6 Gardner Recreation Department clinics to keep your youngest athletes active this summer
Looking for a way to keep your sports-crazy children active during the summer but want to keep them out of the scorching hot midday sun? Or perhaps you want to introduce your children to a new sport, but you can’t bring them to a sports camp in the middle of the day because you’re at work?
The City of Gardner Recreation Department has the solution. In addition to a daytime summer camp — which begins Tuesday, July 5 — the City of Gardner Recreation Department will offer a series of affordable evening sports clinics for the city’s youth.
“All of the money that we take in from these (clinics) goes to offsetting the costs of the summer program. All of the funds go right into the till to help pay scholarships for kids for summer camp and to keep prices low,” said Dan Forte, director of the Gardner Recreation Department. "Accessibility is the priority and we're always looking for new ideas."
Here is a look at each of the six sports clinics being offered this summer.
Gardner Summer Rec Basketball
For whom: Gardner students and residents who are entering grades 4-6 next fall.
When: 6-8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning on July 5 and ending on July 28
Where: Gardner Middle School gym
What to expect: Campers can expect to learn dribbling, ball handling, cutting, setting screens and picks, boxing out and rebounding and in playing defense. Though the league is meant to focus on teaching the fundamentals, organizers always set aside time in the back half of the two-hour session for a series of 4-on-4 games.
"When we do winter basketball we break them into teams and they stay in teams for the whole winter," said Forte, "but summer basketball is much more skills and drills based."
The sign-up deadline is Thursday, June 30, but Forte said registrations will be accepted up to the league's start date of July 5.
Youth Track and Field Clinic
For whom: Gardner students and residents { and Holy Family Academy students entering grades K-4 next fall.
When: 6-8 p.m. every Thursday beginning on July 7 and ending on July 28
Where: Gardner High School’s Watkins Field
What to expect: Campers will receive instruction from recent Gardner High graduates Gino DiVito and Alex Lucier — as well as from additional fellow alumni of the Wildcats’ track and field program — in modified track and field events.
Stations at last year’s clinic included shot putting a softball, throwing a safe version of a javelin (no sharp points!), the long jump, the hurdles and the high jump.
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Baseball, Softball pitchers and catchers clinic
For whom: Gardner students and residents entering grades 2-7 in the fall. Sign-ups are limited, however, to 10 pitchers and 10 catchers per sport.
When: 6-7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. Baseball will start on July 13 and end on July 27. Softball will start on July 20 and end on Aug. 3.
Where: Gardner High School.
What to expect: For the first time, the Gardner Recreation Department is offering position-specific athletic clinics and the initial offering is for pitchers and their batterymates. Campers will participate in specialized drills designed to enhance their skills as a pitcher or a catcher.
“For three years, Julie Santos, our Middle School softball coach, has been saying we need to find way to get our kids pitching and catching,” said Forte. “But COVID hit and knocked us down for a couple of years, so we were looking at this year as being the year to start doing some of the things we wanted to start years ago.”
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Soccer goalkeeping clinic
For whom: Gardner students and residents entering grades 2-7 next fall. Space is limited to the first 15 participants to sign-up, however.
When: 6-7:30 p.m. on Mondays beginning on July 18 and ending on Aug. 1
Where: Gardner High School.
What to expect: The second position-specific youth sports clinic being offered this summer is a soccer goalkeeping camp. Recent Gardner High graduates Maddy Lashua and Elijah Cormier — both of whom were Mid-Wach League all-star goalies for the Wildcats — will instruct campers on the specialized skills needed to keep the ball out of a 24-foot by 8-foot soccer net.
“If your kid is a goalie you can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to send your kid to goalie camps across the state,” said Forte. “We don't pretend to replace those with our goalie camp, but it is a low cost way for kids to get a little more experience of a position that is a little more specialized and that they might take an interest in.”
Gardner Youth Football Clinic
For whom: Gardner students and residents entering grades K-6 next fall.
When: 6-8 p.m. on Mondays beginning on July 11 and ending on Aug. 1. Sign-ups will be accepted through the clinic's start date.
Where: Gardner High School.
What to expect: Campers will be broken up by age groups and receive instruction in the fundamentals of the game from Gardner High varsity coach Sean Whittle, his coaching staff and a handful of varsity players.
Participants can expect to learns skills and perform drills from all three phases of the game — offense, defense and special teams — but Whittle said the campers always get a kick out of throwing passes to and receiving passes from varsity players in addition to taking tackling dummies to the ground in drills.
Greater Gardner Youth Field Hockey Camp
For whom: Gardner, Murdock and Narragansett students or residents of Gardner, Winchendon, Phillipston and Templeton entering grades K-6 next fall.
When: 9-11 a.m. on Sundays beginning on Aug. 7 and ending on Aug. 28.
Where: Gardner High School’s Watkins Field.
What to expect: The only camp being offered to students outside of Gardner, participants will be given age- appropriate instruction and game scenarios from Kaitlyn Suchanek and coaches, players and alumni of the Gardner High varsity team. Participants should come prepared with their own field hockey stick, goggles, mouth guard and shin pads, but the Gardner Recreation Department can help supply those items if needed.
The deadline to register is Saturday, Aug. 6, but, as with all of the clinics, Forte said participants will be accepted up to the camp's starting date.
This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Gardner Recreation Department offering 6 sports clinics this summer
