By Coach Dave Harrington | Former Varsity Basketball & Football Coach, 22 Years

I ran my first summer basketball camp the year after I got my first head coaching job. I was 28 years old, full of energy, and completely convinced that passion and a whistle were all I needed. I booked the gym, posted a flyer at the rec center, and figured the rest would sort itself out.

It did not sort itself out.

By Week 1, I had 47 kids showing up when I’d planned for 30, no signed waivers on file, a scheduling conflict with the wrestling team that left us without a gym on Day 3, and a parent threatening to call the school board because I hadn’t collected emergency contact information. By Wednesday of that first week, I was a changed man.

That was over two decades ago. Since then, I ran that camp every summer for 19 years. We grew to 200+ campers, added staff, expanded to multiple sports, and built something that families in our community genuinely looked forward to every June. But it didn’t happen because I was a great coach. It happened because I learned — sometimes the hard way — that running a great sports camp is a logistics operation first and a coaching experience second.

If you’re a coach thinking about launching a summer camp, here’s what I wish someone had handed me in Year 1.

Start Earlier Than You Think You Need To

The biggest mistake new camp directors make is treating camp planning like they treat a practice schedule — something you put together a week out. Wrong mindset entirely. A well-run summer camp needs 3 to 6 months of preparation, minimum. Venues book up. Insurance takes time. Marketing needs runway. Staff have competing summer commitments.

If you want to run a camp in June, you should be planning in January.

Facilities: Don’t Assume, Confirm

Your gym, your field, your pool — whatever space you’re planning to use — needs to be confirmed in writing with specific dates and hours before you do anything else. I can’t tell you how many coaches I’ve talked to who “had a handshake deal” with a school or park district that evaporated the moment a scheduling conflict came up.

Get the space in writing. Confirm backup options. Know your rain plan if you’re outdoors. Check whether restroom facilities are accessible during your hours and whether you have adequate parking for drop-off and pickup. These details feel small until they aren’t.

Insurance and Liability: Non-Negotiable

This is the area where coaches most often cut corners, and it’s the one that can end your career and your finances. You need general liability insurance specifically covering sports camp operations. If you’re running camp through a school or organization, verify exactly what their policy covers and — more importantly — what it doesn’t.

Beyond insurance, every single camper needs a signed waiver, a completed health and medical form, and emergency contact information on file before they step onto the court or field. Build a registration system that collects this digitally or on paper, and keep it organized. You’ll hope you never need it. You’ll be incredibly grateful it exists if you do.

Staff Like Your Camp Depends On It — Because It Does

Your counselors and assistant coaches are your program on the ground. Hire people who are good with kids, not just good at the sport. Run background checks — this is not optional if you’re working with minors. Set clear staff-to-camper ratios (typically 1:8 to 1:10 for youth sports camps) and make sure everyone is trained on your emergency action plan before Day 1.

Hold a mandatory staff orientation. Don’t assume anything.

The Business Side Is Part of the Job

You need to think through pricing, registration deadlines, refund policies, and how you’re accepting payment. Are you using a camp management platform? A Google Form and Venmo? Whatever the answer, it needs to be clean, professional, and documented.

Budget carefully. Account for facility costs, insurance, equipment, staff pay, T-shirts, snacks, printing, and a contingency buffer. I’ve watched great coaches run great camps at a loss because they never sat down and ran the numbers.

Market It Like It Won’t Fill Itself — Because It Won’t

Here’s the hard truth I learned around Year 4: word of mouth and social media posts are not a marketing strategy. They’re a hope.

Word of mouth is powerful — eventually. But in your first few years, your word-of-mouth network is limited to the families you’ve already coached. That’s a small pond. And social media? I’ve watched coaches put real effort into Instagram posts and Facebook announcements that got seen by 60 people, half of whom were other coaches. The algorithm doesn’t owe you anything, and neither does your follower count.

The deeper problem is discoverability. When a parent in your area opens their phone and types “basketball camp for 12-year-olds near me,” your flyer at the rec center doesn’t show up. Your Instagram post from three weeks ago doesn’t show up. If you don’t have a presence somewhere searchable, you simply don’t exist to that parent — no matter how great your camp is.

I didn’t fully understand this until I started thinking about how parents actually find camps. They don’t scroll through a coach’s social feed hoping to stumble onto registration info. They search. They go looking with intent, and they want to compare options, read details, and make a decision. That’s a completely different behavior than passively seeing a post.

This is exactly why platforms like Training4Athletes.com matter. Listing your camp there gives it a permanent, searchable home — one that parents actively using the platform can find when they’re specifically looking for camps, clinics, and training programs in their sport and area. You’re not shouting into the void hoping the algorithm picks you up. You’re showing up where parents are already looking.

Think of it this way: social media is interruption marketing. A searchable directory is destination marketing. Both have a role, but only one of them reliably connects you with parents who are already in buying mode.

My recommendation: build your marketing strategy in layers. Start with a listing on a platform like Training4Athletes.com as your foundation — your always-on, searchable presence. Layer social media on top of that to build awareness and drive people to your listing. Add email outreach to your existing network and flyers at local schools and gyms. Each channel reinforces the others, but none of them work as well without the searchable anchor underneath.

Start all of this at least 8 weeks before your camp opens registration. Visibility takes time to compound.

Pre-Camp Checklist for Coaches

Use this before you open registration and before the first day of camp:

Planning & Administration

• Camp dates, hours, and age groups defined
• Facility secured in writing with confirmed dates/hours
• Backup facility or rain plan in place
• Camp budget built with expense categories and break-even analysis
• Registration system set up (online or paper)
• Pricing, deadlines, and refund policy established

Legal & Safety

• General liability insurance secured for camp operations
• Participant waiver created and reviewed by an attorney or your organization
• Health/medical forms collected for every camper
• Emergency contact information on file for all participants
• Written Emergency Action Plan (EAP) for injuries and medical events
• First aid kit stocked and accessible on-site
• AED location confirmed (if applicable to your facility)
• Staff background checks completed

Staffing

• Staff-to-camper ratios planned and met
• Staff roles and daily responsibilities clearly assigned
• Mandatory staff orientation scheduled
• At least one staff member current in CPR/First Aid

Curriculum & Operations

• Daily schedule built with age-appropriate drills, scrimmages, and breaks
• Equipment inventory confirmed (balls, cones, pinnies, etc.)
• Camper groupings/divisions planned by age or skill level
• Hydration and rest break schedule built into daily plan
• Inclement weather or facility issue protocol written out

Marketing & Communications

• Camp listed on a searchable platform (e.g., Training4Athletes.com) with full details
• Camp name, logo, and branding finalized
• Registration page or flyer live at least 8 weeks before start
• Social media content planned to drive traffic to your listing
• Email outreach to existing player/parent network
• Flyers placed at local schools, gyms, and rec centers
• Parent communication template ready (pre-camp info, what to bring, schedule)
• T-shirts or camp gear ordered with enough lead time

Day-of Readiness

• Check-in process designed (name tags, rosters, supervision during arrival)
• Parent pickup protocol established and communicated
• Photo/video release permissions confirmed for all participants
• Staff briefing scheduled for the morning before Day 1

Running a summer camp is one of the most rewarding things a coach can do. You’re building skills, building confidence, and building memories for kids who will carry the experience for years. But the magic only happens when the foundation is solid.

Do the boring work first. The fun part takes care of itself.

Coach Dave Harrington spent 22 years as a varsity coach and 19 summers running youth sports camps. He now consults with athletic programs on camp operations and coach development.