Mike Salsbury/The Olympian
Sports camp participants (from left) Brandon Markham, Dashaun James, Dakoda Gober and Mark Davis listen to instructions while developing their soccer skills.

Burning off energy

Activities for kids keep parents happy

Orginally published August 15, 2001

A couple hours before lunch, the 6- and 7-year-olds enrolled in the Lacey Parks and Recreation sports minicamp are only too glad to share in the joy of a peer's birthday. They are quickly munching through a dozen chocolate cupcakes that Dakoda Gober's grandmother brought to the camp for Mark Davis' birthday.

Davis is seemingly comfortable in the spotlight during the camp's morning break. He soon suggests some rethinking of the day's plan.

"I got a good idea for my birthday. We could play my favorite sport," he tells camp coordinator Mary Coppin.

"We'll talk about it when we're finished with snacks," Coppin responds.

Minutes later, the children are spread on a grassy field, guided by city staff members and interns trying to teach the children the ins and outs of soccer.

"If someone takes the ball from you, you can take it back," Coppin says. "Remember: It's soccer, so we can't use our hands."

"What about goalies?" asks Kody Gober, 7.

The one-day camp is one of a growing number of summer camps in Lacey. As population grows, many parents of the 13,000 students in the North Thurston Public Schools look for school alternatives during the summer months.

"There's just more community need now," Coppin says. "People want healthy, well-organized activity for their children."

The Olympian Copyright 2001

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