The UCLA Girls Soccer Camp has worked wonders for the Bruins’ performance on the field since it began in the late 1990s, helping fuel the program’s recent run of eight appearances in the College Cup since 2000.

B.J. Snow, who enters his first season as UCLA head coach and spent his last five years as an assistant coach, said the camp tries to establish the same values and principles that guides the program’s competitive success.  

“We emphasize the development of the individual, first and foremost,” Snow said, “so they get a taste of what our practices actually incorporate, as well as teaching some of the fundamental values that we teach our girls. It’s not just about soccer, but the way they dictate, how they act in sessions and outside of sessions.”

In short, the staff gives each prospective student-athlete the chance to know what it would be like to go to UCLA.

Snow said one of the reasons the girls attend summer camps is to work with coaches and to get exposure from not just the UCLA coaching staff but from other schools as well.

Just how valuable are the camps to the program?

Snow said that over the last five years, five of the current girls on the roster and three incoming freshmen were camp attendees.

“It’s kind of justice to say the process works and to be able to work with kids for four days in that setting,” Snow said. “We definitely want them to have the total experience so they get a chance to see what the camp is like.”

UCLA offers a Junior Overnight Camp from July 8-11 for girls ages 9-13. The cost is $550 for a resident camper and $450 for commuters. They also offer Day Camps with two sessions remaining July 12-15 and July 25-28. It is designed for girls ages 7-13 and is $325 per session.

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