My two boys, ages 8 and 10, took the beginner golf class, which was advertised as a camp for ages 5-10. It quickly became clear that this class should be advertised for a younger age group--perhaps 5-7 years old, at the most. The equipment looked like the kind of clubs you'd buy for toddlers and my sons repeatedly told me after class that the coaches spent hardly any time working on the golf games. Basically put out equipment with minimal instructions (ie. see who can hit the ball the farthest, or try to get the ball to land on this target) but no other, more in-depth coaching. I would have at least expected the coaches to teach kids the basics. "Today we're going to work on PUTTING. Putting is for ____ and you use such-and-such clubs when you need to put." Maybe some information about how you actually play golf, how you score, how to accurately hold the clubs, perhaps? I get that there were a number of young children, but even young kids can begin to absorb these concepts and there could have been some effort to separate into two groups, so that the older kids could be given more detail. It seemed as though the kids spent more time playing tag, running around with soccer balls, doing handstands in the grass, and otherwise playing around without any structure or goals or actual coaching from the coaches. After my boys second day, when they again told me they spent about ten minutes with the golf equipment and the rest of the time was spent running around doing whatever they wanted, I decided to stick around the next day to observe. In the hour that I was there, I found they didn't exaggerate as much as I had hoped. Thirty minutes after the class was supposed to start, they finally put out the golf equipment and it seemed highly voluntary if the kids wanted to come and see what the game was involving them. I saw very little effort to coral kids, explain concepts, or do anything coordinated. When I returned a half-an-hour before class ended, I witnessed the same--kids running around in various groups doing whatever they wanted while the coaches stood around talking together. The soccer camp that happened to be taking place in the same field seemed to spend more time doing actual soccer-related activities, although the young coaches from the golf camp were more interested in chatting up the woman coaching the soccer camp than teaching the kids anything. One of the days, my boys said 911 had to be called because a little boy was swinging a club and bashed another kid in the face. Obviously accidents happened, but I asked if the coaches had even gone over any safety, like looking behind you before you swing. Not surprisingly, they said no. The coaches don't really explain anything, except, essentially, "hit these balls here". My boys came home from this "camp" having learned absolutely nothing. They got to practice hitting the balls for a few minutes each day, but they could have done that at home. In fact, we have a kids golf-club set that we bought used on OfferUp that looked to be better quality than what this camp had to offer. It was very frustrating to witness this level of unprofessionalism, not fulfilling anything described on the registration. I basically paid $340 for my kids to play Red Rover for three hours a day. Given that they were actually hoping to learn more about golf and we thought this would be a great introduction, this was incredibly frustrating. The only positive thing about this camp was that my kids spent time outside, being active. read more

Our elementary aged kid has enrolled in the Skyhawks camp two years in a row now (kindergarten and first grade), and we've had an excellent experience. We signed up for the soccer/baseball/basketball camp, which is 3 hours long. My kid has fun, and has sufficient time to rest in the shade and eat snacks as needed. The coaches are young, but work really well with the younger kids and are very sweet, and extremely patient. With the younger kids (ie Kinder to first grade), it's like herding cats at times, and all the coaches are patient and are nice and friendly. Our camp is at the local elementary school in Kirkland, WA, and there is also access to a bathroom (porta-potty). Pick up and drop off is easy, and the camp is in a safe and fenced area. Overall, I've been very happy with Skyhawks, and my son comes home happy and excited to go back the next day. The variety of sports is sufficient to keep his attention over the course of his afternoon so he doesn't get bored. We will be in a new area next year, and hope our experience will be just as good next summer! read more

I signed my nine year old son up for their flag football camp. Every day he came home complaining of how rough some of the other campers were and how the coaches did nothing about it. He's generally a very easy going and positive kiddo but absolutely hated his experience during the camp and begged not to go back. He also reported, as others have said, that there was no flag football skill-building (or much flag football at all) and it was mostly an outdoor daycare for kids. We won't be doing another Skyhawks program again. read more

