2012 Camp Sessions and Descriptions
Choose the right camp and skill level for you!
 Please be honest with your personal assessment of your ability when choosing Intermediate or Advanced in order for you to get the best experience possible from the camp. If you have any question about which camp is most appropriate, please email us a detailed description of your playing background and include number of years played and for which schools, grades, teams, and clubs. Please also include your opinion of how strong each of the teams was on which you played (compared to other teams in the state) and your opinion on how your skills compare to those of your teammates. We'll send you a quick reply with our recommendation.
Note: we have overlap on grades for some camps. That is because skill levels of athletes in the same grade can vary considerably. These are guidelines, not absolutes. Please email us if you think you have reason for varying from those guidelines.
It is very difficult to make adjustments after you have been placed in a group due to the number limits we place on each court to ensure the camper-coach ratio we want, but in some cases an adjustment may be possible. Also, in fairness to the other athletes in a specific camp, if you have accidentally over or under-estimated your ability, we reserve the right to make court and/or camp adjustments that we consider in your best interest and which will match you with athletes closer to your ability.
You will get the best overall experience if you are on a court with campers of comparable ability. The coaches will naturally push you, but it is mostly YOUR responsibility to push yourself. If you were on a court where all the other campers were of greater ability, it would be fun for perhaps an hour, but you would soon be very uncomfortable if you were the 'drill killer.'
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2012 Camp Sessions
(Note: Skill level and physical maturity are more important than grade)
- All Skills: Grades 4-12
- Intermediate Setting and Ball Control: Grades 8-12
- Advanced Setting and Ball Control: Grades: See experience guidelines below
- Intermediate Hitting and Ball Control: Grades 8-12
- Advanced Hitting and Ball Control: See experience guidelines below
- Libero/Defensive Specialist Training: See experience guidelines below
All Skills Camp is for all experience levels (except novice). This camp is for experienced athletes who are enthusiastic about improving ALL their skills: setting; hitting; serving; passing; and defense. A great camp for athletes who want excellent coaching and plenty of instruction over three days. Campers are divided according to skill level, which allows the entire group to progress at the fastest pace possible. Experienced coaches will move the campers on their court along at a quick pace, pushing them with progressively difficult drills and game-like situations.
Open to experienced players entering grades 4-12. This is NOT for novice beginners. Athletes will be divided by skill level.
Intermediate Setting and Ball Control is for experienced setters who are committed to becoming the best well-rounded, multi-skilled, setters and ball control experts necessary to be successful in today’s game. Experienced coaches begin instruction with the fundamentals, but move quickly to teaching progressively more difficult combination patterns. Campers then move to combined training sessions where they respond to multiple skill, multiple contact progressions along with setting strategy. The objective is to develop setters with the physical skills and mental attitude to think like setters—an essential quality for success. We believe it takes much more than just good hands to be a top setter. Previous campers have said that in addition to having better skills, the most noticeable difference is "how they take control of the court." Campers will be divided by skill level if there is more than one court of campers in this session, and instruction will be adjusted for the skill level on each court.
Open to athletes entering grades 8-12. This is NOT a beginners' camp.
Advanced Setting and Ball Control is for setters who are already starting varsity athletes or equivalent (some players in VERY strong programs would be a varsity player in most other programs) and have the potential to play in college should they so choose. Experienced coaches will move quickly to teaching more difficult combination patterns. Campers then move to combined training sessions where they respond to multiple skill, multiple contact progressions along with setting strategy. The objective is to develop setters with the physical skills and mental attitude to think like setters—an essential quality for success. We believe it takes much more than just good hands to be a top setter.
Open to athletes that compete at a high level of volleyball. See above description for experience guidelines.
Intermediate Hitting and Ball Control is for experienced hitters who want to take their game to the next level. They must be committed to becoming the best well-rounded, multi-skilled hitters and ball control experts necessary to be successful in today’s game. Experienced coaches begin instruction reviewing the fundamentals of hitting (even National Team hitters work on fundamentals) including proper footwork and arm swing mechanics, shot selection, and ball control, and move to more difficult small group combined training sessions where the campers respond to multiple skill, multiple contact pass-set-hit and dig-set-hit progressions along with hitting strategy. Campers will be divided by skill level if there is more than one court of campers in this session.
Open to athletes entering grades 8-12. This is NOT a beginners camp.
Advanced Hitting and Ball Control is for hitters who are already starting varsity athletes or equivalent (i.e., some players in VERY strong programs would be a varsity player in most other programs) and have the potential to play in college should they so choose. Experienced coaches begin instruction reviewing the fundamentals of hitting (even National Team hitters work on fundamentals) including proper footwork and arm swing mechanics, shot selection, and ball control, but move quickly to more difficult small group combined training sessions where the campers respond to multiple skill, multiple contact pass-set-hit and dig-set-hit progressions along with hitting strategy.
Open to athletes that compete at a high level of volleyball. See above description for experience guidelines.
Libero/Defensive Specialist Training is for experienced, committed, and determined Liberos/defensive specialists who want to take their game to the next level. Experienced coaches teach all components necessary to become a top defensive player. Athletes in this session must be especially self-motivated and self-confident to succeed as it is the most physically demanding of all sessions.
Open to athletes entering grades 8-12. This is NOT a beginners camp.
Why do our Setter and Hitter camps incorporate "Ball Control"?
Our goal is to make you the most complete volleyball player possible. Since every set or hit is the result of some type of ball control action, it is extremely important to learn proper ball control technique in addition to setting or hitting in order to produce the best opportunities for great setting and hitting. Let's say that you are a setter that also hits because your school or club team runs an offense that uses more than one setter at a time (i.e., 6 - 2 offense). Volleyballs that are tossed directly to you while standing at the net for the entire camp will not teach you how to improve your passing skills - it will only teach you how to set volleyballs that are tossed directly to you. If you are a hitter, pounding volleyballs that are tossed to you six hours a day is only going to make you good at pounding volleyballs that are tossed to you. That is why the best-looking "warm-up" teams rarely win tournaments (they only look good because a perfect "pass" is tossed to the setter, creating a perfect set to the hitter waiting in line). They don’t practice enough realistic game-like situations involving ball control training.
Our coaches not only teach you the basic techniques, but spend considerable time teaching you to set or hit as you would experience in game situations. They will also help you acquire a mind set specific to your position to truly own it and maximize your skill. Plus, today’s setters and hitters must be excellent defensive players as well, as more and more opposing hitters and setters are able to place the ball where they want.
If you want more playing time in high school, you must have all the skills necessary to stay on the court. Elite hitters are often elite passers, and exceptional setters are often exceptional diggers.
