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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 28, 1999)
r A2322 v. 105:no.141 The | Fhe Battalion Sports Page 3 • Monday, June 28, 1999 nei $ports campers invade A&M Aggie coaches, facilities provide college atmosphere for athletes BY RUTH STEPHENS the Nantuo he had [o vill beat V- He said 1 the road, mount oi, •ty becau-i Al BY RUTH STEPHENS The Battalion emedad^W'Hhoiigh most NCAA sports have ended for , on t [ le ' the semester, the Texas A&M Athletic Department is still hopping as many Aggie sports programs ,0^5, are|hosting athletic camps for non-college stu- pnman dents. Collet G. Jl hese cam P s generally range in length from l n yT. three to five days and host campers from ages eight to 18 jygll^Brampers have the option to commute to prac- tice each day or stay overnight in campus resi- ^ dence halls. Overnight campers usually stay in Cain Hall, where they also eat most of their litio" me ' l * s - ^^^^fceveral of these camps have long and suc cessful histories. This summer marks the tennis is to camp’s 22nd year, and A&M baseball coach Mark Johnson started the Aggie Baseball Camp 15 years ago. Hrhousands of kids come from all over Texas ..to the athletic camps each summer, braving the heat to learn from the coaches and athletes at A&M. Ra|M|jHAt almost any athletic facility on campus, hun- ^V^Bds of campers can be found running, hitting, 3 re,i s #nming, kicking or putting. ^"""^fcwarms of campers in cleats and shin guards .lPhs<; crowd soccer fields. Screams, music and direc- tatwr tions from coaches blare out from the $4 million am tint ABM Varsity Tennis Center as campers play on 3 prog": any of 12 courts or relax in the lounge or train- vmeoT ing rooms. iirconc'.: 8 When rain makes the fields too wet to use, ncians coaches and camp directors arrange alternate metal sites and drills for campers. Between storms echnc: Thursday night, baseball campers practiced their pend - ; swings in the Olsen Field parking lot, and Friday lasses : they practiced in the Student Recreation Center, rainingr HFor female athletes, A&M offers softball and nilsoftf volleyball camps, while boys can attend golf, baseball or football sessions. Sessions for both S tOS anc * are °fT ere d for the track and field, & tennis, swimming, soccer and weightlifting pro- e C y gram. ■ Rosemary Montgomery of Ennis, Texas, M profe: brought her nine-year-old son, Weston, to Col- (amms:: JP BEATO/The Battalion Catherine Wade, a high-school junior from Midland, runs through a diving drill under the watchful eye of head goalie coach David Bucciero, a student at Texas Tech University. lege Station for the Aggie Baseball Camp. “We have a group of four boys that came from Ennis,” Montgomery said. “He (Weston) wants to come to school here, so we thought it was a good way to get started.” The boys attending the baseball camp, ages nine to 10, said they were enjoying the camp, even with all the weather problems. “Camp is great,” Kelby Grohann of Weinar, Texas, said. “I’ve learned all about hitting, throw ing and catching.” - Ritchie Biggs of College Station agreed. “I just like coming because it’s fun,” he said. Like most of the camps, baseball sessions are directed by an A&M coach who is assisted by top coaches from around the state. John Adair of Athens High School, one of the many coaches at the baseball camp, said he en joyed working with the campers at A&M. “This camp has been excellent and well-orga nized,” he said. “It’s been a lot of fun, and it helps us as coaches, too.” Several more camp sessions will begin this Sunday, including basketball, golf and swimming. The A&M Sports Information Department can provide more information about each camp. Rec Sports offers summer athletics BY REECE FLOOD The Battalion Although many students have gone home for the sum mer, Texas A&M University’s In tramural Program offers a chance to compete for those who have not. Michael G. Waldron, associ ate director of the Department of Recreational Sports, said there are many ways students can get involved. Rec Sports offers students the opportunity to join team sports, such as 3-on-3 basketball,- half court indoor soccer, sand vol leyball and softball. Individual sports such as golf, racquetball and tennis also are being of fered. Competition for the first sum mer session is wrapping up this week, but second-session regis tration for all sports will be available July 5. During the fall and spring se mesters, the number of teams participating in a given sport can range from 200 to 400 teams. But because of class schedules and lower enrollment in the summer, participation during the summer sessions is smaller, Waldron said. “In the summer it’s a whole different beast because students are in class every day,” he said. “Trying to make any time for anything outside of the text book, if you’re taking more than one class, is tough in the sum mer, but we’re running some where in the vicinity of about 20 teams or so in a sport.” Teams participating during the summer play the same num ber of games as those partici pating in the fall and spring. “They play three league games, and they play single elimination playoffs, but it’s over a more compressed period of time,” Waldron said. Playing a sport is not the only way to participate in intramu rals. Rec Sports also hires stu dents to serve as officials for games. New workers take part in a two-week, paid training course where they learn how to offici ate. “The training program we of fer here at A&M is one of the most extensive, if not the most extensive, in the country,” Wal dron said. Anyone interested in playing intramural sports can sign up at the Member Services Desk in the Student Recreation Center. If a student would like to play on a team sport but does not have a team already formed, he or she can be placed on a team by the intramural staff. Students must present a student ID and may have to pay a fee. Fees for team sports range from $20 to $30 per team. Most individual sports are free of charge, but a tournament fee of $5 dollars may be required. Registrations for all team sports must be turned in by July 10. Individual sport registrations need to be turned in by July 11. deep-wa: :he smann, )\inl3t0 Itoi fessoioi a" ■ '. ; C" flf .TCOsB SOI of? AA : I nstitutef: jummei. t of Israe is team /ine-ladt” that sad irs a. 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