Camp Shutout West Michigan FAQs - Clark Keeper Training

Commonly Asked Questions

FAQs

Thanks for checking out the Camp Shutout FAQ page. You’d be surprised how many folks don’t check this out first before calling with questions. Below are answers to many of the questions asked about Camp Shutout West Michigan.

Links of Interest

How long has there been a Camp Shutout West Michigan?

Clark Keeper Training has been the home of Camp Shutout West Michigan since 2009, offering summer and winter GK camps and training. We’re affiliated with Camp Shutout (often referred to as the ‘Big Show’), the world’s largest goalkeeper camp. They’ve been putting on camps since 1989. Many of the coaches at Camp Shutout West Michigan also coach at the Big Show and vice versa.

Our summer GK camp is a 4-day camp, and the winter camp is a 3-day camp.

What is the age range of participants?

The summer and winter camps attract goalkeepers from age 8 to 18, from multiple states and also Canada. The average age is the GKs is about 14.

How many goalkeepers attend?

Typical Summer and Winter Camp Shutout attendance is around 100. Attendance has often limited based on where each camp is held.

What is ratio of keepers to coaches?

One of the things that separates Camp Shutout from many of the other goalkeeper camps is that we work to have a keeper to coach ratio of around 9-1. Many times this ratio is even lower.

How are GKs grouped?

Players are initially grouped by age, and also by ability in order to challenge them to improve. During the course of a camp, players can be moved up or down in groups to properly challenge them. That said, the 10 year olds aren’t training with the 18 year olds, but you will see multiple ages within training groups.

How quickly does it fill up?

Camp Shutout West Michigan has been offering quality goalkeeper training in the Grand Rapids area since 2009, gaining a reputation as a source for high-quality keeper training. This means that registration begins to fill up quickly for any of our events. As registration opens up several months before an event, waiting until the event is closer isn’t always wise. Luckily, a deposit payment is available to secure space.

Aly gained so much from this – not just from the technical side but also an internal growth for her. She walked off the field extremely intimidated – and honestly – she liked that challenge. She was up against bigger, faster and more athletic kids – kids that were “insane” on the field – and it scared her. This is the experience any athlete needs to go through to get to the next step. The coaching staff was great and the fact that you all were able to teach at such a high level yet keep “fun” instilled into this is what makes kids want to play sports. It was said the first day – this will be an extremely intense camp but the key is to still have fun. Thanks to you and Stan and all the staff . I would strongly encourage anyone who plays the keeper position to sign up for the “road show” anytime it is available.

I want to share with you a great moment in Gracie’s goalkeeper career. Yesterday we played in the championship game at the Crusader Cup. Gracie was only scored on 3 times the entire tournament—her goal was for a shutout but as you know things happen sometimes. This was our team’s first championship match in our four or five years together. The game ended up going into overtime and then to a shootout. I went down and talked to Gracie prior to the start of the shootout. Her friend and fellow Camp Shutout goalkeeper Auston Ruth was on the sideline for the game to watch and I could tell he was itching to come over to talk to Gracie. I waved for him to come over and he sprinted over to pump her up for this moment in her career. It was so cool to stand back and watch the two of them talk goalie talk. After leaving her, I stood back and watched her do her thing. When it was her turn on the line, she took her time and did her jumps and stretches just like she learned at Camp Shutout. She was calm and cool and determined. Each shooter from the opposing team missed the goal and we ended up winning 2-0 in the shootout. As one of her coaches, it was awesome to see her so composed and confident in the situation and I have no doubt the shooters were intimated by her. As her mom, the biggest highlight was to watch her slap gloves with the opposing keeper in between turns

Clark Keeper Training is an incredible training program. John is definitely one of the best keeper trainers that I’ve ever had and without him and his work, I would not be the keeper I am today. He will work with your schedule and do everything in his power to make you a better keeper. His training sessions are not only challenging, but you learn something new every time. He adds humor into his sessions in order to better connect with the players, and in order to make training a bit more fun in the midst of a tough workout. John has vast knowledge that he passes on to each player in order for them to improve their game as best as possible. He enjoys every aspect of them game as well as making keepers better all around players and people. I could not tell you how grateful I am for everything that John has done to make me the keeper I am as well as being there for me as a coach. I would recommend Clark Keeper Training to anyone and everyone who wants to become as good of a keeper as they come. Also, check out the Camp Shutout West Michigan Road Show that he puts on every year. Class act all around

On our drive to camp on Sunday, she was very nervous/excited and did not know what to expect, as this was her first year. She expressed to me reservations about not knowing anyone, and not knowing how she would measure up against the other keepers. However, on Sunday night when she called me, she did not stop talking about all the great people she was meeting and the skills she would be learning over those next few days. Those calls did not stop the entire time she was at camp. By the time I picked her up on Wednesday, she did not want to come home! She had a wonderful time and felt she learned so much while she was there. She did not stop telling me about everything she did (some things she was telling me for the second time) and what a GREAT learning experience it was for her. She said she loved that the staff really interacted with them, even back in the dorms. She really enjoyed her roommates, and by the end loved getting to know all the keepers at camp.
I cannot thank you enough from myself, and Monica, for this wonderful experience – all of it: in residence; the staff, the food, the sponsors. You have surrounded yourself with wonderful people and that shows in this camp. Thank you! Thank you!

My daughter has trained with John for more than 1 year, less than 2 years. John is a very positive instructor, he dwells on the positive, corrects the negative and moves forward with the patience that most parents do not have – especially me. CKT has made a big improvement in my daughters performance & abilities as many of her teammates parents have given me their unsolicited feedback about the improvement that my daughter displays on the field. CKT is certainly not in it for the money, rather CKT is in it for the love of the position and the associated training.

Just wanted to share some exciting (and a proud keeper Mom moment) as Ava’s U11 team participating the Grand Valley soccer tournament this weekend, their team won 1st place!! While Ava did not have a ton of “saving” opportunities, the ones she made were key! The championship ended in a 0-0 tie, so it went to a PK shoot out! So proud of how calm and together she seemed, between every shot she clapped hands with the opponent keep, which was such great sportsmanship! But what really set the tone was Ava made a great diving save to stop the very first PK! She went on to stop 3 total! Her team had a few missed shots, but they ended up winning the shoot out 5-4! What an experience for Ava, one I am sure she will never forget! Ava wanted to make sure I emailed you to let you know her keeper training was in full swing last weekend!