MARYSVILLE — A crowd of kids practiced baseball fundamentals at Allen Creek Elementary School on Wednesday, July 24, as part of the Marysville Parks and Recreation Department’s three-day Mini Ultimate Sports Camp.
The camp is designed to help expose children to a variety of sports to see if they can find one that they enjoy most. Each day, children are taught the basics of a different sport — soccer, baseball and basketball.
“He’s getting to the age where he is interested in sports,” said Ramona Gilstrap, of her son Devon, 6. “The city is great, especially the mini camps, because it lets him try many different sports, and that’s what drew us to this camp. It’s a great way to get him active and involved and helps him socialize with other kids.”
Marysville Parks and Recreation Athletic Director Dave Hall led the instruction himself, teaching basics such as base-running, fielding, throwing and ground balls.
“Our Mini Ultimate Sports Camps are really popular because it gives kids the opportunity to try different sports and find which one fits the best,” he said.
Scott Bernstein, a Marysville resident, enrolled his son Caiden in the camp and said that he is having a blast.
“He’s really enjoyed it so far,” he said. “He’s a shy kid, usually quiet, but he said he’s had fun.”
The Bernstein family has signed Caiden up for a number of Marysville camps and classes and plan to keep coming back.
“We just did the construction camp last week and now he is just starting to do sports,” said Bernstein. “I think he really liked soccer yesterday, and he hasn’t done much basketball, so we’ll see how he likes that.”
Bethany Rohde, of Smokey Point, signed up her 6-year-old son Jack for the camp as a way for him to enjoy playing outside, with other children.
“It’s great. The coaches are very interactive and seem to be ‘kid people’ and that’s important,” she said. “I just think it’s a great opportunity for fresh air and working on gross motor skills. We have a small yard so it’s nice to come here and be with other kids his age and learn skills in a low-pressure environment.”
For more information on Marysville summer sports offerings visit http://marysvillewa.gov.
