SMU Soccer Camp: Not What it Used to Be?

Off the SMU topic (I think my 94 went long ago, but I'm not qualified to give an updated opinion), but on the camp in general topic: My 02 and 04 went to the residential No. 1 Strikers camp at the beginning of June--held at University of Dallas, but not affiliated with it. They both loved it and want to return next year. The two sessions we watched were not the run of the mill soccer camp drills--focus on this camp is truly striking the ball, ball placement, etc. (they also run a keeper camp at the same time, and I got tired watching the keepers' drills!). The girls said it was hard work, but they learned new things and enjoyed it. They've both attended the UNT residential camp two summers ago--which they swore never to return to the minute they came home--and several club day camps and a commuter camp at another college over their short soccer "careers" and this camp was the winner by far. They will be going to the UT residential camp in Austin this month, so I'll try to get back on for a synopsis of their thoughts on that one later. My 94 went to it once--in middle school or early high school--and I was not really thrilled with the level of it or the division of players, but we are trying again with the little girls.

My DD is at the SMU camp this week and she is not reporting any issues.  This is her third year to attend the SMU camp.  However she is 14 so she is participating in the College Prep portion of the camp so that may be the difference.  She is also a GK which could make a difference too.  

She attended both A&M and SMU camps last summer and was very disappointed with the A&M camp.  Her comment was that it was too easy, and had too many breaks for social events like making dance videos to post on YouTube.  I have actual evidence of that one!!

My daughter is a U12 and is disappointed in SMU camp. We watched scrimmage last night and it was a waste of time to go watch. My take is if you have a good coach save your money. She got all the challenge she wanted from her coach's practice Tuesday and then went to SMU camp for some basic training (can you say boring).

butterfly wrote:
She attended both A&M and SMU camps last summer and was very disappointed with the A&M camp.  Her comment was that it was too easy, and had too many breaks for social events like making dance videos to post on YouTube.  I have actual evidence of that one!!

My 96 just got back from the A&M camp. I gotta agree with part of your assessment. While she didn't spend any time making dance videos (at least that I've seen), she did comment that there were times that it was being dragged down by weaker players in her group.... i.e. she expected her group to be a bit more "elite" at this age. Don't get me wrong, she did have a good time, but was not raving like I would have expected. Her roommate was a very strong player, and she fell in with a few girls from the Dallas area that were very strong as well, but she did say there were a bunch that were not very good at all, and scrimmages could be frustrating.

MyLittleSecret wrote:My daughter is a U12 and is disappointed in SMU camp.  We watched scrimmage last night and it was a waste of time to go watch.  My take is if you have a good coach save your money.  She got all the challenge she wanted from her coach's practice Tuesday and then went to SMU camp for some basic training (can you say boring).

i would disagree. the camp has been pretty good and it is a fun for them to be in a college setting and experience some independence and responsibility for getting themselves up, dressed etc. i kind of laugh when people expect any camp to be like a barcelona youth program, camps are what they are, drills, scrimmages etc. because that's what soccer is......

butterfly wrote:My DD is at the SMU camp this week and she is not reporting any issues.  This is her third year to attend the SMU camp.  However she is 14 so she is participating in the College Prep portion of the camp so that may be the difference.  She is also a GK which could make a difference too.  

She attended both A&M and SMU camps last summer and was very disappointed with the A&M camp.  Her comment was that it was too easy, and had too many breaks for social events like making dance videos to post on YouTube.  I have actual evidence of that one!!

That's too bad...the A&M camp used to be amazing!

JustaSport wrote:

UEFA wrote:I would never pay money for one of these money grab camps! Stupid !!!!!!

Since you're obviously new to all of this - and have posted three times in a row in the span of 4 minutes - here's a news flash:  It's all a money grab. Kicks is no longer an exception.

I'm not sure how kicks ended up in this conversation, and these days the girls really do speak for themselves on the field...but I have to chime in here...you're way off on this one.

