For going on 30 years, Live Oak High School has opened its doors to give the youth of South County a place to go to stay active and experience the joy of sport.
And it all started because 29 years ago, then Athletic Director Norm Dow didn’t want the youth of Morgan Hill to be without something to do over the summer months. So he started the camps as away to give them something to do and help raise money.
Current Athletic Director Mark Cummins said when the city cut its parks budget and ended summer programs for kids, Dow stepped in to fill the void and the camps have taken off.
“He started it mostly to help out the community and we’ve built on that,” Cummins said.
This year alone, nearly 800 campers have taken part in the week-long activities, many of whom are repeat customers, Cummins said.
“You start seeing some of the same kids in your classroom,” said former basketball coach Brett Paolucci. “Hey, I remember you from the last sports camp!”
The Live Oak Sports Camps offer week-long activities through out the summer put on by the high school’s coaches and athletes.
“It means a lot,” said soccer standout Ally Salzwedel of being a counselor. “It’s fun working with the kids. It’s a good job because I get to work with really fun people.”
Cummins added the camps are a way for the athletes to get involved with something over the summer and a chance to learn some leadership
as well.
“There’s a lot of kids who want to be counselors. I get a lot of requests,” Cummins said.
Sometimes former athletes comeback.
Former basketball and field hockey player Hannah Doting returned as did former soccer player Shannon Rauschnot.
“It’s a very rewarding experience for them,” Cummins said. “They enjoy working with kids it gets them some leadership skills that are valuable for them later on in life.”
Boys and girls ages 6-13 can participate in individual sports, including baseball, tennis, volleyball, soccer and cheerleading.
There is also all sports camps, which allows kids to get involved in a little bit of everything.
During the All Sports camp, kids get to rotate between different stations, where they get to experience swimming, softball, tennis, basketball and other popular sports during the week.
Kids are grouped together by age and gender.
They also get instruction on how to stay fit and to eat right. Campers also get to play games and they hold contests during the day.
On July 16, campers took part in a dance contest during the morning.
The money raised by the camps go toward individual teams—from the individual camps—and toward facility up keep.
Camp money helped pay for the Hall of Fame wall on display in the gym.
And what started as a service for the youth of Morgan Hill has quickly spread to a regional sports camp.
Cummins said he gets campers from San Jose and Gilroy. There were even three students from Spain who were in town for a home exchange program and their host family had brought their kids in the past.
He even had relatives come up from Los Angeles to take part in the camps this summer.
Cummins said he’s open to new ideas for camps and will try different sports out.
He said in the past they’ve attempted ultimate frisbee and lacrosse, but those didn’t stick.
Announcements usually go out to the schools before the end of the academic year.
The sports camps are entering their final two weeks of the season, with their last all sports camp starting July 27 and the tennis camp starting Aug. 3.
For more information on the camps, visit liveoaksportscamps.com.