My son attended the soccer camp last summer but he did not learn a thing. It was more of a day care child care rather than a learning camp. I wished for better coaches who can help kids improve read more

Literally three days before my daughter's cheer camp was supposed to begin, we got an email saying it's canceled with absolutely no explanation. This is so incredibly frustrating, as my daughter and her friends were looking forward to this camp for months, and as a working parent, I had to plan out my daughter's summer camps and factored this all in with work. Thanks for leaving us hanging like this, where it's too late to find anything in the middle of summer - totally unacceptable! And what's even better is when I followed up with them, asking what in the world happened, I got a canned response saying "Sorry!" Are you kidding me?? read more

I had my 7 year old son do an all day camp in Edmonds with Skyhawks this summer (9am-3pm) and on the first day I put sunscreen on him and had him bring extra sunscreen (with his name on it like the reminder notifications stated) and the first day, they took the sunscreen and didn't remind the kids to reapply. Needless to say, my blonde hair / fair skin son got burned for his first time ever during this day! It was heartbreaking! Other than this the camp was totally disorganized and frankly not worth the time. We were pretty disappointed and will never do a Skyhawks camp again! read more

This was our first experience with Skyhawks and our last. I put my older boys in their multi-sports camp to come pick them up on their first day and my youngest comes running to me clearly upset (he's usually pretty bubbly) and he shows me the back of his head. Come to find a HUGE hematoma on the back of his head you could see sticking out from far away. Shocked to also learn from my kids that this happened in the first 30 minutes we dropped him off and he was in camp all day. When I asked my kids how it happened, both they told me he fell back and hit his head in the beginning of camp and that the counselors were aware of it and that he was crying and asking to go home and they never thought to assess his head. I approached them and they said they had no idea it happened, just thought he hurt his lip when he fell. My kids both told me he was upset for quite a while asking them to go home for the first part of the morning, no call, nothing! UNNACCEPTABLE. We took him right away to the ER and the doctor was shocked he had gone all day on it. We took him home and had to monitor him all night for worsening symptoms and a concussion, etc. They need better training and an adult on staff, not teenagers. I still feel horrible I left them in their supervision. read more

I signed my 11 and 9 year old kids for Soccer classes in Bellevue. My bad, I should have checked their ratings before doing that. It's the worst possible experience and my kids hated it to the core. My kids literally curse me after each class. They put 25 kids in a small 20ft x 20ft space and coaches have no clue what to do with that many kids and kids have no clue what they are supposed to do. When I asked my 11 year old, why he is not interested in playing, he is like, "do you expect me to run and crash into other kids, this is a crazy place". I asked Skyhawks to cancel and refund my remaining classes, which they won't do either. Once you bought classes, you are stuck with them or you lose your money. Most pathetic service. read more

