What do you want in a Winter Camp?

Winter camps...I have been involved with several over the years and have formed some opinions.

Here are my favorite parameters:
8 weeks of camp (Sunday preferably) beginning in January
Morning and Afternoon Sessions
Morning is for older kids (13-18) for 3 hours
Afternoon is for kids (6-12) for 2 hours
Charge $150 for older kids, $100 for younger
Limit of 50 kids per session

You need 2 gyms (regular and auxilliary if possible). One for hitting and pitching, the other for fielding and throwing.

OFers and Catchers generally get the short end of the stick (IMO) with these clinics. Lots of folks don't realize that OFers need to be good fielders like the IFers, but need to learn basic fundamentals of crow hops, etc... Catchers get caught up catching bullpens for pitchers, but no coach is assigned to their end of the battery to talk to them while they are catching the pitchers.

In the back gym, have atleast 2 cages with live pitching. On one side of the cages, have batting tees set up. On the other side of the cages, have a pitchers mound set up. One cage can be used for soft or short toss, the other for standard BP. Lots of quality reps are mandatory.

In the big gym, as in the small gym, safety is critical. Players need to know that if they aren't in a cage or on a tee, the bat stays below the waist. In the big gym, players shouldn't throw a ball unless they have made eye contact with the receiver. Coaches need to keep the flow of fielders in a manner where no one is standing behind someone who will be fielding or catching a ball.

Random thoughts. I am tired.

Couple other things.

1. Give out camp t-shirts. Color coded by age. Increase the price by $5.00 to cover the cost of the shirts.

2. Insist that one parent or guardian of each kid stay throughout the entire clinic.

3. Do baserunning in the hallways.

4. Tee work should be done with wiffles.

5. Use varsity players to work with the kids (if this is a fundraiser for your school team). Make sure they realize they have a responsibility to coach the players, and not to socialize.

6. For the older kids, invite area summer and college coaches to attend (if a suitable viewing area is available).

7. Be organized and have things timed out properly, but don't short change a kid to save one or two minutes. Someone who is not coaching should be in charge of the clock, and have a whistle to sound warning and change-up times.

More random thoughts. Gosh I miss coaching.

Coaching football is where I really get ****.

One last thing...

*** As a parent, I want my kid to be treated like the most important kid at the camp. In other words, give every kid attending your camp the attention they deserve. Make this positive and you will never have to worry about filling your quota.

*** Minor thought. Provide parents who attend a cheatsheet on your recommendations for the kids. From choosing equipment (bats, gloves, etc...) to little tips they can use to work with their kids.

BTW, Coach, my 9 year old daughter is doing a pitching clinic with the local varsity coach on Monday nights. I am her catcher (mom went once and got hit in the face with a stray ball). Two sessions have made a huge difference for her. He broke down the motion in reverse (wrist flip, T-position arm swing, bow and arrow pose, load near the hip, and start position). Muscle memory is starting to take over for her.

Sorry I haven't revisted this topic.

Some thoughts:

• Players standing in lines should be avoided if possible. That is a resonable request since money is being paid.
• Organization - if more than one cage, diamond, drill, ... are used, the an organized pattern should be expected. Time is often wasted in camps where the instructors decide what to do next.
• The Equipment should be set up before the camp starts. I hate seeing camps set up while the players are waiting.
• Instructors that know the topic/drill they are coaching. In other words, footwork for OF and infield are not the same. I always look at this in the camps I see.
• SAFETY! How many times have you seen a camp and the instructor doesn't cover any saftey rules? With one swing of a bat or throw of a ball, the reality is that someone could get hurt or even die.
• Coaches be on time. You'd be surprised at the amount of camps I see where the kids are doing some bogus warmups while the coaching staff gets there. At times, it even appears as if some are hungover.
• You won't believe this one but I've seen it. The coaches actually stay at the camp while the players are there. Yes, don't leave until you have met your promised coaching objectives for the kids. (I want you to note that I'm being very nice on this one.)
• A T-Shirt! Kids want a T-Shirt!!! Why be such a cheapskate that you can't order a $6 T-Shirt?

Well this is just a short list. I'll contribute more later.

Warm weather.

coach thompson & b25 - kudos to all of your comments/ posts! i wish you were running my camp. as a player, i couldn't agree more with your points on outfielders, t-shirts and standing in line.

another point i'd like to add is that a coach shouldn't try to overhaul a player's swing in a large group setting without understanding that player or knowing their history. everytime i go to a camp, every hitting coach wants to change my swing - this coach wants to shorten my stride, another coach wants to lengthen my stride, another coach wants me to swing downward, another coach wants to know why i'm swinging downward. then i have to explain to my dad why i've changed my swing again. when you only have a few minutes with a group, tweaking a swing or offering an observation seems more productive than a complete overhaul.