The two camps both look great on the website. Both have professional photos, schedule blocks that look productive, similar pricing. The temptation is to flip a coin or pick the one that’s closer.
Five questions usually decide it.
Who runs the day-to-day, and what is their training? Not who runs the camp. Who is in the gym or on the field with your kid for six hours a day. Camps with lots of college-student counselors and a few rotating “guest coaches” run differently than camps with consistent staff. Both can be fine. Know what you’re picking.
What’s the kid-to-counselor ratio in the actual practice settings? Brochure ratios are often calculated camp-wide. Practice ratios are more specific. A 1:8 brochure ratio can mean 1:20 in the gym for the actual drill work.
What does the kid do at lunch and during transitions? The non-instruction hours often determine how a kid feels at the end of the week. Camps with structured lunches and supervised free play tend to be calmer. Camps where kids are mostly self-supervising can be great for older kids and rough for younger ones.
What is the protocol when something happens? Injury, conflict, homesickness, parent text not returned, lost gear. Ask the camp director directly. The answer tells you whether the camp has thought about it or whether you’ll be the parent who finds out the system isn’t built when you need it.
What is the realistic skill outcome? “Your kid will improve” is a brochure phrase. “Your kid will work on left-foot finishing for 90 minutes per day” is a specific, evaluable claim. Ask what specifically gets worked on. The camp that can tell you in detail tends to deliver more.
If the answers to these five are clearly better for one camp, that’s your pick. If they’re tied, pick the closer one. The transportation savings will fund the next camp.