Camps

Pickleball Camps are 2-3 days of instruction at a specific location. There are usually 12-32 students and 2-6 coaches in a camp. Camps are held at tennis and or pickleball clubs and though they are called "camps", people don't camp there, there is no housing provided. There may be water jugs, energy bars, and fruit. There are usually demo paddles from the paddle sponsor. There is usually a head pro, someone who currently plays professionally or has in the past and whose name is on the camp title. 

The Briones Two Day Intensive is a very different experience compared to these camps so see that specific write up.

The 5 Pickleball camps that I signed up for are from Engage (2), LevelUp, and Tyson McGuffin (2). These three companies have the most camps around the country. Engage even has destination camps in other countries. Duration of camps are 2-2.5 days with about 12-16 hours of instruction. The cost for the camps range from $595-$850. The main coaches are traveling professionals that travel to the different cities that host the camps. They also have 0-7 local pickleball coaches helping them coach. Some camps like Nike just use the local pro to teach it so I'm not sure if they have a consistent quality or curriculum.

Here are my experiences with specific camps:

Engage

Level Up

Tyson McGuffin

Skill Level: The vast majority of camps are for level 2.0-3.75 since that's where the demand is. 4.0 and higher camps are more difficult to find. Engage, LevelUP and Tyson McGuffin do have advanced 4.0+ camps available, so see their websites. The ratio of 4.0+ to 2.0-3.9 camps is roughly 1:8 so there are relatively few 4.0+ camps. The major challenge is the location may not be anywhere close to where you live.

Reason camps exist: One of the reasons for camp popularity is the scarcity of qualified pickleball instruction. I took two pickleball classes at my local community colleges. The first had an instructor that was probably a 4.5-5.0 and played tournaments, but would show us something at the beginning of class and then it would be open play. No drills at all. After I progressed from 2.5-3.5, there was no one to play with since all the other players were 2.5-3.00. The other class, the instructor was probably a 3.5 at best and didn't really have much pickleball background. She couldn't show us different drills, shots, strategy, etc and the class was pretty much a waste of time and money. In 2024, this is the state of pickleball instruction, so camps fill a growing need. 

Pros of camps:

1. Quality coaching - Camps are great especially if you don't have good local coaches or a facility nearby where you can get quality instruction. Any public court will have some person telling you to, "Rush to the kitchen asap since that's where all the points are won," or "Always drop your third shot," or "Always get your serve in, no matter what." There is so much misleading, incomplete, or just terrible advice given for free on the courts. Camps can give you a solid pickleball foundation taught by coaches who have several years of experience. Camps also provide an opportunity to ask any questions about pickleball in general or something specific about your game that you want answered.

2. Meet drill partners - You can meet local people who are at your skill level to drill and play with after the camp.

3. Video review - If the camps allows videotaping, you can go back and review the recordings and then incorporate what was taught into your drill sessions. Tyson McGuffin camps allow recording, but Level UP and Engage prohibit recording.

4. Exercise - Camps are 2-3 days of intense exercise.

5. Fun - Camps are a lot of fun and give you an opportunity to play with several people of your level or higher.

Cons of camps:

1. Information overload - The downside to most camps is they inundate you with so much information that there is no way to comprehend, remember, and incorporate what was taught into your game. You may remember 2-3 techniques or shots well enough to do them in a drill or explain to your friends back home. This is where the Tyson McGuffin camps differentiated themselves since they allowed the campers to videotape the entire camp. Engage and LevelUP prohibit video taping.

2. Location and Cost. I am in the SF Bay Area and have only seen a few camps here in 2023-2024. One in Foster City and another in Monterey, both run by Engage. SoCal has numerous camps all year round and Arizona, Texas, Florida also have multiple camps, but not the SF Bay Area for some reason. If you have to travel and pay for a hotel and airfare, the effective cost for the camp goes way up. I went to Foster City, Ca, Monterey, Ca, Newport Beach, Ca, Gilbert, Arizona, and Atlanta, Georgia to attend a camp. The Atlanta Georgia camp cost me $tbd. Uber, Airfare, Car Rental, Hotel, Camp, Misc

3. Physical requirement - If you're not in excellent shape, it'll be tough to make it through the day. The camps may run from 8am-2pm, 8am-4pm, or Noon-7pm which is a long time to be playing a sport and listening to the coaches explain something. Advice: Bring a portable chair. Take it easy, you don't have to run down that lob and win every point. Play at 50-80% so you can last all day. Do yoga in the morning before the camp and in the evening after the camp day is over. Hydrate. Wear a sun hat and sunscreen.

4. Skill level - Most players are 2.5-3.5 so if you're above a 3.5, verify with the organizers that there will be players of your skill level, otherwise you may not have a very productive camp. See my comments below about the Engage camp.

5. 1 on 1 time - Getting individual attention is rare, so you have to seek it out. Most camps have a 8 student to 1 coach ratio so if you have a specific question, ask. Many coaches don't intervene in a game to coach. Maybe they don't see anyone doing anything that could be improved upon or are they just lazy? 🤔 Come with specific questions you want to ask your coach.

