Fort Drum Children and Youth Services’ Sports and Fitness Summer Camps program offered a variety of activities to keep youngsters active and having fun all summer long. The camps were designed to introduce children to new skills, engage in physical fitness activities, and practice preparation for fall sports leagues. (Photos by Mike Strasser, Fort Drum Garrison Public Affairs)
Children and Youth Services summer camps offer an assortment of fun activities for students
mike strasser
Fort Drum Garrison Public Affairs
FORT DRUM, NY (September 6, 2022) – “Did you do anything fun this summer?”
Answering the perennial back-to-school question will be easy for dozens of Fort Drum youth who have participated in Children and Youth Services’ Sports and Fitness Summer Camps program.
Tania Spann, director of CYS Sports and Fitness, said the camps were meant to keep kids active throughout the summer and having fun playing games.
“With the different types of camps we offer, children can choose from a variety of activities and sports,” she said. “Our goal is to get the kids outside while the weather is nice, to be active and to try a variety of sporting activities.”
The camps kicked off in early July with lots of outdoor fun in the sun. At the recreational sports camp, the children were treated to a variety of games and friendly competitions, including kickball, dodgeball, freeze tag, an obstacle course and relay races.
During archery camp, Fort Drum youth learned about the different parts that make up a bow and arrow, and how archery skills can be used for hunting, recreation and competition. . They practiced shooting at targets at different distances – as well as uphill and downhill – then they engaged in skills competitions.
The kids explored the great outdoors during the adventure camp, which included hiking at Salmon River Falls, swimming at Sandy Pond State Park, mountain biking at Selkirk Shores State Park, fishing in Deer River and white water rafting on Black River.
To top off a great month of activity, dozens of kids signed up for four days of soccer skills and drills. In addition to learning the basics of kicking, passing and shooting, participants teamed up for scrums and had fun playing a game of soccer-golf.
The CYS summer camp program continued in August with Fitness Bootcamp and Golf. The camp featured a cardio workout as participants demonstrated their speed and agility with outdoor drills.
They were also introduced to the fitness room inside the CYS Sports and Fitness Center, which offers much of what adults go to at Magrath Sports Complex or Atkins Functional Fitness Facility, but child friendly. The facility features a variety of dumbbells and kettlebells, smash balls and benches, a weighted sled and more. During a circuit training session, the kids performed box jumps and overhead squats, sit-ups and planks, and other exercises for a full-body workout.
Outside, another group practiced chipping, putting, driving and other skills at golf camp, with a little competition in the mix for fun. They also learned about the different clubs found in a golf bag and their purposes.
At the basketball camp, the children dribbled, passed and threw baskets on the indoor court, with conditioning exercises to improve their physical condition. Finally, the kids regrouped and took to the field for Flag Football Camp to learn offensive and defensive plays, which culminated in friendly scrums.
A team of enthusiastic and dedicated coaches ran the camps. Edward Malinowski, Erica Zach, Elisa Gonzales and Josh Herzig made the activities even more fun by demonstrating each activity and participating alongside the children.
“They were all determined to give these kids the best experience this summer,” said Spann, who coached the basketball camp. “They made sure to emphasize all the core values our children need today – respect, leadership, confidence and motivation to keep trying.”
Spann said most of the camps offered this summer had full attendance, with some young people having signed up for more than one camp. She said a lot of kids use summer camps to practice the fundamentals leading up to fall sports leagues.
For more information on the 2022 CYS Sports and Fitness Fall Sports program, call (315) 772-6718 or 772-8675. To view photos from CYS Summer Sports Camps, visit www.flickr.com/photos/drum10thmountain/albums/72177720301893221.
