents or guardians.

3. New Friends

Aside from your child’s group of friends at school, they can meet new friends with similar interests at sports camps. With a fresh group of kids to interact with compared to the same social circle at school, children can gain different insights and skills. Communicating with a diverse mix of boys and girls is valuable.

4. Perseverance

Having perseverance means being persistent in your actions despite difficulties, obstacles or discouragement. With perseverance, children can overcome the difficulties of learning a passing technique, the obstacles of being physically fit and discouragement from their inner thoughts.

volleyball team celebrating

At sports camps, children can see and feel the progress they make when they perform drills and different skill sets. Camps foster a sense of desire to continue to grow and set personal goals. Being persistent in achieving what they want will allow kids to not only succeed at sports and at life.

Players can gain confidence when they exceed the expectations of their coaches and mentors. Exposing them to balanced programs with excellent facilities can encourage them to dream bigger dreams — like moving onto a school team or travel team, or recruiting to a collegiate or professional level.

5. Problem-Solving Abilities

Problem-solving doesn’t only occur in the classroom. Whether kids are on the field, court or floor, they will face challenging problems they will need to conquer for themselves and their team. The benefits of summer camps provide your daughter or son the confidence and strength of mind to deal with any challenge. Camps present a positive learning environment, which creates opportunities to acquire and retain knowledge. Gaining problem-solving skills helps kids value hard work.

6. Self-confidence

The best way for a child to achieve self-confidence is to have a positive environment and mentorship. Trainers and coaches who encourage good work ethic and self-improvement give off characteristics that will stick to kids like glue. They will become confident in their abilities and continue to strive for excellence — because practice makes perfect, right?

With a competitive athletic atmosphere, sports provide a healthy amount of social pressure to perform well. When a child has a specific role to play on a team, they become motivated to perform at their best. They work hard and are self-sufficient and self-disciplined. When kids achieve things, their confidence grows, and it helps to push them forward into succeeding even more.

Youth camps for athletes offer individual focus to help each child improve. With a positive mentor who provides instructions in a safe environment, children can apply their strengths and improve their weaknesses. Young athletes need to gain confidence through their accomplishments, not by only being told they will do great things.

7. Strategic Thinking

Compared to reading books and solving math problems, participating in a sports camp introduces different ways to implement strategic thinking. Your child will learn how to maneuver around obstacles and people, how to shoot the ball at the perfect angle, how to dribble with control and how to kick the ball at the exact force needed to pass it across the field or a short distance.

soccer player dribbling through cones

But physical strategies cannot be taught with a paper and pencil — instead, they’re taught through trial and error. Practicing tricky skills will encourage strategic thinking and give kids the foundation to pursue sports at higher levels in the future. Learning skills at a young age like how to drive to the basketball net, land a perfect routine or spike the volleyball at an angle can lead to awards, scholarships and recognition for higher-level achievements. In fact, for every 284,000 boys who play soccer, there are 3,306 full college scholarship opportunities available.

8. Teamwork Skills

Developing teamwork skills is vital to all areas of life — school, jobs, extracurricular activities, college and family. In regards to sports, players rely on each other to succeed. While success in some sports is individually based, most involve teammates working to achieve a common goal.

boys soccer team in a huddle

At a young age, children will learn how to encourage each other and how to communicate. Kids will make mistakes on the field and the court, but with positive teamwork, any sports team can grow as one. Understanding the value of collaboration and working with others enables children to feel like they are an integral part of the bigger picture — which they are!

Teamwork also encourages kids who are proficient at a sport to help others on his or her team. Let’s say a player is having trouble passing the soccer ball or hitting the baseball. A more experienced player has the opportunity to support players who are struggling or need extra guidance by providing tips. The teamwork presented will improve the team as a whole and implement an optimistic atmosphere.

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Prepare for the Fall Sports Season

If your children are athletes, being stagnant for a whole summer can hinder their skills. Summer sports camps keep kids active and help them brush up on skills they already know and learn new techniques. They'll return to the school year ready to take on a new sports season, thanks to what they learned in summer camp.

Even if your children aren't athletes, they'll bring the skills they learned during summer camp back to school in the fall. Teamwork, problem-solving skills, self-confidence, independence, and other benefits of summer camp will follow your kids into the classroom.

Summer camp operations under current COVID-19 guidelines can also help your kids prepare for any changes to sports activities at school. When schools reopen, in everything from elementary schools through college, things will run a bit differently. Give your kids the opportunity to adjust to some of the changes now at sports camps. They'll feel more confident going into sports seasons in the fall and have a better understanding of the health and safety precautions to take.

Camps at Spooky Nook Sports

Athletic camps at Spooky Nook Sports are a fun activity for children during the summer and provide a supervised atmosphere to make parents feel their child is safe. Trained and qualified coaches and counselors support our various and exciting camps while presenting a warm, family atmosphere.

