WAG College Camps versus Full Time Gymnastics Camps

[my4buffaloes]

Do you think you get better coaching at a college camp or someplace like Woodward? Is it more concentrated gymnastics at a college camp or a gymnastics camp? Are the college camps geared towards younger kids or upper level optionals? Does going to a college camp do a gymnast any good when it comes to actually competing at a college? If someone asked you which you should go to - a Woodward or IGI camp or a college gymnastics camp which would you recommend?

 

[Rainn14322]

My daughter is L4 and has done college camps the last 3 years and IGC last summer. As her mom I feel the college camps offer more. The kids are being trained by the college gymnasts and their coaches. These coaches also get to see what they can do which is a good thing once they hit optionals. It puts them in front of the coaches. Now IGC was fun for her much better for the optional level girls though who I felt were taken more seriously as far as skills being taught and time spent with them. The training was fine but wasn't as personal. Our local college which is a D1 only takes 80 kids a session IGC not sure how many but much much more so you get lost in the shuffle. So final thought great experience but if you want to be seen and are interested in a college my opinion is go that direction. Good luck!

 

[profmom]

DS's teammate, who is heading into his second year of L9, was urged to do a college camp this summer in addition to IGC. The idea is exposure and working on higher order skills. I gather though that he caught the attention of a college coach who happened to be at IGC when he was there, so go figure.

I think some of it is what you're looking for in a camp. This particular kid's mother swears by IGC even though she says they are really cautious about skills and don't let the kids do much without a spot, because she says he always comes back really refreshed and recharged and completely in love with gymnastics again.

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

Both DD's did IGC thru level 7. HC prefers college camps for older optionals as it exposes the girls to college atmosphere/coaches and vice versa. For my kids, they went to IGC more for the sleepaway camp experience than for actual gymnastics (learning skills etc).

 

[emilykatherine]

I feel college camp offer less, yes your being trained by college coaches but they don't really know how to tailer to each athlete like other camps do, I learned a whole lot more at flip fest than other college camps I've been to.

 

[sce]

My experience is limited but, at least for my ds, the college camp he's attended has been great. They were in fairly small groups by age and level. The coaches were a mix of college coaches, college athletes and boys' program coaches (This college has a boys' competitive team too.) he received a significant amount of great coaching.

 

[MaryA]

DD has done both a college camp and Woodward and says that she liked them both the same. She said she felt like people learned more new skills at the college camp but I wonder if it was just that the college camp made a bigger deal out of new skills learned (having everyone watch, writing them on the wall, contest to see which group learned the most new skills, etc.). The things I liked better about Woodward... Air conditioned cabins as opposed to dorm rooms with no AC, teams staying together in a big cabin as opposed to having to worry about who was who's roommate, the "camp" feeling of the place, with more freedom about what you want to do and when you want to do it... Plus the groups in the college camp were HUGE and there was a lot of standing around waiting.

 

[gymjunkie]

Do you think you get better coaching at a college camp or someplace like Woodward? Is it more concentrated gymnastics at a college camp or a gymnastics camp? Are the college camps geared towards younger kids or upper level optionals? Does going to a college camp do a gymnast any good when it comes to actually competing at a college? If someone asked you which you should go to - a Woodward or IGI camp or a college gymnastics camp which would you recommend?

IMO, college camps are popular because parents BELIEVE it increases their gymnast's chance of recruitment (more than it actually does). Also, I would not assume that a college coach knows how to coach as well as a coach who is still in the trenches developing young gymnasts. Some do, some don't (depends on their background). You have to remember that having a winning college team is more about great recruitment than great coaching, lol. A college gymnast would typically have no ability to coach what-so-ever.

Most of the gyms I have worked for did not allow the serious team gymnasts to attend any camps (other than the team camps that were an in-house production with outside clinicians being brought in). This is because technique is sacrificed at camp in order to send the kid home with a list of skills they supposedly mastered while they were there (so long as they were attached to a bungee and landed in a pit). There were years when we brought the team to a camp as an official training experience for our kids (and us coaches came as our kid's coaches), which worked well. That was less cost-effective than just hosting our own camp, which was preferred.

So that being said... if camp is what you want, pick one that fits your budget and consider it a fun week, rather than a serious training experience. What might be a better bang for your buck is to find a good gym out-of-state that will allow your child to workout for a week while you are in town. Take a family vacation there and call it gymnastics camp

 

[Quadqueen]

My DD has done both. She liked the college camp better. She had much smaller groups/more attention, although there were a lot less "frills" and extra activities, etc.

 

[laurene393]

This is the perfect post for me because next week I am headed to a college gymnastics camp next week. It looks like it will be very fun

 

[vagymmomma]

DD has done 3 college camps now as well as IGC and Woodward. Woodward is by far her favorite. I think she's has learned the most there and I think that's not a coincident.

