8.9/10 — Likelihood to recommend
Based on 248 post-camp survey responses from Des Moines-area camps, 2018–2026.
“I enjoyed the way the camp made the effort to create community among the camp participants. It really helped me connect with other players in a positive way. I also liked the support and tips to improve my shooting skills. I got specific feedback that was helpful.”
“We were extremely impressed with the basketball camp and especially with Coach Kenton Tennal. He brought incredible energy and deep knowledge to every session, keeping the three hours completely action-packed and engaging for all 40 kids across 1st through 5th grade. The individual and partner drills were highly effective, immediately transferable to game-like situations, and Coach Tennal did an excellent job explaining the “why” behind each one while holding the kids accountable in a positive, motivating way. My 8-year-old daughter came away excited about basketball and with tangible skills that she’s already applying. This was one of the best youth sports experiences we’ve had—highly recommended!”
“All the skills that were taught. Great for all ages.”
“We thought the camp was very educational, lots of hard work and information to consume. But done with lots of fun and entertainment”
“His approach to coaching was perfect. His attitude really motivated our kids to display greater mental and physical toughness than we’ve seen them demonstrate yet. We have been trying to impress this upon our kids without much success ourselves so having a coach bring that out of them was worth every penny. Also the skill building and one on one drills were great. All around I would sign my kids up again and again for this exact camp (and will if offered again quarterly)”
“My son’s confidence was built and he was excited to go each day and was sad it wasn’t longer. I liked that skills and life lessons were being learned.”
“Loved the energy of the coaches. They gave it a personal feel remembering the kids names. Also talking about important values such as gratitude and respect! How to be a great teammate!”
“The focus on fundamentals of the game. The approach taken with each age range. The conversation shown between Coach and athlete; demonstrating respect with actions, discussion of gratitude.”
“Great content. Not only on the court but off. My son really enjoyed the "classroom" and he has even looked me in the eyes and thanked me for camp each day. Way to go coach Jim!”
“The approach to the camp was very beneficial by having both classroom and on the court content. My daughter was very complimentary of the head coach and really loved the camp!”
“I liked the positive message Coach Holzer brought to the camp. Talking about character development, giving your best effort and importance of positive attitude.”
“knowledge of coaches putting on camp. Lots of instruction and guidance. Always busy. Challenging and positive.”
“Everything was perfectly organized. The coach did an amazing job with his teaching techniques. He had great teaching ethic.”
“Ava learned so much!! She learned a lot of new moves to become better!!! Jim was excellent!!! He taught the kids great and kept the camp moving along.”
“I love the conversations that were had about being grateful, discipline, etc. The lessons taught were more than just about basketball which was awesome!”
“Kenton was great with the kids. My son can't wait to come back next year.”
“I learned a lot of new things that my school coaches have never taught me”
“Coach Watson preached that the players have control of learning how to become a better basketball player How? 1. Listening and Watching the instructors to learn how to become better at their skills and drills. 2. Effort-Play Hard-Go Hard-Give it your 100% every time. 3. Attitude-Be positive-Learn from mistakes without pouting/whining-Encourage other players--Pat your own self on the back for doing the skills and drills right. And last of all, Gratitude-teaching and explaining to the kids to understand that parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts and other people are helping them big and small to achieve their basketball goals and goodness in their lives. Also, the way my daughter (Chere) and I understood Coach Watson explain gratitude is: gratitude encourages us not only to appreciate gifts but to repay them (or pay them forward to other people.) Last of all, the staff was awesome with the kids--all around.”
Selected feedback from our post-camp surveys. Shared with permission. Some comments are excerpted for length. Ratings show how likely respondents were to recommend the camp, on a scale of 0–10.
Below, we have addressed some of the frequently asked questions regarding Breakthrough Basketball.
Since 2012, we've had 150,000 camp attendees and we've grown to host 400+ camps each year. We've grown into one of the most popular basketball camps in the entire world.
If you visit our Breakthrough Basketball Camp Schedule page, you can select the state/province and find basketball camps near you.
We also have a Camp Cities page where you can view all of the states/provinces and cities that have a Breakthrough Basketball Camp.
Our focus and mission is to help athletes:
We wanted to provide you with different types of camps for different types of players.
This includes beginner basketball camps for players as young as 6 years old.
This also includes overnight basketball camps for dedicated middle school and high school players.
We did NOT want to be a basketball camp that just had free-for-all scrimmages and played games all day.
So instead, we created a learning environment that was fast-paced, fun, and focused on drastically improving an athlete's basketball skills, confidence/mentality, IQ, and decision making.
We have controlled scrimmages that develop specific aspects and empower players to learn the game and develop their basketball IQ.
