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The 12-year-old didn’t want to get up at 7 a.m. Monday for the first day of camp. However, since he arrived at Mitchell Hall Fieldhouse at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse for the three-day camp, he has been having a blast, he said.
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Samantha Harter,left and Melanie Weigel take part in a Youth Sports and fitness camp at UWL.Dick Riniker photo |
Throughout the day, children ages 5 to 12 get a mix of free time and planned activities from basketball to dodgeball to rock climbing.
It is an opportunity for kids to get active, especially during the cold days of break, said director Brian Udermann, who started the camp six years ago.
Udermann, 39, said that when he was young, kids didn’t have the option of staying in and playing video games. When school was out, mom bundled them up, and he was out outside playing all day long.
“You don’t see that as much anymore,” he said.
But the program is bringing back the concept of fun and physical activity, he said. Over the years, the program has grown from 30 kids to about 150 this year.
Mariah LeBlanc, 12, has learned how to “never give up” when climbing the rock wall to the top of the fieldhouse and to tell the truth about getting tagged in dodgeball.
“I came to be healthy, learn about sports and be a better sport,” she said.
