A soccer camp for girls and boys run by Laurentian University earlier this month was a winner, no matter which way you looked at it, staff said.
It got kids outside away from the Xbox, set them on the road to competitive play and added some money to the varsity teams' piggy banks.
The camp, which split the seven to 14-year-olds into four groups, was taught by varsity athletes who are nuts about soccer.
"I've grown up with it since I was 10," said Lady Vee Angelica Mazzella, a kinesiology student.
The program ran from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., but parents could drop their kids off at 8 a.m. and pick them up at 5 p.m.
After greeting camp leaders each morning in a classroom in the gym, the kids ran outside to the two soccer fields. The seven to nine-year-olds were taught on the multi-purpose field adjacent to the track.
While some of the children were quite fit, others found the workouts challenging. "The obesity rate and inactivity rate is disgusting," said athletic director Peter Hellstrom.
One of the goals of the camp was to introduce activity into their daily lives and instill the fact that exercise is important, Mazzella said.
To that end, the youngsters swam during their lunch break in the pool or, weather permitting, in the lake. To get to the lake, they took a venture walk.
One of the most rewarding things about teaching the kids, Mazzella said, was seeing them come in with little or no skill and leave at the end of the day knowing how to pass a ball. "They kick with their toe," she said. "You have to teach them how to kick with their laces."
Nine-year-old Carver Grenon said he hopes to become an all-star, having learned dribbling, shooting and one-timers.
But in order for that to happen, the city will have to develop soccer players at a younger age, Mazzella said.
House leagues are overflowing with kids, Hellstrom said, but competitive leagues are struggling. Hopefully, he added, camps like Laurentian's will send more kids their way.
A side benefit of the camp, which cost parents $160 for the
week,
including a t-shirt and snacks, was to beef up the varsity team
coffers. The soccer and basketball camps have funded the
varsity teams for over 25 years, Hellstrom said.
If your child missed the camp this year, don't dismay, especially if the child is a girl. A girls-only camp starts on July 22. To learn more about Laurentian's camps, go to http://www.luvoyageurs.com/camps/index.html .
