Every year parents send their kids off to summer camps. But only a handful of those kids will use a private coach, an often overlooked resource right in your community. While there are certainly some great camps out there, there are also some that could be considered...well...less than effective. Private coaching runs the same range of effectiveness. Choosing what camp or camps to send your young athlete to, or whether or not to have a private coach work 1 on 1 with your child, involves a number of factors. Time, expense, location, quality of instruction, interest of the child to name a few. Consider this a beginners guide to helping you busy parents decide on the best summer sport activities for your young athlete.

Let's look at the most overlooked decision factor first - The interest of the child. Kids will often play the sport their mom or dad chooses for them at an early age. Most kids have an inherent desire to please their parents so they will stick with that sport, even if they are not that interested. The subtle hints dropped by parents are enough to influence a child's response to the question, "Do you like playing basketball?" The usual answer from a kid is going to be "Yeah". To which the parent assumes there is a strong desire in the child to continue playing the sport. Parents have to learn to read between the lines and get to the real meaning. Ask open ended questions like, "If you had to stop playing basketball, what would you do instead?" If your kid starts listing a host of possibilities from other sports to writing, or drama, or becoming a game show host, you may have a child that is just trying to please you by playing basketball. If they respond slowly and without much to say about the matter, they probably really do like basketball, or whatever sport it is they play. In that case, it may be worthwhile to consider a private coach. It's real easy for kids to be lost in the masses at a summer camp and get very little personal attention. If your child truly has a strong interest, foster that interest with an expert in the sport. StarterCoach.com offers a list of certified coaches in areas all over the country that work with kids in 1 on 1 settings only. mysummercamp.com and kidscamps.com have just about every camp you can think of listed for your browsing pleasure.

Interest Winner: Average to low interest, go with a summer camp. Strong interest, go with a private coach.

Time is a critical factor when deciding between different summer camp options. Summer camps will put their schedules out months in advance, and parents will start looking to make summer plans as early as December/January time frames. There are facilities to be booked, staff to be hired, programs and activities to be designed and organized. It's a lot of effort putting a camp together. Families often gear their entire summer plans around the schedule of the camps their kids are attending. The complexity of it all can be a real detractor to summer camps. This is where private coaching offers major benefits. Scheduling is with a single individual and a single location, usually on a day by day basis. Using a private coach allows parents much more freedom to keep their summers open while still getting a great learning experience for your child.

Time Winner: Private coach, hands down

You spent how much on a summer camp? The expense of camps can be unbelievably high. As high as $10,000 for a single week! You can also find camps that are free for a select group of people. So the range is almost immeasurable. But if the focus is on sport camps, the range narrows a bit. Specialty overnight camps can be upwards of $3,000-$5,000 depending on the prestige and the all inclusiveness of the camp. Average run of the mill sport camps are more in the $700-$1500 range for overnight camps and $200-$800 for day camps. Now multiply your favorite camp cost by the number of children you have and it becomes a real budget buster. Private coaches can range in price as well. Single session with private coaches (who don't work for free) can cost anywhere from $25-$400 for each session. That, too can test any budget depending on how many sessions and how many kids you have. But over time, the cost per child is going to be far less for a private coach. The average cost is lower per session when matched up by number of days and hours of actual instruction, cutting out camp meal times and other leisure time. Not to mention the fact that private coaches are by nature, less committal. If you don't like how its going, stop using the coach. If your child hates their camp, chances are you won't hear about it until afterward, if at all!

Expense Winner: Private coach

Location is another consideration when choosing summer sport activities. Most camps have a facility. Especially established camps. Schools (middle and high), Colleges and Universities rely on summer revenue from camps for a lot of in-school funding needs. They make good use of their facilities in the summers months when students are gone. If these facilities are close to your home that may be reason enough for you to send little Johnny to basketball camp. It may be a great idea to send a middle or high-schooler to a collegiate camp just to see what campuses look like. Having a facility is also a great way to insure that your child gets the most out of a camp experience. There is nothing worse than going to swim camp and having it thunder and lightning every day when the only pool is an outdoor pool. Private coaches don't have facilities. They will often come to your house or try to squeeze in some time at a local YMCA or an unoccupied gym. That can be troublesome for some families, cramping their all important schedule. But if you can find a good coach nearby you that is able to work right in your neighborhood, that location cannot be beat! If you find that coach, hang on to him or her like it's the last chicken wing at a BBQ.

Location Winner: Summer Camp, by a nose

The quality of the experience is the final consideration we'll weigh in on, but not the only remaining factor. But this is really the heart of the matter, isn't it? None of us will send our kids to a camp that we know isn't any good. I've worked at a number of camps for basketball players over the years, all good ones. But I've heard some horror stories from kids, parents, and even other coaches! Private coaches tend to be above average just by the nature of the fact that they are willing to work alone. They have some confidence in their abilities and can usually produce a good program. A bad private coach isn't going to last long. They are usually found by word of mouth and who is going to hire a private coach with negative reviews? Bad camps can survive for years, living off of a coach's name, or the success of a collegiate program, a good location. But even so, reputation will prevail and numbers will shrink over time. Chances are if you hear about a private coach, it's because they are good. Kids like them, they produce results, they are professional and knowledgeable. Summer camps will carry both good and bad reputations. The quality of the learning experiences are filtered at best just due to the numbers of kids attending.

Quality Winner: Private Coach

More than likely it will be a combination of these factors and others that determine what the best option is for your young athlete. Let us know what you use to decide and what you think others should consider.