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This Soccer Camp comes highly recommended by me to anyone searching for a great residential camp. We've already signed up for the fifth summer in a row.
My two kids love it here, the experience made them love soccer so much and the facilities they have are really good an meant to make the kids more active and develop skills in soccer! Very good program!
Do not attend this camp. Dennis Lukens is a fraud. All of his reviews are written by him that are good. The camps are awful. He will take your money and provide no camp or a dismal one.
My son loves to play soccer in our backyard, but the place is too small. Until last summer, I was able to found Premier Soccer Camp, and got him registered, and he enjoyed playing with the other kids. The coaches are very hands-on with the training, and the soccer field is perfect.
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The only soccer camp that I want for my son. I've been sending him here every summer for almost 3-years. And he is so happy with the activities, and the coaches are very professional and kind.
My kids can't stop telling me that they want to go again to this camp but I'm always telling them that we still have a pandemic and what not. This alone says that the experience they got was great that they want to the camp again and learn something new. Thank you Director Dennis and everyone in the camp!
The kids were so thankful that I was able to let them attend this camp, they had nothing but good things to tell me about their instructors and the camp's dorms and premises. They keep telling me they want to attend every summer and I hope they will be able too.
My kids had such a fun time at this camp, they learned so much and they would constantly tell me about how amazing their instructors were. I can't wait till they can go back again.
The camp has such amazing facilities and such professional well-trained instructors, my sons love going to this camp every summer. Every time they came back home they would tell me how great their experience was. I am very grateful for this Soccer Camp for giving my children such an amazing experience.
I am so happy that my son was able to attend the camp last year, he has been talking about his experience all the time. I feel so much joy hearing his stories and the facilities are amazing and the environment of the camp is gorgeous.
My son got outstanding soccer instruction from this camp. They have beautiful facilities and the staff are all professionals. I'm very happy that my child got such a well-rounded experience from this place
My Son found this camp online 4 years ago and asked me to send him. I can only say that Dennis Lukens and his staff have made each and every camp a wonderful experience for my son. Every summer for 4 years we have sent him and every summer he comes back with rave reviews. I think the main thing is the environment of the camp. Coach Lukens treats every camp like one of his own. I usually watch a training session when I drop my Son off and then another session when I go to pick him up. It is easy to see the high, high quality of each staff member and how the treat each camper with kindness and respect. The whole staff lives at the camp and supervises the campers 24/7 including Mr. Lukens. Every summer I had my Son off to this camp and my Son comes back safe and sound with newly invigorated about the sport he loves. Their Coaches, facilities are the best of the best. I highly recommend this Soccer Camp to anyone who is looking for a great residential camp. We have already signed up for a 5th consecutive summer.
My son had never been to an overnight camp when he went for the first time to Mr. Lukens Soccer Camp and was losing his passion for soccer. After going to the Premier soccer Camp beginning 3 years ago for the first time, he got a renewed excitement and love for the sport! Thank you to Coach Dennis Lukens and his staff for such a great experience the last 3 years! I have attached a photo of Coach Lukens with my son and his friend as well as another staff member from last year. Great, great camp with coaches who really care about the children attending the camp.
Coach Lukens and team of coaches did an amazing job. This camp was well planned out, they engaged with the campers and keep them busy always doing something constructive. The campers got a many, many of touches, had a lot of 1v1 and 2v2s along with larger games. I highly recommend it and we plan to do it again next year. Exceeded our expectations.
My 9 year old attended this soccer camp at Mass Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay. It was the best. Facilities were at the Academy. Dorms, fields (stadium) and food were as good as it gets. However, what set this camp apart was the coaches. Dennis Lukens directed and the lead every training session. The guy coached in Europe and here he was coaching my 9 year old son at his camp. We live in MA and we joined his club in the fall this past year. Same situation. Great facilities with Coach Lukens attending almost all the sessions himself assisted by a great staff. His club was new in our part of MA and I think he gave at least 50% of the kids full or part scholarships. He never spoke about it but I know it to be true as for sure some of the parents who could not afford the fees of Club Soccer said Mr. Lukens was helping them out, The Club and Camp experience for our family and my son was awesome. Great facilities, coaching and everyone associated with both operations really cared about my son and his development.
My children have gone to multiple Day Camps and Overnight soccer camps in CA and other locations on West Coast. We have been involved with Club soccer for years. My son and daughter loved Premier Soccer Camps run by Dennis Lukens in Carlsbad, CA and that is all that matters to me. Great staff, location, programs, coaches and organization. 5 stars from me and my children.
My two daughters first attended Premier Soccer Camps run by Dennis Lukens back in 2014 in Carlsbad. There were about 140 campers who attended that week. Registration was really overwhelming as 140 campers with parents arriving on campus at almost the same time. However, Dennis and his staff handled it flawlessly. I live in San Marcos so my wife and I watched a few sessions and the coaches were outstanding. Mr. Lukens was there every minute overseeing every detail. For my two daughters it was an high level camp and safe experience. We again attended one of his camps this past summer in So Cal and it was also fantastic soccer experience and exceptionally well run. I think what sets his camps apart from others is the attention to detail, the excellent coaches and the locations in So Cal. I highly recommend his programs to anyone seeking a super soccer camp experience.
