The Sampson County Parks and Recreation Kids Summer Camp concluded last Friday after offerings at over six different schools in the school district to provide sporting activities to the community.
The third edition of the camp began June 8, starting with Roseboro- Salemburg Middle School, and ended on July 24 at the same school. Over the course of the month, Clement Elementary, Hobbton Middle, Union Intermediate, and Midway Elementary were all visited on the tour. During the camps, participants were able to interact with different kids across the county participating in physical activities, such as soccer, basketball, and volleyball.
“We averaged about 20 to 25 kids per camp,” said Daniel Covington, manager of Sampson County Parks and Recreation. “Some of them were a little less, some were a little more. For instance, for Roseboro, I think we had about 14 or 15 kids; at Midway we had 50, and then at Hobbton we might have 30 to 35. It differed at each camp, but we’re just glad that the kids came out and had a good time.”
With that many children on a daily basis, the staff focused on finding events and activities in which they had an interest.
“Whether the kids want to play football, volleyball, baseball, softball, or just participate in the summer camps, as long as they’re participating in something at the end of the day,” it’s a good thing, Covington explained. “Our ultimate goal is for these kids to be active, for these kids to make new friends and create memories to last a lifetime. Primarily with our summer camps, a lot of the kids and parents are appreciative because it’s very affordable when it comes to comparable childcare measures, whether it’s day care or something else. It gives a chance for the kids to actually come out and be able to be a part of something bigger than themselves, a chance to find something they care about, or for them to meet new friends or friends from school.”
After the first two years the program, Parks and Rec staff decided to expand to two new camp locations to incorporate more schools and kids across the county.
“It’s something that we could possibly look to expand in the future,” Covington emphasized. “It’s honestly one of my favorite parts of the summer, really of the entire year. I thoroughly enjoy it; the kids do as well. The response that we normally get back is overwhelmingly positive. We also know that the schools are very busy during the summer, so we just have to coordinate with them on making sure we’re not stepping on any toes. Whenever we use their facilities, we know that they redo their floor, and we don’t want to bother them with any of that. We want them to have that time to be able to recuperate their gyms and make sure everything’s ready for the school year.”
One of the newer ideas that Covington and his staff brought to this year’s summer camp schedule was a World Cup event, to coincide with the Men’s World Cup that concluded earlier this month.
“This past week, we had just finished our World Cup camp, which was a late edition,” he said. “We kind of switched around some things to offer that. I think that it was a good success, considering it was very last second. We could potentially look at adding some specific camps in the future. In the past, we did a specific soccer camp or a basketball camp instead of an overall summer sports camp. But we like the idea that it switches each and every day, where the kids are trying different sports.”
Sampson County Parks and Recreation staff say they are open to doing a multitude of different camps if the opportunity presented itself.
“We’ll definitely take everything into consideration,” Covington emphasized. “We want to offer these kids every opportunity to learn and every opportunity to grow, whether it’s through athletics, sports, arts and crafts, knowledge or education.”