I'm speaking from first hand experience as a Kicks parent who watches closely and DD has been on other independent and other large clubs before. Kicks does not take any and all players for the sake of $$. JM has several different teams, but he won't take a player's money and put (OR KEEP) a player on a team where their commitment or skill level doesn't match the team.

This is evidenced by his small roster sizes since U11. Kicks SC '01 carried 14 girls on the roster since U11 and is carrying 14 this year. He could carry more, and JM had a cattle call like everyone else, but he doesn't hand out contracts to just anyone for the sake of $$.

Players unwilling to start out where he felt they belonged are not given contracts just to get their $$ and then benched like so many other teams.  

Parents can't throw money around and demand their kid play on a certain team. Juan has let very good players walk rather than be subject to ultimatums. As a parent, I certainly don't agree with all his decisions, but I respect he knows more than I do, and I know with 100% certainty the club's primary motiviation is NOT making money.

Money grab clubs carry as many as they can squeeze on a team while leaving one spot open in case they can recruit a pre-developed stud later on.  They also charge the SAME high fees for teams playing at the top level as for teams playing Plano. Kicks costs are stratified based on the level of play of the team. Plano teams pay less than the LH D2 team, who in turn pay less than the top travel team.  

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. It's not about the cost, it's about VALUE. JM does camps with his girls for $20 per day and the team has literally spent three days straight with eachother. A coach hosting residential camps for his team?  Unheard of commitment to his players and trust by the parents.

No, the total annual costs to play on Kicks top team will not be MUCH less than any other top team. They're going to travel just as much. But the amount of time invested in the DD's by Kicks coaches and the amount of soccer those kids experience for that same money is simply not comparable to money grab clubs. Not even close.

soccerinsane wrote:Off the SMU topic (I think my 94 went long ago, but I'm not qualified to give an updated opinion), but on the camp in general topic:  My 02 and 04 went to the residential No. 1 Strikers camp at the beginning of June--held at University of Dallas, but not affiliated with it.  They both loved it and want to return next year.  The two sessions we watched were not the run of the mill soccer camp drills--focus on this camp is truly striking the ball, ball placement, etc. (they also run a keeper camp at the same time, and I got tired watching the keepers' drills!).  The girls said it was hard work, but they learned new things and enjoyed it.  They've both attended the UNT residential camp two summers ago--which they swore never to return to the minute they came home--and several club day camps and a commuter camp at another college over their short soccer "careers" and this camp was the winner by far.  They will be going to the UT residential camp in Austin this month, so I'll try to get back on for a synopsis of their thoughts on that one later.  My 94 went to it once--in middle school or early high school--and I was not really thrilled with the level of it or the division of players, but we are trying again with the little girls.  

 
My 98 is going to the college prep residential camp at UNT in a few weeks and I certainly hope it's different than what your little ones experienced.  If not, then I guess that's what I get for not bugging you with questions first

My 01 just completed the UNT camp. I have nothing to compare it to as this was our first time doing residential camp. I give 2 thumbs up. 27 hours of soccer over 4 1/2 days, kicked their butts. I don't see many girls rockin it out with 7 hours a day of soccer and very little sleep. No matter what camp these girls are going to, i am sure they are all fatigued after their first day of staying up late, until that early AM wake up call.. and for that reason alone, i give it 2 thumbs up. These girls will get out of the camp what they want...if they want to push themselves they can if they don't then they wont....anyways after seeing this, I still think they have fun, but it may not be the greatest soccer experience ever.

3-4-3 wrote:

JustaSport wrote:

UEFA wrote:I would never pay money for one of these money grab camps! Stupid !!!!!!

Since you're obviously new to all of this - and have posted three times in a row in the span of 4 minutes - here's a news flash:  It's all a money grab. Kicks is no longer an exception.

I'm not sure how kicks ended up in this conversation, and these days the girls really do speak for themselves on the field...but I have to chime in here...you're way off on this one.

