Setting Up the Camp

• 1). Find a location. There are many locations that are available for rent, or even for free, at local schools, churches, and parks. Find the court that is right for what you are trying to do and then talk to whoever is in charge of the location. If you plan to run your camp during the summer, it could work out perfectly because many schools leave their basketball courts vacant for public use during summer break.
  
  
• 2). Apply for accreditation with the American Camp Association (ACA). This will assure potential campers that your service is legitimate, and the ACA provides free advertising on their site and in their newsletter distributed throughout your local community. They will require that you have insurance that covers property and comprehensive general liability. The Markel camp insurance policy can cover such risks and the policy can be located at www.campinsurance.com.
  
  
• 3). Get licensing by getting a Doing Business As (DBA) license with the Small Business Association. Applications for this license can be found at their site at www.sba.gov. Likewise you might want to register your camp as a non-profit organization with the SBA for tax purposes.
  
  
• 4). Organize a camp schedule. It is ideal to divide the campers up into teams and then put them on a rotating schedule. An ideal schedule would be one that has preferably four different time periods--game times, instructional coaching sessions, workout times, and free times. It also might be wise to provide a lunch break.
  
  

Running the Camp

• 1). Organize teams and setup a game schedule. This is the part of the camp the customers sign up for, and it's by far the most enjoyable. Each member of your staff should be responsible for coaching one team. If you have a limited staff, you and one other instructor can take on the task of coaching whatever two teams are playing during the game time, and only run one full court game at a time.
  
  
• 2). Set up instructional coaching sessions. This is the essential part of the camp that will define your programs as a credible source of basketball instruction and education. This is when you should instruct in defensive strategy, rebounding strategy, moving without the ball, moving with the ball, passing and stress the importance of teamwork.
  
  
• 3). Set up workout sessions. This is the time when any personal trainers you have on staff can get your campers in shape and teach them about fitness. Specific exercises pertaining to basketball can be done during this time, like 20 in 2's where the players will run the full length of a basketball court 20 times in 2 minutes. Or vertical leap drills can be done, where the campers practice touching the backboard while holding medicine balls. This is also a good time to incorporate doing laps around the court, crunches, pushups, layup drills, or lifting weights if you have them available.
  
  
• 4). Provide free time. This is the time during the daily schedule where campers can relax and rest their bodies. They can watch some of the games being played to study the game from a spectator's perspective, or they can take the time to socialize. It would also be a convenient amenity to provide a movie room where the campers could relax and watch instructional videos on basketball. If your schedule is pressed for time, this could also be used as a lunch break for the campers.