SSS Summer Camp draws over 200 participants daily

Irish Pagarao, far right, speaks to the participants of the 2023 Saipan Soccer School Summer Camp basketball portion during their camp yesterday morning at the TSL Sports Complex in Gualo Rai. (LEIGH GASES)

The Saipan Soccer School Summer Camp is in full swing at the TSL Sports Complex and draws over 200 eager and energetic participants daily.

Since the inception of the camp about five years ago, this year has drawn the most participants in its badminton, soccer, basketball, and volleyball summer sports camp.

This year’s summer camp started on June 12 and will last until Aug. 12 for two months of sports, teambuilding, and fun for children that range from 4 to 13 years old.

The camp is from 7:30am to 12pm, Monday-Friday, with afternoon sessions until 3pm due to the large number of participants.

Soccer has the most participants with 160, while basketball and volleyball average between 80, and badminton averages around 30 daily. 

Irish Pagarao, who coaches basketball and volleyball, said that everyday is busy. “There’s much more children than the camps before, so it’s hard controlling them when we’re doing drills but overall, we’re doing fine, and we’re happy.” 

When asked whether they scout players to be in clubs or teams she said, “if they want to continue playing sports, we would love to see them on the field or on the basketball court, but we just want them to not stay at home and just play video games. We want them to make friends and be active during the summer.”

As for Janelle Pangilinan, who coaches badminton, she said some children from previous camps went on to become members of the national team. For this year’s camp, she said about two are serious in the sport and have potential.

On the camp itself so far, Pangilinan said the kids love it as they come every day and every week. For the skills she teaches, she said “I teach them basic badminton and find ways to make it fun. I just want them to see how fun it is to play badminton.”

Leland Deleon Guerrero, one of the 22 coaches for soccer, said that the camp so far has been running smoothly. On the participants, he said with a chuckle that they’re good even though they could be a headache sometimes.

He, along with the other coaches, teaches the children the fundamentals of how to play soccer and how they can improve as a player.

Manuel Jones Villagomez, a 12-year-old who is participating in all of the sports in the camp, said that he didn’t have the chance to join sports in school so he decided to join when he heard about the camp. His favorite sport that he joined is basketball, he’s made lots of friends so far, and that the camp is fun.

Camp coordinator Christy Villaflor said that the purpose of this camp since its inception has always been to engage the youth in a physical and healthy lifestyle. This year has seen the most participants since the COVID-19 pandemic and children are excited to be with their friends and participate in sports outside of school.

Villaflor thanked the parents of participants, the children in the camp, Child Care & Development Fund, Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, Saipan Soccer School, and the Tan Siu Lin Foundation for their support of the camp.