I'm speaking from first hand experience as a Kicks parent who watches closely and DD has been on other independent and other large clubs before. Kicks does not take any and all players for the sake of $$. JM has several different teams, but he won't take a player's money and put (OR KEEP) a player on a team where their commitment or skill level doesn't match the team.

This is evidenced by his small roster sizes since U11. Kicks SC '01 carried 14 girls on the roster since U11 and is carrying 14 this year. He could carry more, and JM had a cattle call like everyone else, but he doesn't hand out contracts to just anyone for the sake of $$.

Players unwilling to start out where he felt they belonged are not given contracts just to get their $$ and then benched like so many other teams.  

Parents can't throw money around and demand their kid play on a certain team. Juan has let very good players walk rather than be subject to ultimatums. As a parent, I certainly don't agree with all his decisions, but I respect he knows more than I do, and I know with 100% certainty the club's primary motiviation is NOT making money.

Money grab clubs carry as many as they can squeeze on a team while leaving one spot open in case they can recruit a pre-developed stud later on.  They also charge the SAME high fees for teams playing at the top level as for teams playing Plano. Kicks costs are stratified based on the level of play of the team. Plano teams pay less than the LH D2 team, who in turn pay less than the top travel team.  

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. It's not about the cost, it's about VALUE. JM does camps with his girls for $20 per day and the team has literally spent three days straight with eachother. A coach hosting residential camps for his team?  Unheard of commitment to his players and trust by the parents.

No, the total annual costs to play on Kicks top team will not be MUCH less than any other top team. They're going to travel just as much. But the amount of time invested in the DD's by Kicks coaches and the amount of soccer those kids experience for that same money is simply not comparable to money grab clubs. Not even close.

Well said!!

butterfly wrote:My DD is at the SMU camp this week and she is not reporting any issues.  This is her third year to attend the SMU camp.  However she is 14 so she is participating in the College Prep portion of the camp so that may be the difference.  She is also a GK which could make a difference too.  

She attended both A&M and SMU camps last summer and was very disappointed with the A&M camp.  Her comment was that it was too easy, and had too many breaks for social events like making dance videos to post on YouTube.  I have actual evidence of that one!!

I liked the video!  

I like the idea of graduating the fees based on the league/division/travel of the team. It seems odd for Plano D2 teams that never travel to pay the same amount as LHGCL D1 teams that go to all the major tournaments.

My dd has attended the SMU keeper camp for several years.   It is run by Joe Waggoner and has always been instructive, challenging and a little bit of fun.   But, with the over all changes at SMU, my DD didn't want to attend this year and instead opted for some ID camps at different colleges.     The ID camps are usually one day or one and half days and have been pretty intense.

Slakemoth wrote:

butterfly wrote:
She attended both A&M and SMU camps last summer and was very disappointed with the A&M camp.  Her comment was that it was too easy, and had too many breaks for social events like making dance videos to post on YouTube.  I have actual evidence of that one!!

My 96 just got back from the A&M camp. I gotta agree with part of your assessment. While she didn't spend any time making dance videos (at least that I've seen), she did comment that there were times that it was being dragged down by weaker players in her group.... i.e. she expected her group to be a bit more "elite" at this age. Don't get me wrong, she did have a good time, but was not raving like I would have expected. Her roommate was a very strong player, and she fell in with a few girls from the Dallas area that were very strong as well, but she did say there were a bunch that were not very good at all, and scrimmages could be frustrating.

 
Have to somewhat agree with Slakemoth as for the distance between skill level of the attendees at the A&M camp. My DD went last year and also this year to A&M camp (she just got back -perhaps we rubbed elbows at Callaway lugging luggage up or down the stairs) and I could tell from the morning scrimmages that there was definitely a mix of stronger and weaker players within her group.  It would be nice for them to assess the campers the first night and then place them in groups by skill level from the remainder of the camp.  Little Suzie might not like it because she might get seperated from her teammate that went with her but that's what I want out a $645+ camp for my DD, to have fun but be challenged.  I think who they get as a coach has something to do with their perception of the camps as well.  If a coach is not as interactive, like my DDs was this year (she called him a boring Brit  ) but last year she had a female who was alot of fun. Now with all that said, my DD did say she did learn from her coaches this year, came back wore the heck out and had alot of fun with her friend and made lots of new friends (only one Vine video that I've seen) is enough for me to say that it was worth the arm and half a leg to send her.