For example, we might have a scrimmage where the players can't dribble. This forces players to work on their footwork to create space from the defender. It forces them to come up with solutions to pass the ball around defenders. For players away from the ball, it forces them to learn how to move and get open.
We believe this optimal balance of skill development, small-sided games, and controlled scrimmages is the reason we've become one of the world's leading skill development camps.
Our camp instructors also aim to improve each and every player's confidence and mentality. Many players just need that push of confidence to finally start to achieve their true potential.
In addition, we create a safe environment where players are free to experiment, push beyond their limits, and make mistakes. That's how you make serious progress!
Not to mention, sports camps are great environments to have fun and meet new friends.
Additionally, we take the quality of our basketball camps very seriously. If a lead instructor doesn't continuously receive high ratings in our post camp surveys, they will receive immediate additional training. If they don't improve, they won't be able to lead basketball camps any more.
This is part of the reason we continuously get instructor ratings that exceed 9.3 out of 10.
We limit spots because we want to maximize the improvement of every kid! This also ensures that they receive personalized attention from our coaching staff.
We also want to limit lines, so each player gets a lot of repetitions with the basketball in their hands. No standing in lines for extended periods of time.
We do this by adhering to optimal coach-to-player ratios. At the minimum, we aim for 10 players to 1 coach. You might even find the ratios get as low as 5 players to 1 coach.
We also limit the amount of players based on the amount of baskets available. For example, we're not going to stuff 100 kids into a 2 court facility with 4 to 6 baskets.
Our deliberate focus on providing the best camp atmosphere possible often leads to many locations filling up.
We've even had a summer camp fill up in one day before!
So take action if you're interested.
This is quite simple. We only hire lead instructors that have prior experience as a court coach at a Breakthrough Basketball Camp. And they must display excellent teaching ability and leadership traits to excel.
From there, they also receive 1-on-1 training from our experienced coaches prior to leading the camp. Then we have a curriculum and best practices that each coach must follow. This is covered with every single coach.
After a camp completes, attendees rate the camp. For example, if a coach isn't getting AT LEAST a 9.0 out of 10, we immediately schedule 1-on-1 private calls with the lead instructor to provide additional training and solutions.
If it's not fixed by the end of the camp season, they can't be a lead camp instructor any more. They can still work Breakthrough Basketball Camps, but it has to be as an assistant coach. That's because being a lead camp instructor requires a unique skill set!
The camp instructors must perform at a high level, provide a great experience, or they can't continue any more. This ensures only the best of the best can lead Breakthrough Basketball Camps.
Breakthrough Basketball hosts 400+ basketball camps each year. The majority of these are summer basketball camps. You can find a basketball camp in nearly every state across the United States and many provinces in Canada.
We also host numerous Fall basketball camps, Spring basketball camps, and Winter basketball camps throughout the year.
We also host Spring Break basketball camps and Winter Break basketball camps.
We host hundreds of youth basketball camps for kids across the United States and Canada each year.
You will find some basketball camps for kids between the ages of ages 6 and 11 years old which are grades 1 to 5.
And other youth basketball camps for ages 8 to 14 years old which are grades 3 to 8.
We also have advanced camps for older players.
Many of our basketball camps are co-ed where boys and girls can attend. However, players are typically split by gender, age level, and skill level.
There are some locations that host camps specifically for girls and specifically for boys.
We have basketball camps for 7th to 12th graders (ages 12 to 18) and some high school basketball camps that are only for high school basketball players.
Even if your skill set isn't elite yet, we have camps that are for dedicated basketball players. We teach them the elite mentality, the elite work ethic, and the elite skills required to become elite basketball players.
Even at elite basketball camps, we still group players by their gender, age level, and skill level to ensure each player is challenged appropriately.
We have select overnight basketball camps for dedicated athletes throughout the country.
We do not offer AAU basketball camps, but many AAU programs have sent their teams to our camps, because of the elite quality of instruction that they receive.
Many AAU programs have also brought us in to operate basketball camps at their facilities.
There are many factors that will help you find the best basketball camps for your situation.
Are you looking for a basketball camp to improve your skills and have some fun? Then any of our youth basketball camps for ages 6-11 and ages 8-14 work great.
Jeff Haefner and Joe Haefner, the co-founders of Breakthrough Basketball, personally send their kids to the youth basketball camps every year.
Are you a dedicated basketball player that is a little bit older and ready to take the next step in their game?
Then we have camps for middle school and high school players that focus on the ages of 12-18 years old. We also have a few high school camps for grades 9-12 and players in the age of 14-18 years old.
All of our camps group kids by gender, age level, and skill level so the coaches can progress you appropriately.
Basketball training camps, basketball skills camps, and basketball camps are often used interchangeably. These are the same things.
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