High School Uca Home Camp Or Resort Camp?

[CoachKar]

Which would you rather take your team to? I know registration opens up for camps soon and kind of bouncing between the two ideas, I like the idea of resort camp because it'll give the girls a chance to meet other cheerleaders and bond but I also like the idea of home camp because it's more affordable, and it's more one on one and we would invite our "sister squad" a neighboring team.

 

[cheerforeverever]

I'd say it really depends on what you are wanting to get out of camp....

Home camps are affordable & give you a better chance to really get a personalized camp feel. Want to focus on something specific from the camp material? You got it. Need more time learning something. No problem. Staff can focus on your school specifically and cater to your team's needs.
This type of camp does have a more relaxed feel to it however, as the kids are comfortable in their own gym & get to go home when the day is done (just like a normal practice, aside from staff being there). They aren't at quite as an intense bonding experience compared to off site camps (with the pressure of other teams watching them) in my opinion. It is great for teams that are wanting to learn a specific skill/ set of skills though, such as "we want to be stronger stunters" or " we use a lot of dances for pep rallies, can you teach us a lot of dances?". This is also a great option for teams with a lot of new kids that could use personal attention.

Resort camps are more expensive, but they push teams out of their comfort zone. It is an intense bonding experience, as you are spending 4 straight days with your teammates, through good & "everyone is cranky/hungry/tired on day 3" bad. Your team has to figure out how to work together even when people are not in the best of moods, lacking sleep, with sore muscles, demotivated, etc. It's a heck of a journey in 4 days, but for many teams, its this bonding experience that makes the team chemistry for the season. Staff is teaching a large group of teams however, which means they are going to fit in a lot of material to learn in a short amount of time. Less of an opportunity to slow down for every single athlete when learning curriculum. Also, there is the added pressure of cheering in front of other teams/ being aware of other strong teams at camp, when doing nightly evaluations. It pushes teams to work hard because they don't want to look bad in front of other teams, but can be stressful. I like this type of camp for teams that have strong basics & don't need as much attention when it comes to curriculum learning. I can trust them to pick up materials relatively well, so they will be able to keep up on their own for the most part.

Both are great experiences, albeit different atmospheres:
Home camp = a focus on curriculum learning, personalization, customization
Off site camp = a focus on pushing the team out of their comfort zones, testing their limits, team building

 

[omgitssydthekid]

I agree with a lot of what @cheerforeverever said. I staff for NCA and home camps definitely have a more relaxed vibe. However, the schedule is 100% up to the coaches so you get exactly what you want out of camp. In my personal experience, at away camps I see a lot of stress from the girls, and camp can be very stressful as there is a lot going on. But at NCA (I assume UCA does this as well) there are coaches sessions that are extremely beneficial and you get to connect with other coaches and everyone (coaches and cheerleaders) is really able to bond and learn from other teams.

There are a couple UCA staffers on here that might be able to give you a better idea of how they run their camps! I am not overly familiar with their set up. @BuegeSmalls


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[BuegeSmalls]

I agree totally with @cheerforeverever and @omgitssydthekid .

Home camps are going to be more customizable, so if you want to forgo learning a hip hop dance and do more stunts then you can. It's a shorter day (If I'm remember correctly the first day is like 12-6 and the rest are like 8-5 with a lunch break) and if you want to change the start/end times for the day then you can do that too. It's less stressful for the girls because they're in a gym they are comfortable in. You mentioned that you wanted to invite your sister school to a home camp and that would probably be really fun for the girls!

Resort camp: They're definitely bigger and more intense than the home camps. The days are longer (I think the first day was 12-8 and the rest were around 8 am to 8 pm with lunch and dinner breaks. The final day was a shorter day). You get the chance to really bond with your teammates and other schools too. It's not as customizable but there is tons of great material taught. You're at a resort and you get one of the days a half day to spend in the waterpark or whatever. You get to compete in the Game Day championship and extreme routine championship on the final day which is a great way to show off what you've learned over the week! It really pushes the team to perform together because they want to look great in front of the other teams. For a lot of schools its the team's first performance together.

@CoachKar You're from Iowa right? (Sorry, can't see on the app!) I staff a huge resort camp at Chula Vista in the Wisconsin Dells this summer and it was a blast for both the campers and staff. I'd highly recommend it! There was a traditional camp and a more stunt focused camp going on at the same time so you could choose which you'd like better. There were a handful of Iowa teams there.
Here's some more info on that camp: Chula Vista

Okay, hopefully I didn't miss anything. Sorry for any spelling/grammar errors, I typed this my phone!

ETA: We do the coaches meetings at our resort camps too! Very beneficial!

 

[GForce]

Completely agree with what is said above.

I staffed on home camps, a resort camp, a commuter camp and overnight camp staying at dorms. Every camp was a little different and none of my home camps were similar at all.