3-4-3 wrote:

JustaSport wrote:

UEFA wrote:I would never pay money for one of these money grab camps! Stupid !!!!!!

Since you're obviously new to all of this - and have posted three times in a row in the span of 4 minutes - here's a news flash:  It's all a money grab. Kicks is no longer an exception.

I'm not sure how kicks ended up in this conversation, and these days the girls really do speak for themselves on the field...but I have to chime in here...you're way off on this one.

I'm speaking from first hand experience as a Kicks parent who watches closely and DD has been on other independent and other large clubs before. Kicks does not take any and all players for the sake of $$. JM has several different teams, but he won't take a player's money and put (OR KEEP) a player on a team where their commitment or skill level doesn't match the team.

This is evidenced by his small roster sizes since U11. Kicks SC '01 carried 14 girls on the roster since U11 and is carrying 14 this year. He could carry more, and JM had a cattle call like everyone else, but he doesn't hand out contracts to just anyone for the sake of $$.

Players unwilling to start out where he felt they belonged are not given contracts just to get their $$ and then benched like so many other teams.  

Parents can't throw money around and demand their kid play on a certain team. Juan has let very good players walk rather than be subject to ultimatums. As a parent, I certainly don't agree with all his decisions, but I respect he knows more than I do, and I know with 100% certainty the club's primary motiviation is NOT making money.

Money grab clubs carry as many as they can squeeze on a team while leaving one spot open in case they can recruit a pre-developed stud later on.  They also charge the SAME high fees for teams playing at the top level as for teams playing Plano. Kicks costs are stratified based on the level of play of the team. Plano teams pay less than the LH D2 team, who in turn pay less than the top travel team.  

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. It's not about the cost, it's about VALUE. JM does camps with his girls for $20 per day and the team has literally spent three days straight with eachother. A coach hosting residential camps for his team?  Unheard of commitment to his players and trust by the parents.

No, the total annual costs to play on Kicks top team will not be MUCH less than any other top team. They're going to travel just as much. But the amount of time invested in the DD's by Kicks coaches and the amount of soccer those kids experience for that same money is simply not comparable to money grab clubs. Not even close.

Who cares?

Uncle Numanga wrote:

3-4-3 wrote:

JustaSport wrote:

UEFA wrote:I would never pay money for one of these money grab camps! Stupid !!!!!!

Since you're obviously new to all of this - and have posted three times in a row in the span of 4 minutes - here's a news flash:  It's all a money grab. Kicks is no longer an exception.

I'm not sure how kicks ended up in this conversation, and these days the girls really do speak for themselves on the field...but I have to chime in here...you're way off on this one.

I'm speaking from first hand experience as a Kicks parent who watches closely and DD has been on other independent and other large clubs before. Kicks does not take any and all players for the sake of $$. JM has several different teams, but he won't take a player's money and put (OR KEEP) a player on a team where their commitment or skill level doesn't match the team.

This is evidenced by his small roster sizes since U11. Kicks SC '01 carried 14 girls on the roster since U11 and is carrying 14 this year. He could carry more, and JM had a cattle call like everyone else, but he doesn't hand out contracts to just anyone for the sake of $$.

Players unwilling to start out where he felt they belonged are not given contracts just to get their $$ and then benched like so many other teams.  

Parents can't throw money around and demand their kid play on a certain team. Juan has let very good players walk rather than be subject to ultimatums. As a parent, I certainly don't agree with all his decisions, but I respect he knows more than I do, and I know with 100% certainty the club's primary motiviation is NOT making money.

