Laundry List

Preparing a sports camp – from opening a new one to seasonal preparation

By Dan Kuntz

So you want to run a sports camp... Join the crowd. The sports camp market is huge. Colleges, individual team coaches, clubs, professional teams, international groups, family owned and operated groups, civic organizations and many others offer soccer camps for children in just about every region of the United States.

What really makes a camp a quality camp is the planning and preparation that goes into making it a safe, quality experience for children and their families.

Real and perceived value both count if you want to have a sports camp business that lasts. Children and families should leave your camp wanting to return and anxious tell their friends about the experience.

It is important to decide if you plan to conduct a camp strictly for a team you coach or if you plan to begin a business that you hope to sustain over a period of time.

Team camps generally run a few days and are conducted by individual coaches of teams for their own teams.

These camps are used to bring teams together in the off-season. Besides the team building benefits, coaches often benefit by charging each player on their team a fee and paying themselves to do the camp.

Most successful sports camps have taken into careful consideration the needs of their customer base. So, like any small or large business venture a solid business plan is required and should be updated regularly.

When it comes to sports camps, parents and kids matter and service is critical. Phone calls, refund policies, -discounts for families who have several children, risk management, advertising, marketing, capital, insurance, quality staffing and proper supervision are some of the areas that require careful planning and preparation. Operating a successful and quality-centered soccer camp requires a great deal of time and resources (money, capital, facilities).

Pre-Summer Prep
In order to provide that successful, quality program, pre-season preparation is paramount and an annually updated and checked-off laundry list of items organizes and focuses the vast details that go into summer sports camp...

• Decide what will be included as part of the camp price. T-shirts are a fairly standard premium. Designs should be child appropriate. Your Web address and camp phone number should be on the shirt and any other promotional items. Soccer balls and other premiums become very expensive, but you’ll want to provide something at the end of camp for all the children. If you single out a few you may have some upset parents. Popsicles after a hot week at camp work wonders. Keep things simple until your business grows.

• Promote your camp. Hand out brochures at sign ups when possible. Attend club and league meetings for the sport you offer. Be sure to get permission from the various groups before going to a sign-up. You may be sent away and embarrassed if you have not received permission. Do some selective advertising in the newspaper if your budget allows. If you can obtain a mailing list from your contacts do an advance direct mailing to families.

• Keep track of all registrations in your computer database. Note the age, gender and position they play. Prior to camp print an alphabetical list of all registered campers. Provide the list at check-in to your staff. Down the road this information will be very valuable and will be the base for your business. The owner of the camp should handle all money.

• Designate a gathering area for kids the first day of camp. Ideally, a confirmation note should be sent to all campers who pre-register or deposit early.

• Set up all equipment, tents, cones, water stations and whatever else at least 30 minutes before camp is scheduled to begin.

• Be sure you have a stocked first-aid kit on hand. Every child’s medical release should be readily available for the camp director. This should have the phone numbers and parents signature for medical treatment if necessary.

• Some parents will want to leave their children early. Discourage this practice when you give instructions at the beginning of camp. You are liable for the children as soon as they arrive. Be wary of any strangers who hang around camp. Watch kids around cars.

• Provide instructions for the children and the parents at the start of camp. Tell the parents and campers the rules – everyone wears sunscreen everyday, for example.

• Identify pick-up and drop-off times. No one leaves the area without a coach.

• Make sure parents understand exactly what their children should bring, whether it’s a ball, water, snack (fruit, vegetables and crackers are good, by the way), pads or any other equipment. This is one of those things that needs to reinforced in brochures, registration packets, verbally and with hand signals, if necessary.

• Let parents know that there will be longer games and a brief ceremony on the last day of camp. They may want to come early for the activity.

• Divide the children up by age and skill. Assign no more than ten children to one coach. For children who are five and six years old you should provide two coaches for every ten children.

• Give the kids a short break during day camps for a snack and some shade. Use this time to get to know the kids. Be sure your staff refrains from any activities or comments that could be considered negative by parents. Children will go home and tell their parents everything about their day at camp – the good, the bad and the ugly.

• Let the children play a game at the end of each camp day. This will bring them back day after day.

• Hold a make-shift ceremony the last day of camp. Congratulate all the kids on their effort. Introduce the coaches and their qualifications to the children and parents. Invite the kids back. Remind them about your next camp date. Offer discounts for repeat business.

