Girls Soccer Camps

There are many overnight girls soccer camps located throughout the United States. The term “camp” is used broadly to cover a wide variety of programs which fit into several broad categories:

  • College/University strictly showcase camps
  • College camps that are open to all, including showcase players
  • Branded camps held at universities and boarding schools
  • Soccer camps that combine the elements of traditional camp with a soccer-focused program

Showcase Only Camps

These exist to showcase high school age players in front of college coaches and are held at colleges and universities throughout the country. Nearly every girls Division I soccer program offers such a camp. Girls who would like to play at a particular school are invited to attend the camp, where they can showcase their skills in front of a prospective coach. They are typically open to girls finishing 9th through 11th grades. Current players at the University serve as coaches as do players and coaches from nearby schools. Showcase camps are all about soccer. It is soccer, morning, noon, and night, and it is all business.

College/University Camps The Include A Showcase Element

Some College and University camps include both showcase and non-showcase players. These overnight girls soccer camps can include girls as young as 10 or 11 and as old as 17 or 18. The majority of girls who attend are above average players looking to improve their soccer, and ability levels can vary. The camps also include a segregated group of showcase players whom the coach is observing as potential recruits. These camps are about soccer – morning, noon, and night. Evening activities apart from soccer are limited or non-existent. Some of the best-known camps in this category include the North Carolina Girls Soccer Camp run by legendary coach Anson Dorrance, and the Notre Dame Girls Soccer Camp, both of which may have up to 500 girls in attendance at any one time.

The showcase and other college camps typically last 4 days and 3 nights and cost between $500 and $800.

Branded Camps

Branded camps, such as the IMG, Nike, Soccer PlusVolgelsinger camps are also held at colleges and boarding schools. Most of these camps are open to boys and girls. A few of the Nike camps are for girls only. The Nike camps are typically run by a head coach at a college and vary substantially depending on the coach, the location, and the staff hired. Campers live in dorms and eat in university or boarding school dining halls. There are non-soccer evening activities. The branded camps typically run from Sunday afternoon through Friday morning.

Girls Soccer Camps That Incorporate Fun Elements Of Traditional Camp

Another category of girls soccer camp combines a focus on soccer with the fun of traditional camp. Prominent among them is the Berkshire Soccer Academy For Girls in Otis, Massachusetts. Two Rivers Soccer Camp in Northern California, which offers a co-ed program, also fits in this category. Parents and girls who think that girls soccer camps only take place at boarding schools or universities do not know about the Berkshire Soccer Academy for Girls.

The Berkshire Soccer Academy for Girls is the only overnight girls soccer camp to infuse balance and fun into a world-class soccer camp experience. Girls at BSA receive elite training at top-quality facilities from qualified, experienced coaches. The goal is to provide a fun and balanced place for every girl to elevate her game.

As one of the few specialty soccer camps set in a traditional camp environment, athletes are encouraged to train hard on the field, and then enjoy a relaxing elective activity, like canoeing or yoga, to decompress and enjoy down-time with friends.

Athletes live in clean, newly-renovated cabins that they share with Cabin Counselors who are specifically selected and trained to provide supervision and promote friendships among cabin-mates. Athletes enjoy tasty and nutritious meals in the lakeside dining hall.

Unlike college and boarding school based camps, BSA:

  • Has full-time, year-round camp directors who focus entirely on camp
  • Has campers sleep in cabins with counselors as opposed to a dorm with a single roommate and no adult supervision
  • Has an outdoor lake where campers can swim, paddleboard, fish, or canoe
  • Allows campers to engage in fun, well-organized evening activities

Multi-Sport Camps

Several overnight camps offer soccer as one of several sport choices. The camps are primarily co-ed and are held at Colleges or Universities. For example World Sports Camp – an excellent program run by Terry and Addam Shand — offers soccer, basketball, golf and tennis to boys and girls at a Massachusetts boarding school. Camp All-Star in Maine is another excellent, co-ed program located on a prep school campus in central Maine that offers a multitude of sports to boys and girls.