Summer camps are more than just drills and reps - they’re a powerful opportunity to shape athlete identity and foster long-term resilience.
When we think of summer sports camps, it’s easy to picture grueling training sessions and relentless competition. But the most transformative camps go far beyond reps and results. They intentionally create space to develop the whole athlete.
Camps offer a unique setting to nurture emotional wellness, identity, and team culture. Why? Because athletes are outside of their usual routines, more open to new experiences, and immersed in high-impact learning environments. This is where meaningful change happens - if coaches are prepared to lead it.
Move Beyond the Physical: Three Ways to Build Whole Athletes This Summer
1. Daily Mental Wellness Check-Ins
High-pressure environments can wear down even the most talented athletes. Incorporating short, private mental wellness check-ins helps coaches understand how athletes are actually doing—beyond what shows up in performance. Whether it’s nerves, burnout, or homesickness, knowing what’s under the surface allows coaches to lead with insight and empathy.
🔧 Tool Tip: HONE’s app makes it simple to capture emotional data daily, providing coaches with real-time insights and trends. No guesswork. Just meaningful, actionable information.
2. Intentional Connection Activities
Camps are rich with opportunities to strengthen team bonds. Move beyond traditional icebreakers to facilitate deeper connections. Shared challenges, story-sharing circles, gratitude huddles, and buddy systems can turn a group of individuals into a cohesive, connected team.
When athletes feel seen and supported, they compete with more confidence—and they carry that sense of belonging with them long after camp ends.
3. Prioritize Rest as a Performance Strategy
It’s tempting to fill every minute with activity. But real development happens during recovery. Structured downtime, mindfulness moments, and mental rest allow athletes to recharge and absorb learning. Rest isn’t a break from training—it’s an essential part of it.
Why It Matters:
- Performance: Athletes who include rest in their training plans often experience 15-30% greater long-term performance gains compared to those who don’t.
- Mental Focus: Rest improves cognitive sharpness, situational awareness, and decision-making under pressure. In fast-paced sports, a split-second advantage can change everything.
- Injury Prevention: Regular recovery lowers the risk of overuse injuries by 33-50%. It helps identify early warning signs like fatigue or soreness before they escalate.
- Emotional Regulation: Scheduled rest stabilizes mood, sustains motivation, and reduces burnout. Elite athletes who integrate psychological rest report 25% higher motivation and 40% lower burnout risk.
Your Role as a Coach: Create the Culture
The most memorable camps don’t just create better athletes - they build better people. Coaches have a unique opportunity to model leadership that balances performance with well-being.
HONE is here to support you. Our platform offers a daily window into how athletes are responding to stress, pressure, and team dynamics. With guidance from certified psychotherapists, we help coaches implement strategies that foster safer, more connected, high-performing environments.
“Mental wellness isn’t extra. It’s essential.”
Real Impact, Real Results
"HONE has been an exceptional tool for us as coaches to use and gain insight into our team dynamics. We’ve been able to monitor our players and make adjustments regarding practice times, workload management, student-life balance and even life events that we probably wouldn’t have all done without HONE." - Alex Plamondon, Head Coach, Kapuskasing Flyers U18 AAA
Let’s Put Mental Wellness in the Game
This summer, let’s redefine success. When we focus on developing whole athletes, we lay the foundation for long-term confidence, resilience, and a lifelong love of sport.
HONE can help make that possible - not just for this summer, but every season that follows.
👉 Download your free Off-Season Bingo Card and start integrating mental wellness into your camp experience.