Bellevue East High School 2024 sports summer camps are happening throughout the June and July month time period.
Sites like Nook Sports talk about the simple reason for summer sports camps to help the players better at their sports. With this, many students see this as a benefit of the camps.
“Some benefits are definitely getting better at you’re sport and growing and learning new skills,” freshman Sophie Janzen said
Along with benefits though there are also the negatives to these sports camps. Summer camps happen in the summer, which for some students is a packed time.
“It can take away time from other things I enjoy,” freshman Monica Joseph said.
Time is a heavy concept especially during summer break for students. The time crunch is even worse for students who do more than one sport.
“A negative is conflicts with other sports camps,” freshman Willow Gulley said.
Another benefit of sports camps is their social aspects. Sites like Our Kids and Nook Sports said that summer camps affect athletes positively in social terms. This is through learning teamwork, working together, and learning how to communicate properly.
“They’ve helped me to get to know people,” Gulley said.
The social aspect of summer sports camps is highlighted by the coaches. They understand that camp has a broader impact on athletes beyond just their individual team and the future teams.
“For both teams, we like to do the summer camps, because it allows our incoming freshmen to start to get to know the team better,” cross country and girls soccer coach Laura Heath said. “It helps connect our high school students to our elementary students and to our middle students, and to get it to have a community feeling. More of a family feeling than a ‘we have a program.’”
This social piece isn’t just seen with the coaches or other adults. The players notice it as well. Starting a sport in a familiar place builds trust with the team.
“I know a lot of girls from the wrestling team will be attending the summer workouts,” freshman Samantha Carroll said.
The belief of the players seems to be similar to the opinion of sports camps. This has been seen through Carrol, Gulley, Joseph, and Janzen.
“I believe that you get better during your off-season and show the most growth,” Carroll said.
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