Valley Parks and Rec has summer camps for all
BY KADIE TAYLOR
THE LAFAYETTE SUN
VALLEY — Valley Parks and Recreation is hosting a full summer of camps, from June 1 to July 31. With activities for every child, families can choose from sports, STEM, arts and crafts, baking and a Nerf camp. Camps are open to children ages 6 to 15, and each camp is $40 per child per camp.
“All eight weeks for summer camps are open for registration,” said Program Coordinator Annabel Thompson. “Register online at our new website recdesk.com or come in person and speak to us at the front desk at the community center.”
Thompson said the community has expressed excitement over the summer camp options and that the flexibility is appealing to families who may be out of town one week and can’t commit to long weeks and days of camp.
“I think a lot of people were excited because the camps are not a full day, they’re a half day,” she said. “So if you're in town one week, but not the next, you can sign up for whatever fits your schedule and drop your kids off, so then they're out of the house. They're going to make new friends, and they're going to do something exciting. We've heard a lot of good things, and I'm very excited as well.”
Along with traditional sports camps, Thompson said she is excited to offer other camps that give children who are not interested in sports something fun to try with their peers.
“It's important for the children to see different things, have different opportunities and be exposed to new skills, like baking,” she said. “Baking is a life skill that I think would be important to expose the younger children to, and they can take it home and try it with their parents, but it's definitely important for them to have different things other than sports that they can try throughout the summer.”
For young athletes, Valley Parks and Rec will offer baseball/softball, basketball, cheer and football camps, allowing children to try out sports and enjoy some summer fun.
“It's all about trying to get the children out and playing sports, and getting them involved, because these kids that are here will move on to school ball, and we want them to have a great experience [at the Community Center],” said Athletic Manager Hunter Smith. “These camps will teach them the fundamentals of everything, which is kind of where we're going with it. So then, when we do have our rec season, these kids have already made it through the fundamentals and the camps. The camps are also open to anybody; they don't have to be a star athlete or anything like that.”
Smith said for children who are not sure what sport they want to participate in, summer camps provide a space for them to try sports without having to sign up for an entire season.
“In the rec world, every year, parents sign their children up, the child doesn't enjoy it and halfway through the season, they want to quit,” he said. “This gives them the opportunity to test out the different sports and see if they enjoy baseball, basketball or football.”
For more information, visit Valley Parks and Recreation on Facebook.
