BLOOMINGDALE - Its never too early to get children involved in physical activity and at Delazier Field for one week in mid-July, the US Sports Institute was conducting a camp for those aged three to five.
Each night was a different activity designed with a multi-purpose; introduce the youngsters to the various sports that have become the norm for children across the area, basketball, hockey, soccer, tee ball, and lacrosse, as well as teach them how to follow rules, learn teamwork and most importantly have fun.
They play games to help foster vision and coordination by getting them to recognize colors and farm animals by setting up a course through which they need to run. They are learning while they are having fun.
"It’s about an hour and fifteen minutes each and you start out by giving them the basics. For lacrosse they are just learning to pick the ball up then they will play another game where they learn to put the ball into the net," says Owen Penwarden one of the US Sports coaches.
The curriculum is built with the kids’ age in mind so there is nothing too strenuous or anything they can’t handle. Learning doesn’t have to be hard work especially at the age where a lifelong aversion to a sport can be formed if the experience is not pleasant.
"You give them a little story that they can relate to like Lightning McQueen, Power Rangers, or the Incredibles," says Penwarden. "They realize they are playing sport, but they don’t really know what they are doing. This will teach them the fundamentals."
Parents see this camp as an opportunity for their children to run around, have fun, and interact with others their age as well as the coaches. It can be viewed as nothing but a win-win situation.
"They run about for an hour and a half, so they get pretty tired after the session," says Penwarden. "You can’t spend too much time explaining stuff because they want to run around and play, but its good for them, they enjoy it."
