Riverview Hoops

I conducted a survey on basketball camps last year to try and gauge what the general public across the province might be looking for when selecting a camp for their child or teen. 

 

Two of the groups that had the most replies came from the age categories representing parents with kids between the ages of 10-12 and 13-15. The age groups were split on the preferred type of camps with 37% favoring a mixed co-ed style camp. 25% selected boys only and 37% selected girls only. 

 

Another big question that was asked on the type of camps available was the frequency of sessions that could be offered. Close to 60% of the respondents preferred a camp that was spread out over a few sessions per week during a 4-6 week period with an average length of 2-3 hours per session. Full day camps that offered a supervised lunch during summer months or weekends were popular among younger ages only.

 

Small pod or groups was by far the most popular of choices among the survey participants, but after looking closer at the responses, it was clear that as long as there was an appropriate number of coaches, larger groups (up to 20 people) were quite favorable as well. A 6-1 player to coach ratio was what was determined to be most favorable from the respondents with core fundamental exercises being the overwhelming choice at 75% ahead of shooting and stamina training which stood at 14% and 12 % respectively.

 

Local training camps was also by far the most popular choice with 80% of the people stating that 30km was far enough to travel for a camp. There was a small group of participants who would make a longer drive for a high level day clinic with a highly rated celebrity style guest coach.

 

The time of the year was also a clear choice among those who participated in the survey. Camps/clinics held in the fall were the most preferred time of the year scoring 38% among the voters followed by summer time camps at 36%. The march break camp and Christmas camps were the least favorable combining for just 15% of the voters first choice. Spring camps also ranked low with just a 10% favorable rating among the voters. 

 

The last question I had asked was what would be the largest deciding factor in choosing a training camp? The biggest response I received was that the instructors should be well trained, experienced and had a good reputation. Price was also a major deciding factor with respondents all looking for the best bang for their buck.

 

Enjoyment for the participants was another common response as well as camp times and ease of drop off/pick up for the campers.

 

I had also left a spot for those who wished to leave comments and suggestions at the end of the survey. There were a few who had opted to do so with skill development being at the forefront and main basis of any camp. One of the other common responses I received was that area coaches hosting camps try to work closer together in their planning so that their camps don't overlap. Another common suggestion was that there could be a possibility of combining coaches (as in "Guest Coaches) would be of fair benefit to all those attending giving campers extra exposure to different approaches to coaching.   

 

 

Thank you to all those who took the time and had submitted responses to this survey.