Hockey Summer Camp Marketing: How to Fill Your Camp Before Spring

When do families book summer hockey camps?

Earlier than most camps start marketing. Some big camps already list next summer's dates in the fall, and many families plan summer in January, when camp registration opens across North America. If your dates aren't public by then, you're not in the conversation.

Look at the timing. The Boston Bruins and Pro Ambitions camp already lists its 2027 summer dates at six rinks, from June 21 to August 19. The Nashville Predators' Ford Ice Center tells families to join a notification list for its 2027 summer camps. A University of Toronto guide for parents says many summer camp registrations begin as early as January, and most open by March.

So the selling window for a July camp starts in January, not June.

/Sources: Bruins 2027 dates · Predators notification list · as early as January ... most open by March

What should a hockey camp page show?

Everything a parent needs to say yes without calling you: dates, birth years, daily hours, on-ice and off-ice time, coaches, price, what's included and how many spots are left. Group the weeks by birth year, because that's how hockey parents think.

The Owen Sound Attack's summer hockey school page is a good model of the basics. It lists the dates, splits the day into a morning session for younger players and an afternoon session for older ones, shows the $350 price for a half-day camp, and shows spots left by birth year, with some groups marked full. Every one of those lines answers a question before the parent asks it.

A checklist for your page:

/Sources: OHL Attack

How do you market a summer hockey camp?

Start with last year's families, then build an interest list, then run ads with real camp footage. Follow up the same day every time. A summer camp rarely loses families to a better camp. It loses them to a slow reply and a date that clashed with the cottage.

The plan I'd run:

1. Rebook on the last day. Hand every family next year's dates and a priority link before they leave. If you didn't this summer, email last year's list first in January.
2. Open an interest list now. Player name, birth year, position, parent email and phone. Tell them they'll hear first when registration opens.
3. Publish dates by early January. Even if the final schedule isn't locked, publish the weeks.
4. Open registration with a reason to act. A dated early-bird price or a small prize draw. The Humboldt Broncos, for example, entered families who registered by a set date into a draw for a team jersey.
5. Run ads from January to April to parents of the right birth years near your rink, using clips from last summer.
6. Show spots left. When a group fills, say so on the page and in a post.
7. Follow up the same day. A text and an email after every inquiry, then a reminder a week later.

/Sources: Humboldt Broncos

Who should you target with hockey camp ads?

Parents of players in the birth years you're running, within a sensible drive of your rink. Start with people who already know you: last year's families, your academy or club families, and anyone who watched your reels or visited your camp page. Then widen to parents who follow local minor hockey associations and teams.

Good targeting signals, in order:

• Last year's campers and their siblings.
• Your own academy, spring or club families.
• People who watched your reels or visited the camp page in the last 60 days.
• Followers of local minor hockey associations and junior teams.
• A lookalike of past registrations, if you have enough of them.

Keep the ad about the player's summer, not your facility. "Three hours on the ice every day, with the coaches you see in this reel" beats "Register now for summer camp."

Should a hockey camp use early-bird pricing?

A dated early bird helps, but the date matters more than the size of the saving. Families need a reason to book in January instead of May. Put one clear deadline on the page, in every email and in every post, remind families a week before it ends, and don't extend it.

If you'd rather not discount, use a different reason to act: first pick of weeks for families who register early, a prize draw like the Humboldt Broncos' jersey, or priority for last year's campers until a set date.

What content sells a hockey camp?

Footage from last summer. Parents want to see the coaching, the level and their kid's age group having a good time. Post drills, small-area games, a coach explaining one skill, and the last-day scrimmage. I've said it before: the number one thing clubs don't do is post their game and training footage.

Even 100 kids under 14 is an audience, because their parents watch and share everything. A camp gives you a week of footage every week. Film it, and next year's marketing is already done.

What to film this summer, for next year:

• One drill a day, explained by a coach in under a minute.
• A small-area game from above the glass.
• A player saying what they worked on.
• The last-day scrimmage and the team photo.

How much do families spend on hockey, and how does that affect camp marketing?

A lot, so the value has to be obvious. The 2026 Jumpstart youth sport report put the median hockey cost at $1,938 a year in Canada. A summer camp is an extra on top of that. Show exactly what a week includes, so the price makes sense the moment a parent sees it.

I've said before that hockey has priced a lot of Canadian families out. Families who stay are committed, though. Hockey Canada registered more than 603,000 players in 2024-25, and says retention for players aged 5 to 16 was above 90%. That's a big, loyal audience who'll come back to a camp they liked.

/Sources: $1,938 · 603,000 ... above 90%

How does a summer camp help your academy or club?

It's often a family's first experience of your coaching. Treat every camper as a lead for your fall program, your spring team or next year's camp. Ask permission to stay in touch, and send your next intake dates before the summer ends.

That's the point I keep making: don't sell one season at a time. Own the intake calendar. Spring hockey, summer camp and fall tryouts are three windows in one year, and the same family can go through all three with you.