Money grab clubs carry as many as they can squeeze on a team while leaving one spot open in case they can recruit a pre-developed stud later on.  They also charge the SAME high fees for teams playing at the top level as for teams playing Plano. Kicks costs are stratified based on the level of play of the team. Plano teams pay less than the LH D2 team, who in turn pay less than the top travel team.  

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. It's not about the cost, it's about VALUE. JM does camps with his girls for $20 per day and the team has literally spent three days straight with eachother. A coach hosting residential camps for his team?  Unheard of commitment to his players and trust by the parents.

No, the total annual costs to play on Kicks top team will not be MUCH less than any other top team. They're going to travel just as much. But the amount of time invested in the DD's by Kicks coaches and the amount of soccer those kids experience for that same money is simply not comparable to money grab clubs. Not even close.

Who cares?

     

Kicks this......................Kicks that..........................it's nothing but a bunch of crap.

Uncle Numanga wrote:

3-4-3 wrote:

JustaSport wrote:

UEFA wrote:I would never pay money for one of these money grab camps! Stupid !!!!!!

Since you're obviously new to all of this - and have posted three times in a row in the span of 4 minutes - here's a news flash:  It's all a money grab. Kicks is no longer an exception.

I'm not sure how kicks ended up in this conversation, and these days the girls really do speak for themselves on the field...but I have to chime in here...you're way off on this one.

I'm speaking from first hand experience as a Kicks parent who watches closely and DD has been on other independent and other large clubs before. Kicks does not take any and all players for the sake of $$. JM has several different teams, but he won't take a player's money and put (OR KEEP) a player on a team where their commitment or skill level doesn't match the team.

This is evidenced by his small roster sizes since U11. Kicks SC '01 carried 14 girls on the roster since U11 and is carrying 14 this year. He could carry more, and JM had a cattle call like everyone else, but he doesn't hand out contracts to just anyone for the sake of $$.

Players unwilling to start out where he felt they belonged are not given contracts just to get their $$ and then benched like so many other teams.  

Parents can't throw money around and demand their kid play on a certain team. Juan has let very good players walk rather than be subject to ultimatums. As a parent, I certainly don't agree with all his decisions, but I respect he knows more than I do, and I know with 100% certainty the club's primary motiviation is NOT making money.

Money grab clubs carry as many as they can squeeze on a team while leaving one spot open in case they can recruit a pre-developed stud later on.  They also charge the SAME high fees for teams playing at the top level as for teams playing Plano. Kicks costs are stratified based on the level of play of the team. Plano teams pay less than the LH D2 team, who in turn pay less than the top travel team.  

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. It's not about the cost, it's about VALUE. JM does camps with his girls for $20 per day and the team has literally spent three days straight with eachother. A coach hosting residential camps for his team?  Unheard of commitment to his players and trust by the parents.

No, the total annual costs to play on Kicks top team will not be MUCH less than any other top team. They're going to travel just as much. But the amount of time invested in the DD's by Kicks coaches and the amount of soccer those kids experience for that same money is simply not comparable to money grab clubs. Not even close.

Who cares?

Obviously, they do - a lot - I think Jm23Jm was smart buying this forum and using it for 24 hour a day Kicks propaganda!

00scrmom wrote:

Slakemoth wrote:

butterfly wrote:
She attended both A&M and SMU camps last summer and was very disappointed with the A&M camp.  Her comment was that it was too easy, and had too many breaks for social events like making dance videos to post on YouTube.  I have actual evidence of that one!!

My 96 just got back from the A&M camp. I gotta agree with part of your assessment. While she didn't spend any time making dance videos (at least that I've seen), she did comment that there were times that it was being dragged down by weaker players in her group.... i.e. she expected her group to be a bit more "elite" at this age. Don't get me wrong, she did have a good time, but was not raving like I would have expected. Her roommate was a very strong player, and she fell in with a few girls from the Dallas area that were very strong as well, but she did say there were a bunch that were not very good at all, and scrimmages could be frustrating.

