Laredo Community College is offering various choices for parents to provide their children with avenues to stay fit and have fun this summer. A variety of Palomino athletic summer camps are planned, including baseball, basketball and indoor arena soccer.
BASKETBALL CAMP
At the Maravillo Gymnasium, young basketball enthusiasts will be able to participate in the popular LCC Basketball Day Camp.
Two, eight-day camps are planned, including a session from June 7 to 17 and another from June 21-July 1. The basketball camps will meet Monday through Thursday from 1 to 4 p.m. at the LCC Maravillo Gymnasium.
Cost to attend the camp is $55, which organizers say makes it possible for parents to provide their children with an affordable summertime experience, says Dr. Sara Carrasco, the founding director of the Basketball Day Camp.
“Parents appreciate Laredo Community College’s commitment to provide their children with a quality and affordable recreational experience in a college campus,” said Carrasco.
Carrasco, a physical education expert with many years of coaching experience, will be assisted this year by head coaches Art Smith and Randy Gibbons.
Smith has 18 years of coaching experience, including four years as a girls’ varsity basketball coach. Gibbons’ experience includes that of serving as assistant basketball coach for Providence High School in San Antonio and assistant volleyball coach for the LCC Lady Palominos.
Enrollment is open to kinder, elementary and middle school boys and girls, beginning with age 5 and ending with middle school students who have not played varsity basketball.
Highlights of the camp include individualized instruction, challenging age-level league play and awards for all competition. Camp fee is $55 per session.
For more information, contact the LCC Athletic/Kinesiology Department by calling 721-5326.
INDOOR ARENA SOCCER CAMP
Parents can keep their children out of Laredo’s scorching heat and in the cool comforts of the Maravillo Gymnasium during the first annual LCC Indoor Arena Soccer Camp.
Dr. Carrasco says that the Kinesiology program is excited to offer this sport to youth for the first time. Two camp sessions will be offered Monday through Thursday, June 7-17 and June 21-July 1, from 4:15 to 7:10 p.m.
“The indoor arena soccer camp is ideal for children to keep cool and have something fun to do in the late afternoons when Laredo temperatures can reach the century mark,” said Carrasco, who will serve as the camp director.
The cost to attend the camp is $35, which includes awards given on the last day of camp.
The camp will be led by coaches and kinesiology instructors Jaime Donjuan and Beverly Boling. Eric Donjuan and Mario Lozano will be the assistant coaches. Eric, who has played the sport since age 5, was part of TAMIU’s first soccer team in 2002; from 1998 to 2002, he was the No. 1 goalkeeper in Nuevo Laredo Division I soccer league. Mario has played for various local soccer leagues and is credited for forming the champion squad for the Laredo Boys and Girls Soccer League.
“We are proud that the camp will be led by highly experienced kinesiology educators who will be assisted by two very talented soccer standouts,” notes Carrasco.
To sign up or for more information, call 721-5326.
BASEBALL CAMP
The LCC Palomino Baseball program is offering a fun and beneficial way for young baseball athletes and enthusiasts to spend the summer season. The annual Palomino Baseball Camp will be held June 14 to 17 at the LCC Doc Sanchez Field.
Camp director will be Chase Tidwell, an all-conference standout at LCC (1996-97) and Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. In 2002, Tidwell returned to his alma mater to become the assistant baseball coach, a position which he held for two years. He will take charge of the Palomino baseball team on an interim basis with the resignation of Coach John Maley in August.
LCC’s four-day baseball camp will focus on all aspects of the sport, including position specific/defensive, hitting and base running/offensive. The camp will be June 7 to 10 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Young men between the ages of 7 and 15 are invited to participate.
Tidwell is looking forward to leading the baseball camps.
“Laredo Community College is pleased to be reaching to the youth in the community with the summer baseball camp,” says Tidwell. “This will be a valuable opportunity for the participants to brush up their skills on the field and learn new techniques to become better baseball players.”
While at Southeastern Louisiana, Tidwell led the nation in fielding percentage. After graduation, he coached two years at Southeastern Louisiana. He then coached one year at Northern Oklahoma College in Tonkawa, Oklahoma, before returning to Laredo this fall.
The camp fee is $75. For more information or for parents to register their children, contact Tidwell at 206-9168.
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West End Washington St.
Laredo, TX 78040-4395
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