All-Star Cheer Camp

[Sparkle Mom]

I agree with you. My kids went together with their gym the first year and took a bus, and I think my youngest was about 10 at the time. There is NO WAY I would have let her go without a group and coaches that she knew, especially hindsight. The bus arrived at maybe 4:00 and my kids checked in with me to let me know. At about 8pm that night we got a call from someone at Woodward asking about my youngest because she wasn't there and hadn't checked in to camp. I was panicked even knowing the coaches had confirmed earlier that she was there. The admin at Woodward was very nonchalant about the situation and then became irritated when I was upset. The cabin "mother" that my youngest had was basically useless. She was a parent of a boy who was in the skate portion of the camp and was rarely in the cabin. One of the moms from our gym worked at the camp that week and made sure our younger kids were where they needed to be. I found out after the fact that the State of Pennsylvania has zero regulations for camps.
I don't mean this to say Woodward is awful. My youngest is a returning camper and met one of her best friends there, and the instruction within the gym is very good. The facilities are beautiful. With that said, I would not even consider it for an individual camper (versus going with their gym with adults they know) until they are at least 12. I think it is too expensive and I don't care for the administrative staff at all - they overall are rude and provide poor customer service. The only reason why my daughter went last year and is going this year is because she pays for half herself and receives the remainder as Christmas/birthday gifts and is in her mid-teens so she is pretty much self-sufficient.

I have heard the same from others so I think I will hold off another year. Our friend told us that even in the mini campers the mom didn't suggest showering, teeth brushing and that the kids said they mostly ate ice cream all week. While none of those things will harm my child I don't feel comfortable paying that sort price knowing that my CP will probably spend her days with only a bit of tumbling. I figure there are plenty of camps for half the price that offer the same recreation. She is extremely dedicated to cheer but in that setting I think the other activities may win out over extra gym time.

 

[angelndscz]

Camp Woodward is amazing and they do take campers as young as 7. My daughter attended at age 8 and several times after. She week two separate weeks last summer at age 13 and is registered to go back this summer. They have the opportunity to be in the gym 3 times a day, so if they are borderline gaining a new skill they can get the confidence they need at camp. I wouldn't expect an athlete to get a skill that they have never worked on before as that is unrealistic for the average athlete. What I do like about Camp Woodward is the opportunity to meet others from various sports and have the sleep away camp experience while participating in the sport they love. My daughter has maintained friendships she has made at camp. She wants to become a junior counselor at Camp Woodward when she is old enough. It is an amazing experience unlike any other cheer camp. If your goal is just to work on skill, then you can do though privates at local gyms. I do find my athlete benefits from switching her coaches around a bit to get new perspectives and additional coaching/corrections on technique. It could just be my kid but she can become complacent working with the same coach for a long period of time and I see improvements by rotating privates with various coaching staff. She has privates at her gym with several different coaches and at another location that has several coaches. Camp Woodward is a different experience all together and campers go there for the "Woodward Experience" which combines traditional sleep away camp activities with their sport.

 

[Cheerfun2]

I agree with you. My kids went together with their gym the first year and took a bus, and I think my youngest was about 10 at the time. There is NO WAY I would have let her go without a group and coaches that she knew, especially hindsight. The bus arrived at maybe 4:00 and my kids checked in with me to let me know. At about 8pm that night we got a call from someone at Woodward asking about my youngest because she wasn't there and hadn't checked in to camp. I was panicked even knowing the coaches had confirmed earlier that she was there. The admin at Woodward was very nonchalant about the situation and then became irritated when I was upset. The cabin "mother" that my youngest had was basically useless. She was a parent of a boy who was in the skate portion of the camp and was rarely in the cabin. One of the moms from our gym worked at the camp that week and made sure our younger kids were where they needed to be. I found out after the fact that the State of Pennsylvania has zero regulations for camps.
I don't mean this to say Woodward is awful. My youngest is a returning camper and met one of her best friends there, and the instruction within the gym is very good. The facilities are beautiful. With that said, I would not even consider it for an individual camper (versus going with their gym with adults they know) until they are at least 12. I think it is too expensive and I don't care for the administrative staff at all - they overall are rude and provide poor customer service. The only reason why my daughter went last year and is going this year is because she pays for half herself and receives the remainder as Christmas/birthday gifts and is in her mid-teens so she is pretty much self-sufficient.

My cp went for the first time last year & won't be back. She is a young teen, and I found the utter lack of structure & supervision alarming even for a young teen. The counselor was useless...the cabin was a sort of "Lord of the Flies" set up. For the $, I wanted more than a free-for-all, go tumble if you feel like it, eat ice cream & hang out with skater boys all day situation! She enjoyed it, I did not.