• Cancellations and venue changes can happen for a number of reasons. You may not have enough children pay to make the camp financially viable; it may rain and the city parks and recreation department (or whoever you affiliate with for facilities) could close the field for liability reasons. If you need to cancel a camp do it at least 48 hours in advance, if possible. Let the families know their options (rain checks, refunds, etc.). Show up yourself or have one of your staff members show up at the location and time that camp was scheduled. Wait at least ten minutes after the time the camp was scheduled to begin to catch any families who may not have received your cancellation message. This is important. If you fail to communicate a change and take money you will have problems.

Start at the Top
If you’re adding a separate sports camp to your program, or if you’re starting from scratch, following are the basic steps to get started...

• Pick a name for your camp. Will it be local or will you plan on taking this camp on the road later? This factor, and the sport you’re focusing on should play into the name of your camp somehow.

• Set up a separate bank account. When registrations come in you need a place to deposit them. When bills need to be paid you need to be able to make payments. For tax purposes and tracking purposes you need to have a paper trail of revenue and expenses.

• Use a P.O. box. You do not want to provide your home address to strangers.

• Your camp phone line should be separate from your home line. Place a message on your phone with camp dates and locations and times you can be reached. Return all calls within 24 hours.

• Purchase insurance for your camp staff and campers. The campers will generally receive a secondary coverage if an injury occurs. Several insurance companies offer this service.

• Set up a camp Web site, if possible. It centralizes your information and you may obtain e-mail addresses of customers for future business amongst many other benefits. This can be expensive and it is not absolutely necessary in the beginning stages of your operations.

• Make a stamp for your camp. It saves time when you make deposits and pay bills.

• Decide where you would like to hold the camp. Be sure it is a good location. Be sure the site is well taken care of (like the grass is regularly cut and it’s free of gopher holes) has cool water (provide water if it is not available), bathrooms and shade. If you have ever tried teaching soccer to a group of five year olds in wet, tall grass or amongst swarming bees on grasses with budding flowers you have a sense of the potential problems that can occur without proper field maintenance or working and clean facilities.

• Pay for a porta-potty to be delivered if a bathroom is not available or is too far away or unclean.

• Five days before your camp go check the field. Be sure your camp director has a telephone accessible at all times. If it is a cell phone be sure the batteries are charged. If it is a pay phone be sure change is available and that the phone works.

• Secure the facility. There may be deposits required if a school is used. Parks and recreation districts usually take a significant percentage of revenues. In return for your payment to the parks and recreation districts they will generally provide some advertising and clerical assistance with your camp.

• Contact your staff. Confirm their availability. Obtain their information (for example, social security numbers, shirt, shorts, shoes sizes, complete tax paper work, phone numbers, insurance information, etc.). Interview the staff prior to hiring. Find out what experience and licensing they have obtained. Ask if they have every worked with children before and what age. Pair less experienced coaches up with more experienced coaches.

• Set up a training session or two prior to camp. Outline expectations. Put your instructions and policies in writing. Be sure to pay them on time. Pay should be commensurate with experience. Sometimes coaches who are elementary school teachers have some neat ideas. If you can find qualified teacher/coaches that is ideal.

• Identify potential sponsors to defer marketing and capital costs. Find another business that would value a business -relationship with you. Develop business together.

• If you cannot find a sponsor you may need to obtain a small loan to forward-fund your camp. Be prepared to borrow or buy goals, training pennies, balls and first-aid kits. Appearance is important.

• Prepare your promotional material. Get costs for printing brochures and or flyers. Determine what information and pictures should be included in your materials.

• Your refund policy needs to be clear. If you are asking for deposits in advance of camp it is important that families know they are non-refundable.

• Make sure you include a medical release and a section for parents to note medical conditions of children attending camp. Review this information and make your directors aware of any potential red flag -situations.

• Seek out every avenue possible for free promotion of your camp. Cable announcement and public notice sections of the newspaper are a couple of ideas.

Offering quality sports camps is a tough, competitive business. The more planning and preparation you put into your service the more likely you are to succeed.

When done properly and with the appropriate intentions sports camps are fun, learning environments for children and a good business.

Over the years many sports camps have failed because of poor planning and preparations. Take the time to do it right at the beginning. It will pay off in many ways later.

Dan Kuntz is the head soccer coach at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Dan and his brother, George, own and operate Team Soccer Direct, a residential and day soccer camp.