Dorms were the issue with first couple (hot, limited supervision), but the dorm arrangements were fantastic at the last camp so it's not just that. I honestly think the most important thing is going with a teammate where they feel comfortable. I thought the groups were larger at the colleges but I am sure that varies by camp.

 

[headoverheels]

DD is going to her first college camp next week and can't wait!

 

[my4buffaloes]

wow, what interesting perspectives. You all brought up things I had not thought of before, thanks!

 

[cbifoja]

The first time my DD went to camp, she was a solo camper at FlipFest. She came back with a lot of new skills but she was also just a L3 (old) so there was a lot to learn. However, nothing was good enough form for her coach to be impressed.

The second time my DD went to camp, she went with her coach and a subset of her team to Woodward. She came back with fewer new skills but things were better form and were used during her upcoming season as a first year optional. She had required training times and her coach was very present during the whole camp experience.

The third time DD went to camp was this summer and she went to a college camp with a subset of her team but no club coach. She came back with no new skills but at this point (training L8), I understand the skills aren't going to come as quickly. However, from what very little I saw, I was not impressed. Nothing was landed on a solid surface and the girls seemed to spend most of there time standing in line waiting their turn. No side stations, no conditioning, just a lot of waiting to flip something into the pit.

So for my money, I prefer when the coach decides to accompany the girls. And HC even states that at the optional level, she would prefer the girls don't attend gymnastics camps without her. In the future, I don't think we will do many week long camps.

 

[dynamicduo]

My girls are going to university camp next week and I'm getting a little nervous because so many have said it's a lot of waiting around! Kind of a bummer for the money! They went to Woodward last year & loved it! It will be interesting to see the pros/cons of each camp when they get home!

 

[gymjunkie]

My girls are going to university camp next week and I'm getting a little nervous because so many have said it's a lot of waiting around! Kind of a bummer for the money! They went to Woodward last year & loved it! It will be interesting to see the pros/cons of each camp when they get home!

That's a huge problem with camps in general. They rarely have side-stations or drills. Part of it is because the coach does not know the kids, so they don't know what types of drills they are familiar with. It would take too long to go over them and make sure they are doing them correctly with kids coming from different backgrounds, so they just skip them and have kids wait in line to be flipped.

 

[Pea'sMom]

I can't speak to College camps, but pea has done IGC for the past two years. She has had a blast going and it's definitely a better fit currently for her. She does better with the scheduled time, activities and supervision. She was in a small training group and they did use spotting almost always with very little solid surface landing, per her report. But I'm fine with that as camp is fun and down time for her (leave it to a gymnast to think 5 hours a day in a gym is 'down time!')

 

[newgymMama]

Does anyone know if 7 is a general cutoff for most camps? My dd is 6, and the only ones I can find are themed summer camps at gym clubs.

 

[Fliptwisttumble]

DD has only gone to commercial camps. For her age, and what she wants, that seemed to be better for us.

She's at IGC right now. She needs the schedule of a place like that, and I'm a big fan of the supervision she gets. AND she loves the food. And she loves the "camp" experience that she gets while there that wouldn't be part of a university camp.

We have friends whose daughter is 2 years older, and last year she went to a university camp. While the gymnastics was good, the supervision after gym was over seemed to have been marginal.

The fact is, I suspect this will be her last year at a place like IGC. I also looked at taking her for a week to another gym. But the reality is at her level (training L9 at age 9), one week away isn't going to get her much, and it'd take someone a while to figure her out, and her coaches a while to get her back to their way when she returned. There'd likely be little benefit unless it was some world class coach that could instantly look at and see problems and have the time to correct them. If I could find that, I'd be in heaven.

So maybe a few years from now if I really want her scouted and I think that that is something that might actually occur, I'll look at a college camp. But for the two weeks off she gets, I think I'm taking her to D.R. or Cuba or a cruise next summer for the same price as IGC and related costs, and really let her have a break.

 

[gasrgoose]

The fact is, I suspect this will be her last year at a place like IGC. I also looked at taking her for a week to another gym. But the reality is at her level (training L9 at age 9), one week away isn't going to get her much, and it'd take someone a while to figure her out, and her coaches a while to get her back to their way when she returned. There'd likely be little benefit unless it was some world class coach that could instantly look at and see problems and have the time to correct them. If I could find that, I'd be in heaven.

^^^^This^^^^ is what I believe and have been told about camps. Go for fun and to break up the routine of practice etc. Don't go thinking that a new skill will be learned or some great miracle will happen to their gymnastics. If you don't have a current coach with you the other coaches are just guessing where the kids are skill wise. And if you are asking kids age 7-11 many will tell you they can compete skills that they have only begun to learn.