 
Have to somewhat agree with Slakemoth as for the distance between skill level of the attendees at the A&M camp. My DD went last year and also this year to A&M camp (she just got back -perhaps we rubbed elbows at Callaway lugging luggage up or down the stairs) and I could tell from the morning scrimmages that there was definitely a mix of stronger and weaker players within her group.  It would be nice for them to assess the campers the first night and then place them in groups by skill level from the remainder of the camp.  Little Suzie might not like it because she might get seperated from her teammate that went with her but that's what I want out a $645+ camp for my DD, to have fun but be challenged.  I think who they get as a coach has something to do with their perception of the camps as well.  If a coach is not as interactive, like my DDs was this year (she called him a boring Brit  ) but last year she had a female who was alot of fun. Now with all that said, my DD did say she did learn from her coaches this year, came back wore the heck out and had alot of fun with her friend and made lots of new friends (only one Vine video that I've seen) is enough for me to say that it was worth the arm and half a leg to send her.

Haha, one vine video... Enuff said, u got money's worth

Uncle Numanga wrote:
Who cares?

Why are you still here again? Oh that's right - you have a daughter still playing club soccer so you care enough to read and post useful tidbits on a girls soccer forum. Makes sense.

3-4-3 wrote:

Uncle Numanga wrote:
Who cares?

Why are you still here again? Oh that's right - you have a daughter still playing club soccer so you care enough to read and post useful tidbits on a girls soccer forum. Makes sense.

 

UEFA wrote:Jm23jm is a better choice and he won't over charge you, and that dude can skills train!

UEFA - Are you possibly bailing out on ROYAL and aligning with MAGENTA by any chance for next season?

3-4-3 wrote:

Uncle Numanga wrote:
Who cares?

Why are you still here again? Oh that's right - you have a daughter still playing club soccer so you care enough to read and post useful tidbits on a girls soccer forum. Makes sense.

No. She just finished. I just don't understand why someone would post such drivel on a thread about college camps. Someone has an inferiority complex.

kickballrules wrote:

UEFA wrote:Jm23jm is a better choice and he won't over charge you, and that dude can skills train!

UEFA - Are you possibly bailing out on ROYAL and aligning with MAGENTA by any chance for next season?

No, just handing out Props to a coach who does a good job training skills at a reasonable price!

Uncle Numanga wrote:

3-4-3 wrote:

Uncle Numanga wrote:
Who cares?

Why are you still here again? Oh that's right - you have a daughter still playing club soccer so you care enough to read and post useful tidbits on a girls soccer forum. Makes sense.

No.  She just finished.  I just don't understand why someone would post such drivel on a thread about college camps.  Someone has an inferiority complex.

Drivel is in the eye of the beholder. I've put up with yours for years.

Was hoping you morphed into some sort of elder statesman now that you're done with this whole scene. If more parents did, this forum could help people navigate the waters with much less of a bumpy ride.

I always have an opinion and I am always right.  I will help anyone that wants to navigate the waters in the correct manner.

Wanted to revisit this topic after my daughter did the TCU camp a week ago. Much better camp than A&M. The session had a much higher level of players attending, including 4-6 girls that had committed to TCU. The sessions were challenging, food was waaaay better (her words), and more importantly there was constant involvement from the TCU coaching staff. At A&M there was one quick "photo op" with the head coach..... at the TCU camp, Eric, Ryan, Kelsey, Ben and the other staff members were at all sessions and rotated amongst the girls. As a parent I felt like my daughter got what was promised and hoped for from a camp at this level. They also did a great job of really letting the girls know what is would be like to play soccer at the college level.... This included a class session on recruitment, and more importantly for my daughter...lots of time with the TCU players. They were obviously positive about playing college ball, but also pulled no punches when it came to the time commitment, and how it inter-meshed with their academic life.

My daughter's roommate had attended the SMU camp, and echoed the comments posted earlier in this thread.

So very positive review for the TCU camp. Time and money well spent.