Like what was said above, the home camp allows you to pick the schedule you want. One camp I did only had me teaching the xtreme routine dance where as at another I taught 4 or 5 dances. The atmosphere is more laid back. Also depending on how many participants, you will get more instructors. Definitely more one on one time with the UCA staff since there is less people

Resort camps are super fun!! Like BuegeSmalls said above, Chula Vista was a huge camp but a great time. I would agree with everything she said about the resort camp being more pressure than a home camp with the evaluations in front of multiple teams at the end of each night. Also at the resort camp remember you get to have the Homecoming Rally at the end of the third day which is lots of fun and great team bonding!!

I think it all comes down to what you want your team to focus on at camp and how they would handle the pressure and longer days of the resort camp

 

[AScheer]

As a coach and an athlete I've been to many different types of camps. I 100% think camp choice depends solely on the team and the focus of the squad. If you plan to compete, going to an actual camp will help get the team ready under pressure. If you're new or need a lot of attention, home camp is the way to go. You may be disappointed at a large camp and feel that you are being looked over since the staff has so many other teams to go to.

You mentioned finances. Resort camps are fun, but are also the priciest. Not only do they cost more to begin with, but in my experience meals aren't provided. This could just be the resort camps I'm used to, but that was an additional fee that is put on the cheerleaders. The resort camp we had also required an adult in every room, another added expense to have that many mom chaperones attending with us. Again this may not be all resort camps, but something to look into so you can get a better idea of actual expenses.

 

[CoachKar]

@BuegeSmalls yes I'm from Iowa, the one I was thinking of attending was the one in Okoboji at arrowhead. Thank for all the input everyone definitely have a lot to consider when deciding!

 

[BuegeSmalls]

@BuegeSmalls yes I'm from Iowa, the one I was thinking of attending was the one in Okoboji at arrowhead. Thank for all the input everyone definitely have a lot to consider when deciding!

I've heard lots of great things about Okoboji!


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[Twinklestars]

As a parent, I really don't feel that our home UCA camp was worth the money. It could have been our coach and her assistant and even the captain, but our past camps at a nearby allstar gym were far more productive with usable, unique dances and cheer builds.

We have girls on our team that don't like to do basket tosses or cradle catches, so they aren't done. The former coach's assistant also didn't like them. But, the girls made fun of another school who did that stuff because they also did thigh stands. There wasn't much pushing of the girls out of their comfort zone which would have been great early because it has resulted in them still not pushing themselves.

 

[Official OWECheer]

As a parent, I really don't feel that our home UCA camp was worth the money. It could have been our coach and her assistant and even the captain, but our past camps at a nearby allstar gym were far more productive with usable, unique dances and cheer builds.

We have girls on our team that don't like to do basket tosses or cradle catches, so they aren't done. The former coach's assistant also didn't like them. But, the girls made fun of another school who did that stuff because they also did thigh stands. There wasn't much pushing of the girls out of their comfort zone which would have been great early because it has resulted in them still not pushing themselves.

Yikes. Maybe you guys could have separate teams, to separate the lazy kids from the hard-working ones?

 

[Twinklestars]

Yikes. Maybe you guys could have separate teams, to separate the lazy kids from the hard-working ones?

We have five seniors. The captain is not the brightest bulb in the pack, but she was hand picked by the former coach. The captain isn't willing to try much or any new things. She doesn't have fresh or interesting ideas. She is currently wanting them to learn a dance that she found on you tube. It isn't even cute.

 

[Official OWECheer]

We have five seniors. The captain is not the brightest bulb in the pack, but she was hand picked by the former coach. The captain isn't willing to try much or any new things. She doesn't have fresh or interesting ideas. She is currently wanting them to learn a dance that she found on you tube. It isn't even cute.

Good Lord. I've said before but I wish I were your kids' coach, I would totally revamp everything.

 

[CoachKar]

As a parent, I really don't feel that our home UCA camp was worth the money. It could have been our coach and her assistant and even the captain, but our past camps at a nearby allstar gym were far more productive with usable, unique dances and cheer builds.

We have girls on our team that don't like to do basket tosses or cradle catches, so they aren't done. The former coach's assistant also didn't like them. But, the girls made fun of another school who did that stuff because they also did thigh stands. There wasn't much pushing of the girls out of their comfort zone which would have been great early because it has resulted in them still not pushing themselves.

That stinks that they aren't willing to try new things, luckily I have a squad that loves stunting and competing and my returners for next year are hungry for a state title we placed 2nd in a division this year by ONE point, ONE Point, it killed them to see that on the score sheet but it's driving them even more since then to do better.

 

[ScottyB]

I am all for Overnight and Resort camps. If you can get your squad excited to work and learn and grow for those 4 days then it will be worth the money everytime. Being away from home and around other squads brings teams closer together IMO.

 

[Twinklestars]

Good Lord. I've said before but I wish I were your kids' coach, I would totally revamp everything.

We are in northwest Tennessee. They are looking for a coach for next year and on, but want it to be an employee of the school system.