As Part Of Our Annual Camps & Clinics Resource Guide, We Asked Top High School Athletes To Sound Off On What They Gained From Camps •
For the past several years, we’ve been polling high school athletes on their favorite memories from camps & clinics they’ve attended over the years. This year we added six new names to the growing list of responders.
If you’re an athlete looking for a camp, or preparing to attend your first one, these responses from high-end athletes just might help you.
Camps & Clinics Memories 2023
ISAIAH & ELIJAH CORTEZ
Gilroy Wrestling | Sophomores | 2023 CIF State Champions
Do you have a favorite camp or clinic memory?
ELIJAH: My favorite camp memory was when we got to play Sharks & Minnows with Kyle (four-time World Champion, four-time NCAA champion and 2022 Olympic Bronze Medalist) Kyle Dake at the Gilroy camp.
What would you tell your younger self so that you could get more out of a camp?
ISAIAH: Write down what you learned at the camp. That way you can incorporate to your style of wrestling after you leave.
What did you gain for a camp setting that you may not have gained in a practice setting?
ELIJAH: A camp offers the ability to test moves on kids who are outside of your normal practice partners.
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What did the best camps you attended have in common?
ISAIAH: They focused on little details in keen positions that make a difference in the match.
What’s the one thing you learned at a camp or clinic that has stayed with you, and that you still apply today?
ISAIAH: Plan long warm-ups so you don’t injure yourself during practice.
If you were a camp director for your sport, what’s the first thing you’d want your camp to have?
ELIJAH: An organized schedule with high-level technicians and good in-between-time food.
EMMA FRENCH
Benicia Softball | Sophomore
Do you have a favorite camp or clinic memory?
Northwestern and Notre Dame camps in Colorado last summer. Competing with other top players from all over the USA reinforced that if I keep working, I can play at the next level! Plus, I love the thin air when hitting!
What would you tell your younger self so that you could get more out of a camp?
Relax and be the player that I am, and not try to be a player I am not. I want to make sure coaches see my game and who I am as a player and teammate.
What did you gain for a camp setting that you may not have gained in a practice setting?
Tips and feedback from other coaches that are seeing me and evaluating me for the first time.
What did the best camps you attended have in common?
Organization, high level talent, great coaching, less campers — and a fast pace
What’s the one thing you learned at a camp or clinic that has stayed with you, and that you still apply today?
My camp experiences reinforced to play with joy and embrace every opportunity. I also learned a specific glove technique on forehand short hops and picks from Coach Kate Drohan at the Northwestern camp in Colorado last summer.
If you were a camp director for your sport, what’s the first thing you’d want your camp to have?
A lot of stations to get lots of good reps and good looks. Small manageable group of players to get more focused time with coaches/instructors. I don’t like standing around.
JAX GIMENEZ
Whitney-Rocklin Baseball | Junior
What would you tell your younger self so that you could get more out of a camp?
Just to play your game. And especially when in front of bigger crowds or scouts, the more you try to do, the worse it goes. When the moment is big, you often try to do something out of nature and things you can’t do, the more you stay within yourself is when you see the most success.
What did you gain from a camp setting that you may not have gained in a practice setting?
In a camp setting, you definitely feel the atmosphere and the crowd that you wouldn’t feel in a normal practice setting. Also, there is pressure when out at a camp. That’s something you can deal with on your own, going back to my answer about what I’d have told my younger self: The more you put on yourself to perform, the worse it goes.
What did the best camps you attended have in common?
The best camps I attended were the ones that were most organized and led to the most reps. What set these camps apart from others — and made them the best experience for myself as a player — was they allowed each player to really showcase what they were good at throughout the stay at the camp. Even if the player didn’t have a good performance. Also, those camps were the most hands-on with players. Instructors were not only with you the whole time, but talked with you about the game (the good and the bad).
What’s one thing you learned at a camp or clinic that has stayed with you, and that you still apply today?
Although it’s hard to do, each game, each camp and each practice should all be the same in your mind.
If you were a camp director for your sport, what’s the first thing you’d want your camp to have?
The first thing I would aim for is to let the players be themselves and create the most game-like situations. Sometimes they are going to screw up, and other times succeed, it’s what makes baseball so unique.
SAMMY HORN
Marin Catholic-Kentfield Softball | Senior | Boston College Signee
Do you have a favorite camp or clinic memory?
I would say, overall, just getting to meet a lot of new people whose goals are in line with mine. I have made a lot of connections to players from other teams who I otherwise would not have known prior.
What would you tell your younger self so that you could get more out of a camp?
I would say really listen to the instructions being given. Especially if it is a camp put on by college coaches. Listen to their advice and try to implement what they teach into your game. I would also tell myself to ask questions. The people who put on and run great camps always have amazing advice and answers to any questions you may have.
What did the best camps you attended have in common?
The best camps I attended had a lot of quality instruction. Learning is a key aspect to any camp and I felt like the most beneficial and worthwhile camps were the ones that taught me the most both on and off the field.
What’s one thing you learned at a camp or clinic that has stayed with you, and that you still apply today?
Something I learned from doing numerous camps is how to adapt. A camp setting throws new instructors and players at you. Learning how to adapt to new instruction, as well as learning how to play with the athletes around you in a short period of time, is a skill that I feel I have improved in and take with me in any camp I participate in.
If you were a camp director for your sport, what’s the first thing you’d want your camp to have?
I would really want it to have knowledgeable instructors who know what they are talking about and are passionate about sharing their knowledge with campers. Camps that have instructors who are experts in the sport are the absolute best and most impactful camps.
DEREK THOMPSON
De La Salle-Concord Football | Senior | Harvard Signee
What would you tell your younger self so that you could get more out of a camp?
To treat camps more like games. My preparation for a few of the camps I attended over the years was lackluster.
What did you gain from a camp setting that you may not have gained in a practice setting?
A chance to go against different playing styles. It gave me good game prep. In practice everyone is taught the same technique, and to do the same thing, so it’s good to see something different in a non-game setting.
What did the best camps you attended have in common?
The best camps I went to were definitely the smaller ones with maybe a couple different schools in attendance. The ones that come to mind college-wise were UC Davis and Cal. The Under Armour All-American camp down in Los Angeles was also really cool as well. I would say the smaller, the better, though.
If you were a camp director for your sport, what’s the first thing you’d want your camp to have?
Knowledgeable coaches for sure. Also, a limit on how many kids can attend.
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