Perhaps it's a sign of the hope and optimism that gets us through Seattle winters, but my mind wandered recently to summer. On these long, dark, dreary days, it's easy to forget that there even is a summer. But, it there is, and it's scheduled to arrive as it does every year in Seattle - on July 5th. And naturally, as I begin to think about summer my mind turns to that one question that working parents from coast-to-coast ponder at some point during the run up to warm weather: What in the world am I going to do with the kids? And then it struck me. My kids have finally outgrown one of summer's most reliable activities, Skyhawks Sports Camps. Wow. I need to take a moment to contemplate that. Another phase completed. My kids aren't really kids any longer. Moment over. If you are unfamiliar with Skyhawks, here's how the company describes itself: "Skyhawks has been a recognized name in delivering quality sports programs for children and young adults for over 30 years. We offer over 10 different sports programs for kids ages 3.5 - 12. Skyhawks believes that every child should experience the joy and benefits of athletics. All Skyhawks programs are focused on developing and building the skills and confidence of young athletes in a fun and safe environment" (http://franchise.skyhawks.com/). Over the years my kids did many of the sports offered by Skyhawks including multi-sport, baseball, flag football, golf, soccer and basketball. Many of these sports they did multiple times over the course of a summer. The classes are held all over the city, so parents never have to travel too far. They typically run Monday through Friday, from 9AM to 3PM, so similar to a regular school day. The young adults (17 years old or older), who teach the classes are exceptionally well trained, very engaged, positive and really serve not just as coaches but role models. Throughout the course of a day they will teach an established curriculum including fundamentals and drills, and of course engage in actual, but fun competitions. At the end of each week the kids are given t-shirts, souvenir balls and certificates of accomplishment. There's also usually an exchanging of phone numbers with new friends that have been made over the course of the week. Over all the years we did Skyhawks, never once was there a bad experience, an unfinished camp session or a complaint about a coach. It's truly a stellar program and honestly if I lived in a community that didn't already have Skyhawks, I'd seriously look at franchising opportunities. Skyhawks claims that over one million children in twenty states have participated in their programs (http://bit.ly/WHGRT2). I have no reason to doubt those numbers, but neither do they matter to me. What matters to me are the numbers two, ten and one -- as in two children who benefited from Skyhawks programs for over ten years equals one very grateful parent. Pro tip: Sign up for a season pass and save a ton of dough. read more

I signed my 4 year old up for soccer camp age 4-7. Today is the second day and there has been another group paired up with them the whole time that goes up to age 12. Roughly there are about 30 kids and at least half look to be 10-12. Why is it a good idea to have 4 year olds play with 10-12? It really doesn't seem like a camp catered to 4 year olds, it is more catered to the older kids. The little ones have not learned much and it is dangerous since not enough attention is being paid to them. We aren't even going to finish this week out. It is a disappointing and unhealthy experience for 4 year olds. They are in a situation where they feel lost, confused and miss their parents. I am one of the only parents who have stayed to watch. I think most have just dropped there kids off assuming something better is happening here. read more

We're very happy with these sports camps. Our son loves the weeklong themed days and meeting new friends. The prices are very reasonable. The only thing that I could see improvement in is dividing the kids further by age. read more

My 11 yr old did what was supposed to a basketball camp this past week in Hinsdale, IL. It was really more like a day care with little focus on basketball. She begged not to go everyday and a few kids stopped going after 1st day. The older kids were always with the little kids and they pretty much just played sharks and minnows, etc all day. The camp description was very misleading, they were supposed to work on skill of the day,and this rarely happened. The two coaches acted like they didn't want be there, one of them even fell asleep one day. Very disappointing. Not for kids over 8 yrs. old!!!!! Or kids that want to improve basketball skills! read more

Not a positive experience for our son who is very active in sports and a great kid. Their programs much like others must be very dependent on the coach but clearly this group did not like or understand how to work with young kids in a positive and motivational manner. Caution if signing up your kiddo. read more

My 2 children and my 2 nieces attended the basketball camp in Bellevue. They loved it a lot because they played a lot of basketball games, and scrimmage, which was their favorite part. Coach Red, and coach B. were awesome. They all loved it very much. I will definitely consider other camps next year. read more

We just ended a one week summer camp at skyhawks in San Jose. We've been to kidz love soccer, so we knew what great coaches are. Well, these two coaches were just ok, it was not really structured, the water breaks were soo long that the kids started to stroll around the park, starting to make nonsense etc and the coaches were checking their phones and sometimes just yell "xy, come back here!". They didn't really explain the rules of the games, everything took a looong time until they really started to play, everything seemed a little chaotic and they were so unmotivated! The worst was their way how to handle conflict in the group. The coaches were pretty young, so maybe they don't know, but they should be teached how to handle conflict, and there was much conflict going on in this group. I really thought this will be a great experience, but unfortunately I expected more for the 180$. Maybe it's good for older kids, for younger ones (4-5) not so good. read more