Camp is one of the greatest investments you can make towards your pickleball improvement. But not all camps are built the same. Below, I share with you some keys to look at when picking a camp.

What are you looking for?

The most important question: “What do you want from camp?”

There are many reasons to attend a pickleball camp, and none of them are wrong. Starting by understanding what you want out of camp helps you pick a camp that aligns with your goals.

Here are some common reasons players may select a camp. Which one fits you most?

1. I am interested in traveling and visiting somewhere new.
2. I really like Anna Bright (or pro of your choosing) and would like to meet them.
3. I want to know more about pickleball and how to play it better.

All of the above are perfectly fine reasons to go to a camp. Knowing what you want helps narrow down the camps that will meet your desires.

1. If traveling somewhere is your primary motivator, search for Destination Camps in places you want to visit.
2. If meeting a pro player is your primary motivator, then you search for that pro.
3. If growing your knowledge and ability to play pickleball is your primary motivator, then look for a learning camp (more on this below).

Your choice does not have to be all or nothing. For example, the camps I lead are primarily learning camps, but they can also satisfy your desire to visit cities like Chicago or Boston or Tampa. And we always have fun.

Use your primary motivator as just that: the main reason you are searching for camp. It acts as a polestar in your search.

Types of Camps

There are several different types of pickleball camps.

Action Camps

These are the most common pickleball camps you will find. They are built around action: keeping you moving from court to court, station to station.

These camps can certainly be exciting in the moment. You are, after all, in constant motion.

Yet the reports we get from players who have attended these sorts of action camps are that they were fun in the moment but did not have lasting impact. If you are interested in running around and getting max cardio at camp, then this camp is probably the right one for you. If you want a camp that will last beyond the last ball hit, keep reading.

Meet the Pro Camps

These camps can be lots of fun and may scratch that itch to meet the pro player you like. If your interest is meeting the pro, confirm before registering that the pro will be there and for how long. This will allow you to make a more fully informed decision.

Also note that while pro players will certainly do their best at the camp, many of them are not actually coaches. Stating something that is somewhat obvious, playing pickleball and coaching pickleball are not the same thing. Having clarity on what you want will help you decide which type of camp you choose.

Learning Camps

These camps are designed around a learning curriculum. From my conversations with players, these are the rarest type of camp.

To determine if the camp you are considering is a Learning Camp, ask some questions:

1. Does the camp follow an established coaching curriculum?
2. Is the curriculum designed to provide long-lasting results to the players after camp?
3. As a bonus – this one can separate the wheat from the chaff: What is the underlying coaching philosophy that underpins the camp’s curriculum? It’s one thing to have an agenda that says “Day 1 - Drill 1: Dinks.” An entirely different thing to have a curriculum built around the Framework Approach to Pickleball (that also happens to have been designed by your head coach).

If sustained improvement is what you are looking for in a camp, then this is the sort of camp for you.

Destination Camps

These camps are pretty straightforward. Want to visit Thailand and play pickleball while there? Then this sort of camp is a fine approach.

Copycat Camps

As camps continue to flourish, you will find some that are copies of other camps. While there is nothing technically wrong with a copycat camp, keep in mind that:

1. The coach who built the original camp understands where the concepts come from. That matters. Because when an explanation isn't landing, they can reach for a different one.
2. Like the game, the coaching that goes along with it evolves. You cannot know how current the copycat camp is. It’s likely that the copied camp has evolved from what it once was. Again, if you can, consider attending the original camp.

Camp Characteristics

Here are several key camp characteristics for you to consider in your selection process.

Head Coach

Your camp head coach is key. Your head coach is more than just the person leading the camp. 

A good head coach:

• Delivers the camp at a rhythm that works for the group
• Monitors camp to make sure things are running smoothly
• Has the knowledge to answer your questions correctly and in ways that connect
• Can detect and correct parts of your game that could use improvement

Not every group of campers is the same. Yet some coaches teach the same things, no matter who is attending or what is going on. A good head coach can read the room and adjust on the fly as needed.

Find out who your head coach is going to be before you pick a camp.

Curriculum

As I am most familiar with the learning camps I have been leading for more than 5 years now, I can give you an inside look at what a learning camp curriculum looks like:

• Big picture concepts to improve your working understanding of the game
• Drilling the shots that actually matter
• Playing controlled games specifically designed to drive home the parts of the game we are working on
• Mental training to help you more effectively navigate your pickleball experience

This well-thought-out curriculum is what allows us to consistently deliver long-lasting results to our players.

Camp or Long Clinic

A couple of years ago, I was surprised to learn that a camp operating at the same time as ours broke for lunch. I don’t mean that they all took a lunch break together (we do that, too – have to eat, of course ☺). I mean that the camp broke apart for lunch and each player was on their own.

My camp philosophy is that we experience camp together. The idea of working for 2-3 hours only to go our separate ways for lunch before coming back together again for 2-3 hours of more work feels more like a long clinic.

Lunch

Some camps include lunch. Others don’t. 

Camp Materials

Does the camp offer a workbook?

Finding the Pickleball Camp that Fits You

Camp is a big investment in both cost and time.

But beyond that, it is a big investment in your pickleball. You are entrusting your pickleball journey to a coach and asking that coach to guide you further along the path.

Whether you head down a path to realizing your pickleball potential or down a dead end will depend on the camp you pick. Spending a bit of extra time to pick the camp that is right for you is well worth it.

If you’re interested in finding out more about one of the camps that I lead (I am the head coach at all TRP Camps), click here and see if one of our camps is the right fit for you.

Whatever your choice, I wish you well with your pickleball journey. Your journey is what you make of it. Make it good.

Tony

Written by human hands for human minds. No AI used (unless you count Spell Check ☺).