Earlier this month, the Coalition partnered with 14 member organizations to put on the 2nd annual Sports Sampling Camp!
The Coalition was excited to partner with our pro-sports team members and with six of our youth-serving sports-based organization members. The Coalition couldn’t have done it without the help of each and every participating member!
This week-long camp was held at the Van Asselt Community Center in South Seattle which allowed our local sports teams and youth serving sports-based members to provide instruction to 50 boys and girls in King County to sports they may have never played before.
Each one of these organizations and their respective members had time slots throughout the first part of the week to introduce and provide instruction to these kids about their sport. By the end of the week, the campers had the choice to explore their initial interests further by going back to participate in the sports they enjoyed playing. All necessary equipment that campers needed was provided for them as they put their skills to test in various new games, drills and activities each day!
Below is a list of what sport each organization covered during their time at the camp:
- Kraken – Ball Hockey
- Mariners – Baseball
- Sounders – Soccer
- Reign – Soccer
- Storm – Basketball
- Seawolves – Rugby
- Seahawks – Flag Football
- Cascades – Ultimate Frisbee
- Seattle Tennis – Tennis
- UPower – Athletics
- George Pocock Rowing – Rowing
- Parkour Visions – Parkour
- First Tee – Golf
- Washington Education and Squash Academy – Squash
A coach leading Seattle Tennis’s session had nothing but great things to say when asked about how camp went this year:
“The camp was great! All the kids that came around were happy and excited to try tennis. I think it is amazing to have a sampling camp so kids are able to try new sports that they may have never heard of before!
Sport sampling also allows youth to have fun by decreasing the assumption that you can only play if you’re really good at that sport.”
From the start of camp to its finish, it was a joy to see the kids get to play and participate in new sports and activities they may have not had the chance to try prior. Sports sampling is extremely beneficial for all youth to gain diverse experiences and physical activity through sports and play. By being exposed to and engaging in new sports, it breaks the ongoing stigma that youth should “stick to one sport.” This format and camp will hopefully continue for years to come and emphasize the importance of sports sampling and collaboration between the community and youth looking to participate.
