Happy campers | Local Sports | weatherforddemocrat.com – Weatherford Democrat
#inform-video-player-1 .inform-embed { margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px; }
#inform-video-player-2 .inform-embed { margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px; }
With the school year over for the summer, students and coaches were still hard at work at various summer camps.
The Karli Morrison Volleyball Camp began June 6 over at Hall Middle School for kids entering kindergarten and all the way up to the 9th grade.
This camp is the first for Morrison as Weatherford’s head coach after she replaced Coach Nicholas Gay who left for Brock following last season.
Morrison likes to keep her practices and camps somewhat similar, even with the camps watered down some.
“They are learning everything that my high school girls learn,” she said. “We are teaching everything from kindergarten up to varsity level the same thing. Some of it is watered down, but as a whole we are trying to teach them the same stuff to learn the lingo. Each year that they come they will just get better and better at it.”
Even though the school year just ended, it is never to late to learn something new.
“My favorite things is for the kids to learn the sport,” Morrison said. “Sports is more than just about the sport, it is about the relationship that you form as a coach and a player. “
On June 7, Peaster High held its second of a three-day basketball camp.
The camps were led by Assistant Coach Eric Symank.
As with Morrison, Symank likes to keep the camps similar to the practices with varsity.
“I’d say we try to incorporate more fun because it’s summer time and the kids are out to have some fun, but we do focus a lot on trying to be better as an athlete and as a person,” Symank said.
Wednesday marked the final day for three-day baseball and softball camps for Springtown High School.
For the baseball camp, the staff had the group split up into smaller groups and start at different stations, so that all the kids were exposed to all of the drills, which included batting practice and a home-run derby among others.
Coach Colin Crawford uses these camps as a way of introducing the area kids to the program.
“We just want to be visible,” Crawford said. “We want them to get to know us, and come around and be a part. It helps us especially with the younger ones, get to know them better, kind of start putting names to faces. It is more just getting the kids out here having fun and being around the game of baseball.”
Springtown coaches try to incorporate their philosophies into their camps like with their practices, even if it is diluted some.
“For space, numbers and coaching wise, camps have to be watered down,” Crawford said. “We try to use our principals for how we want things done as fas as offensively, and outfield/infield wise as far as defensively.”
On the softball field at Springtown High, the softball camp was going on its final day as well.
“I love seeing the growth,” Springtown Coach Scott Mann said. “Yesterday was a really good day, out of the three days, for this group [third through ninth graders].”
As with the other camps, they try to run it as a practice even if it is broken down to show the important aspects.
“We do a lot more of the fundamentals,” Mann said. “We break it down to show how to properly throw a ball. We go into the same routine as in high school as far as practice wise. We did some hitting, some fielding. It is more teaching since we have a diversified group.”
Another camp that was going on was the Lady Eagle Basketball Camp over at Brock High School, led by Head Coach Alex Stephenson.
Like many of the other camps, the coaches want to be a part of the community and meet these kids for the future.
“For a lot of the elementary kids, this is the one chance to get to know them,” Stephenson said. “Then we get to start building a foundation of fundamentals that we teach in the older grades”
For the older kids, camps are run more like practices.
“It’s going to be more hands on, while for the younger kids it’s about learning to pass, dribble and shoot,” Stephenson said.
Mineral Wells High School concluded their two day youth soccer camp, led by Coach Rolando Borjon, on Friday
“I love seeing the kids come out and get involved,” Borjon said. “Just seeing all of these little ones come out and have fun and see them put a little bit of work in too always makes me happy.”
Just like the other camps, Borjon waters his down compared to his practices to introduce the younger kids to soccer.
“Some of these kids that come in have only played one or two years,” Borjon said. “Their physical capacity is different compared to a high schooler’s, so we have to make adjustments, but still try to incorporate what we do at the high school level.”
#inform-video-player-3 .inform-embed { margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px; }