My son went to Premier Soccer Camps run by Dennis Lukens for 6 years. I have decided to include a picture of Dennis, my son, Trevor (a long time employee/coach) and 2 other campers. I have included the photo to help show what a great camp this has been year after year. I would say that at their So. Cal locations that 50% of the campers are repeat campers from previous summers. A number of campers have gone all 9 years that Premier Soccer Camp has operated in Carlsbad. Most weeks had 100+ campers. Dennis Lukens and his staff have be absolutely fantastic. He has brought in top American Coaches as well as high level coaches from places such as England, Holland, the Caribbean and Italy year after year. Nike equipment has always been provided to every camper, the food was excellent and the facilities World Class. Probably the best thing is the individual attention and care Coach Lukens and his staff gave to each camper. My son has loved Premier Soccer Camps every year he has attend as did literally 100's of other young soccer players. My son is now proud to be a counselor at Premier Soccer Camps. Through my son I know that multiple other former campers have gone on to join the Premier Soccer Camp staff. A great camp and awesome educational experience for my son for 6 years and for many other campers.
My son and daughter started going to soccer camps run by Dennis Lukens back in 2014 (San Diego location). They attended multiple locations from 2014-2018 and every single year that camps were fantastic. Most camp locations had 80-120 campers. We went to one of the sessions held in Carlsbad in 2017 and there were 130+ campers in attendance. However, we went to a camp he held in San Diego at it had just 25 campers in 2014. The camp in San Diego with 25 campers and the one in Carlsbad with 130+ were both run extremely well. Small instructional and training groups and high quality locations. In my opinion, the best aspect of the camps were the staff members as they were coaches typically from Europe with high level coaches licenses and high level playing backgrounds. I highly recommend any camps run by Dennis Lukens and his staff as all of his camps my son and daughter were outstanding. We have referred multiple friends over the years and all have had similar positive experiences.
Mr. Dennis Robert Lukens is staff member, head coach, of * series of events statewide. I will never participate in any kind of training, camp, or trials with his name attach to the even. Read below for more information. Our credit card finally refunded us for a camp I signed my child for last summer. We have to show evidence like e-mails, websites, and other information to them in order to get the refund. It took 4 months. I complain to IC3 and the BBB, but nothing happened. The police could not get involved because it was a civil offense.
My 8 year old son attended the SDSU Ultimate Soccer Camps last Sunday, July 22. We signed him up for the two weeks because we are familiar with the university and he loves soccer. We did not received any additional follow up emails about the camp.
First day of camp, a girl about 17 years old and I were parked next to the main soccer/football field, but no-one else was there. We started asking and found out that the children, Dennis Lukens and a coach were sitting and waiting to check in at the hotel. I asked him at what time we could come back for the initial practice. He did not have a schedule or an answer.
After an hour, I took my son home. We came back much later to see this man with a group of 40+ kids crossing a major intersection. Parents were following as they were very concerned. He stopped on the way to the field (not the main field as advertised) because the other coach was still at the hotel. He left the kids on the sidewalk and took off back to the hotel. I looked at the parents in disbelief and followed the Mr. Lukens. His coach and a few other kids were left at the hotel. I talked to the female coach, since Mr. Lukens was unapproachable, and let her know that he needed to count the kids.
"Practice" was my 8 year old crying and playing scrimmage with 13+ year old kids for over 30 minutes. No coaching or evaluations.
As they finished practice, Mr. Lukens started walking with half of the kids still unaware of what was going on. I ran to the other coach and told her to stop him and make him count the kids (RED FLAG).
Then, at 9 pm, I got a call from him asking me to stay overnight as a counselor (BIG RED FLAG). I said no, but he called me back two more times by mistake as he was calling other parents for the same reason. SDSU requires a 10-1 ratio for the camp at all times as I found out later.
It got worse from there as you can see in the reviews below.
I kept my son for 3 more days in this joke camp. I felt very worried for the other kids. I checked on them once or twice a day. Hardly any equipment, no first aid kit, no schedule, no list of attendance and by the end, almost no supervision after "practice", even, no practice.
One afternoon on the 3rd day, as I went to pick up my son from the dining facility, I could not find him. The coaches did not know where he was. For a few minutes my heart sank. Only 12 kids left in the program and minimal supervision. The kids and the coaches had left the dining facility. I found my son alone and unsupervised in the corner of the dining facility. I was furious.
I emailed Mr. Lukens a few times without replies. I confronted him about the coaches not getting paid or reimbursed for their expenses, the lack of supervision, the false advertisement, my refund and more. I made him email me a response about my refund right then and there. Then, he said to me he has been doing this for more than 40 years and no kid has ever gotten hurt or molested. Thousands of kids!
The coaches said they were making arrangements with the university and one of the family members for a place for them to stay until they return to Ecuador or Argentina.
I may not get a refund, but Dennis Lukens and people like him have to stop putting our kids in danger and taking our money.
I feel bad for the people whose camps got cancelled, but at least you and your kids will not have to go through this trauma. When my son was finally home, I was at peace.
A group of parents and I filed a report with SDSU police. I mainly thank the parents and older kids for keeping my son safe. Even two of the 10 year old kids would ask if my son was ok and looked to make sure he was not left behind during the camp.
These are some of the businesses Dennis Lukens is associated with and other information:
Ultimate Soccer Camps http://ultimatesoccercamp.com/contact-us/
Premier Soccer Camps http://soccercampbytheocean.com/
Superior Soccer Camps https://sportstarsmag.com/camps/superior-soccer-camps/
Coming soon Superior Soccer Camps http://superiorsoccercamp.com/
Boston Storm FC http://bostonstormfc.com/foundertechnical-director/
PFC Shipbuilders http://pfcshipbuilders.com/about-us/board-of-directors/
Elite Development Academy http://socaleda.com/little-elites-academy-program/
One Business at BBB https://www.bbb.org/boston/business-reviews/sports-and-recreation/boston-storm-fc-inc-in-boston-ma-143901
Linked https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennis-lukens-94591031/
He did not respond to our emails or calls. Just call him and tell him that you are interested in his camp. You will get a call back fast.
English is my second language, but here I am after hours of writing this review to the best of my ability. Please take some time to stop this madness.