Children — no matter the age — are taught to respect and value others. Some kids may be learning how to dribble the ball, while others may be more advanced. It’s all about accepting everyone’s skill set and encouraging everyone to improve at their own pace.

Day camps range from kindergarten to collegiate levels, and Spooky Nook Sports’ summer day camps include activities for kids with various interests. If your child is unsure about which sport they like, sign them up for Experience Camp. It allows them to try a variety of sports like basketball, lacrosse, volleyball, and soccer.

Summer camps at Spooky Nook include the following sports:

  • Basketball: All-Star Boys Basketball Camp, All-Star Girls Basketball Camp, Premier College Prospect Camp, Shooting Camp, and others.
  • Field hockey: High-Intensity Team Camp, Jr. High Day Camp, and Elementary Day Camp.
  • Soccer: Future Kickers Camp, Twilight Futsal Camp, Pro Soccer Camp, and others.
  • Baseball: Youth Baseball Camp and Advanced Baseball Series involving hitting, pitching, fielding, strength and conditioning, and arm care.
  • Lacrosse: Fundamentals and new strategies and skills.
  • Softball: Fastpitch Skills Camp and Academy Camp.
  • Volleyball: Serve and Pass Camp, All Skills Camp, Tune-Up Camp, and many others.
  • Sports Performance and Fitness: Ninja Warrior Camp and Day and Evening Camps.
  • Cheer and Gymnastics: Cheer and Tumble Camp, Tumble Tots Camp, Tumble 101, and Gymnastic and Cheer Camp.
  • Horse Adventure Camp: Campers learn to ride a horse, how to take care of horses, and how to direct a horse at Nookside Stables.

Other camps offered at Spooky Nook Sports are recreational, adventure and Future Leaders. In certain situations, you can combine camp options to split up your child’s day. For example, they can begin the day with a sports camp and finish their time participating in Nook Kid’s Camp.

boys playing flag football

Recreational camps are for children who completed kindergarten to 12 years old. The program runs a total of 10 week-long sessions during the summer, and we design each week’s activities around different themes. Recreational camps involve sports instructions, arts and crafts, experiments, field trips, Clip N’ Climb and arcade time.

Adventure camps offer children a challenging selection of outdoor adventures and activities. The initial part of the camp is learning safety aspects of climbing by using Spooky Nook’s indoor climbing gym. The latter section of Adventure Camp takes kids climbing on real rocks with the support of our experienced instructors. Kids also go hiking, swimming, and fishing, and become familiar with other outdoor adventures.

Future Leaders camps are for more experienced, skilled and advanced athletes. The program helps prepare them to be camp counselors and obtain more responsibilities. Part of their day will involve assisting counselors with running kids’ camps. Remaining time allows Future Leaders to participate in group games, sports, and other activities.

We provide lunch, snacks, and a camp T-shirt within the cost of the camp of your choosing. Our professional staff members take pride in offering programs for athletes of all ages and abilities, along with a clean, safe, and family-fun environment.

What to Expect From Our Sports Camps

Spooky Nook Sports camps make a positive impact on every child. Each young athlete receives coaching from some of the area's best mentors while finding opportunities to compete against other talented athletes. We focus on the essential sport-specific skills every athlete needs while also emphasizing overarching fitness principles your child will use in any physical activity.

Of course, the lessons go beyond sports. Every coach and camp counselor is there to encourage campers to grow as athletes and individuals. We prioritize teamwork, perseverance, problem-solving, self-confidence and responsibility in every activity.

Our sports camps are valuable to any aspiring athlete because we pride ourselves on providing a safe place to grow. Our atmosphere is encouraging, and our facility is completely safe. You can trust that every member of our sports camp staff is experienced with youth athletes and has undergone extensive background checks.

baseball player standing on Spooky Nook Sports indoor diamond

The purpose of athletic sports camps is to teach youth about sports and other non-sport-specific skills. Programs help kids grow into well-rounded, healthy individuals who can try new things and push themselves to excel at anything in life. At Spooky Nook Sports, kids enjoy instruction from experts who dedicate their summer to helping them. They have a chance to train, play and compete while learning, growing and establishing friendships.

Sign up Your Children for Summer Camp with Spooky Nook Sports

Whether your child plays soccer, basketball or baseball, or they participate in horseback riding or gymnastics, Spooky Nook Sports offers them exceptional sports camps within the largest indoor sports complex in the USA. We provide a unique and flexible use of our 700,000 square feet of space, accommodated with quality playing surfaces, including turf and courts.

children kayaking

Our facility also includes spectator seating and comfort if you wish to watch your child or children participate in our summer sports camps. It can host multiple camps at a time because it has a design for multiple fields that are close to one another.

If your child needs a positive summer activity, check out the various youth programs we offer near you. To view more information about sports camps at Spooky Nook Sports for kids, visit our summer camp page or contact us for more details.

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