6. Annoying campers - Just like any social or rec play situation, there can be annoying or rude players on your court. Sometimes these annoying players are unavoidable. At the 3.0 Engage camp, I was paired up with a guy on my court that was the closest to my skill level, so we did all the drills together, but gawd was he annoying! He even called the coach for a foot fault when we were playing against him. OMG, dude, really? I was glad when the camp was over. At the 4.0 Engage camp, there was a guy mansplaining to a woman doubles strategy and giving her a condescending lecture. Ughh.. She said, "You're not the coach!", but he just kept at her.... He also celebrated every point he won, even his opponents unforced errors. Annoying. In most cases you will be rotated to new partners, it's rare to get stuck with the same partner for more than a few games.
   There are also campers that treat the camp like a tournament trying to win every point and game with extra effort and enthusiasm. Again, annoying but hopefully you won't be paired with them for long.

Expectations:

It's important to set realistic expectations for what you will get out of the camp. If you are a 3.0 and think you'll be a 4.0 coming out of the camp then you will be very disappointed. Realistically you can expect to:

1. Get a lot of exercise and be super tired the next day.

2. Learn 4-5 specific drills that you will want to do when you drill on your own

3. Get advice on what you need to improve on and specifics about what you are doing wrong skill or strategy wise.

4. 20 minutes of individual coaching across the entire 2-3 days.

Questions to ask about any camp:

1. Who is the lead instructor? Look them up on YouTube to see if you like their coaching style.

2. Who are the other instructors? If you get stuck with an instructor that isn't very good, that will determine what type of experience you have. I've found that campers will gravitate towards a particular instructor due to knowledge, communication and coaching style, skill level, etc.

3. What is the ratio of campers to coaches? 8:1 is typical. Engage was 10:1 and 12:1 but I actually got as much or more 1 on 1 time from the coaches than the other camps, so it's not just a students to coach ratio that determines how much time you'll get. Seek out a coach that you like to give you advice on your game and to answer specific questions.

4. What is the quality of the facility? This is really important.

5. How many campers will there be at my level? This is a critical data point since if you don't have anyone at your level, you may have a terrible unproductive experience.

How to get the most out of a camp:

1. Order food from the venue so you don't have to leave the camp to eat. Or bring your food with you in a cooler.

2. Stretch before the camp starts each day, stretch during breaks, and when you get back to the hotel.

3. Stay hydrated. I recommend Liquid I.V. It's cheaper to buy at Costco. I dilute mine with twice as much water as recommended and it works fine.

4. Reapply sunscreen often.

5. Wear a sunhat. I recommend sundayafternoons. 

6. Bring a face towel for sweat.

7. Rest as much as possible so you can last the whole day. Don't play over 80% driving or running down lobs.

8. I highly recommend bringing a foldable chair and sitting in it during lectures and demos to conserve your energy. I use this one from REI.

9. Ask your coach specific questions that you want answered about your game. In the larger group, ask any more general questions that you have. 

A student can only retain so much information, so a 4-6 hour day of instruction and play will have limited impact on your game. You may get one of the 4 coaches for about 2-3 minutes x 4-6 times throughout the camp. That is the most you can hope for. Those nuggets of information can be VERY helpful, but is it worth $600+ ??

If you can't video record it, then consider a different camp. There is no way you can remember what was taught unless you record it and review it after the camp. LevelUp said I couldn't record, but I brought my camera and tripod anyways and then asked if I could just record my games, and they had no problem with that. Tyson's camp allows you to record the entire camp. Engage strictly prohibits recording.

Make sure your skill level is matched to the camp. The vast majority of players and campers are 2.5-3.5, so if you are 4.0 or higher, it may be difficult to find a camp that fits your level.

Even if a camp advertises they are up to 2.0-4.0, verify there will be campers of your skill level. There were only 3-4 campers out of 36 that were at my skill level. We were on court 1. The drop off to court 2 was about 1.0. Court 2 players couldn't even return my serve so if the court 1 players weren't present, I would have had a terrible time at this camp.

An alternative:

1. Hire a coach once a week. At $80-$170/hour that's 5-10 hours of personalized instruction which is a much better value if your coach is qualified.

2. Practice what he or she teaches you.

3. Take a class at a community college. This is hit or miss. I took two classes at community college and one was terrible and a waste of time, while the other was fine for 2.0-3.0 players. Once I progressed from 3.0-3.5, I had no one to play with. 😕

4. Buy 100 balls to practice with ($160), two Home Depot or Lowe's buckets that hold about 50 balls each ($5), a ball hopper ($40). Only buy a ball machine ($800-$1600) to run through drills to improve your consistency if you can't find a drill partner. I recommend 2-3 drill partners which will be much better than a ball machine. Lugging the ball machine around, setting it up, packing it back into the car is really a pain.

Evaluation:

Out of the 3 camps, which one was the best? I'm sure the reader may want some guidance here so I can direct them to the "best" camp, whatever best is. I don't think there is a "best." I enjoyed and learned a lot in all 6 of the camps and recommend all of them. However, by the time I got to my 6th camp, I really didn't learn that much about pickleball generally or about my game specifically, but still had a great time. I don't think camps are a one and done type of proposition. In fact, at the 2023 Tyson camp, I met a woman who told me this was her 13th camp! I highly recommend choosing a camp that is at your level and verifying there are a minimum of 5-6 people at your level signed up. I also recommend creating an action plan, the plan that lists out all the areas your coaches and you think need to improve. Keep working on each item until you can remove it from the list. At that point go to another camp. If you are feeling like you have plateaued and your game isn't making any progress then by all means take another camp. I figure every 6-12 months I'll take a camp now.

Further Reading:

Pickleheads wrote an article, 14 best Pickleball camps in the US that is worth reading.