Co-ed Sports Camps: What Makes Them Great for Kids?

When summer camp season rolls around each year, parents and guardians have no shortage of camp types to explore.

You’ve probably looked at day camps, overnight camps, traditional camps, and multi-sport camps—still, there’s another important factor of camp you need to consider: Is a co-ed sports camp right for your child?

At Future Stars, we’ve seen firsthand the transformative benefits of sending kids to co-ed camps. Whether your child chooses sports or STEAM camps, they’re gaining skills here that will support them for life—without restrictions based on gender.

Still, some parents or guardians worry about what the co-ed sports camp experience is like for girls. If you’re on the fence about sending your daughter to a co-ed sports camp, we can help. Here’s what makes a co-ed summer camp a great choice for any child.

Team-Building Experience

As adults, we know there are few scenarios in life where we don’t interact with individuals who might think or look different. If you apply this to your own co-workers, you’ll see you usually have a mix of skills, ideas, and people in the workplace.

From an early age, boys and girls need to understand that interacting with each other is a learning opportunity and a chance to build peer-to-peer respect. A co-ed sports camp helps kids develop these skills in a safe, supervised environment—all while making learning fun.

Some boys and girls have confidence issues or might be uncomfortable interacting with each other. That’s okay, too! A co-ed summer camp can help build this confidence, especially for shy kids at camp. 

Double the Friends

The most obvious benefit of a co-ed sports camp is that there are many more opportunities to make new friends who share the same interests! Co-ed camps allow girls and boys to build friendships that can last a lifetime, and having a mix of friendships builds stronger support networks into adulthood.

If two children have similar interests and get along great, it doesn’t matter if one of them is a boy or a girl. What matters most are the connections being forged.

Encouragement for Everyone

Gender stereotypes have no place at summer camps. There are no “typical boy activities” and “typical girl activities.” In fact, that’s one of the dangers of all-girl or all-boy camps: they tend to segment the activities they do offer by gender.

If your son happens to be interested in art camp and your daughter is interested in basketball, they may find themselves unable to enjoy the activities they love at gender-exclusive camps.

Isolating girls to specific activities also limits their access to great coaching for the sports or interests they find themselves truly passionate about. When girls are given the support they need to continue enjoying sports, they excel, shine, and stick with it past their childhood years.

Plus, playing sports—even non-competitively—has a dramatic positive impact on girls’ health.
Co-ed summer camps help children understand what each individual is truly capable of, and these kinds of team-building moments can be pivotal in the development of healthy children.

At Future Stars, we love seeing girls enjoy the fun and excitement of basketball camp. Similarly, we love seeing boys participate in growing their skills at art camp.

Simply put, we love when kids participate in camp programs that they’re passionate about—no matter what the program is. Every camper should have the ability to build confidence, enthusiasm, and a genuine love for each activity they pursue.

Future Stars Makes Choosing the Right Camp Easy

Whether you’ve decided a co-ed sports camp is right for your child or you’re debating between a day camp and an overnight camp, keeping everything organized is important.

With the Future Stars Camp Comparison Checklist, we’ve made it easy for you to keep track of crucial details. Plus, we’ve given you a streamlined start: information about Future Stars camps is already filled in.

Download our checklist today to make it even easier to choose the right camp for your child!