Kids are crazy about sports camp
The annual Summer Youth Sports Camp is back in the swing of things this year, and once again the children are learning about athletics, sportsmanship and friendship. This year 200 local children are taking part in the camp; several of them expressed why they chose to attend.
“I think it’s very fun. It’s about sports and that’s my favorite thing,” said nine-year old Ben Diaz. Diaz is a student at Dan Dan Elementary school and attending the camp for the first time with friends Philipe Sablan, David Pak, Onny Masud, and brothers Nathaniel and Zachary J. Oliver.
One of his friends, John (Nagata) Sablan, is attending the camp for his third time, and he agrees that the camp is fun, leaving no question that he will be returning to the camp next year.
To be eligible for the camp, the kids must be between the ages of six and 12. All of the children are planning to attend next year, and for those turning 13 in the upcoming year, there will still be an opportunity to be involved in the activities.
“I plan to come to the camp every year. Then I’ll become a volunteer after I am 12,” said 10-year old Jacob Delos Reyes. Reyes is a student at Dan Dan Elementary school who played for the McDonalds’s baseball team this season. While attending the camp for his second time, he explained that he was able to try golf for the first time and partake in his favorite camp activity, T-ball.
Standing by his side was fellow second–year attendee AJ Ito, a nine-year old student from San Antonio. Ito echoed Reyes’ thought about returning to the camp and becoming a volunteer in the future. He also spoke about his love of basketball, a sport that he had never before played prior to enrolling in the camp.
There was no shortage of kids that were willing to share their experiences from the camp, and they were quick to point out the friends that they’ve made along the way as well. The program has done more than teach island youth about sports, of which it doing a terrific job, but it has also given the kids a place to go in the absence of school.
“I came here because I didn’t want to stay home all summer,” said seven-year old Natalia Paez. The friendly third-grader from the Seventh Day Adventist school Paez was proud to convey her achievements in education, but really gleamed when she described being able to hit 10 golf balls in a row at the camp.
“A lot of them have never even been on a field or in a gym, and now they are getting the feel of it—the experience. For most of them this was all foreign,” said one of the program administrators and vice-chairman of the camp program, Syl Ada.
The original purpose of the camp was to be a preventative measure against juvenile delinquency by the divisions of Youth Services and Sports and Recreation. Now the program has evolved to include several government agencies and allows children from all over the island to attend.
“We teach them fundamentals of the core sports like baseball, basketball, T-ball, track and field, soccer, volleyball, and athletics. Our overall goal is to build and grow sports knowledge for the kids, and to have them pass on their knowledge to the next generation, promoting sports throughout the community,” Ada said.
The camp winds down on Friday, June 25, at the Oleai Sports Complex with a bang. All of the regular sporting activities will be set aside, and a new list of games and activities will be available for the campers, including an appearance by Power 99.5 FM.
If you are interested in more information about the 2004 Summer Youth Sports and Day Camp, contact Elias Rangamar by calling 664-2503/8 or Benilyn Mettao at 664-2550.
