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.
A Central Texas Managed Health Care Program
Makes More Sense
Than Traditional Health Insurance
That’s why Bryan-College Station
has FIRSTCARE.
No annual deductible
No claim forms to complete
Low co-payments
Brazos Valley Physicians Organization
tor
Quality health care and controlled costs
:er
>r
itor
of the
l.tan#
Bryan-College Station
employers have an
affordable solution to their
group health care needs:
FIRSTCARE, a health
care program created
to help control your
rising medical costs.
tl*
<5 m
FIRSTCARE
;t copy**
0 chaff
I FIRSTCARE is a service of Hillcrest.
Southwest Health Alliances
Your Partner in Health.
254-202-5300
1-888-817-2273
More than 100,000
Texans depend on
FIRSTCARE, available
in Bryan-College Station.
Ask your employer
about it. For affordable,
quality, convenient and
comprehensive health care,
choose FIRSTCARE.
FIRSTCARE is a service mark of SHA, L.L.C.
NEED A JOB?
THE KIDS KLUB IS SEEKING
STAFF FOR THE
1999 FALL SEMESTER
Are you a fun person?
Do you enjoy working with kids?
-TH< 2U>S
College Station
• Looking for valuable work experience?
• Are you available Mon.-Fri., 2:45 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.?
• If you answered yes to any of these questions,
we may have a job for you.
Applications are now being accepted for
the Kids Klub After School Program
at Central Park Office
thru July 12th at 5 p.m.
Employment to begin August 10th
College Station ISD is an Equal Opportunity Employer
For more information call:
Male & Female
Staff needed!
AH< >Ul>S
KA1& 764-3486