Summer Sports Camps

Summer Sports Camps

CJ Jones (left), a member of the CIU Rams soccer team instructs Benjamin Castor at the 2014 soccer camp.

For 12-year-old Neil Blank, the CIU soccer camp was a great place to learn better ball control skills, new moves and as he puts it, “Most importantly, I’ve been having fun.”

Blank was among 50 campers at the mid-June soccer camp, the first of the 2014 CIU summer sports camps that included camps for basketball and cross country.  

The last day of soccer camp was sunny and hot, but that didn’t bother 10-year-old Evan Werner who smiled with excitement though sweat was beading on his face.  Evan says he plays club soccer and the camp is just what he needed as he learned new dribbling skills. But he said he most enjoyed, “having fun and making new friends.”

CIU Head Men’s Soccer Coach James Whitaker, his coaching staff, and four of his players emphasized the fundamentals of the sport to boys and girls ranging in age from 5 to 17. The campers also participated in tournament matches and competitions on the CIU Rams soccer field.  

And while Whitaker makes sure the campers come away with refined soccer skills at the end of the week, he also makes sure they have been exposed to the gospel through devotionals.

“We take a passage of Scripture or a scriptural principle, and if we can, we apply it to soccer some way to make that connection.” Whitaker said as he took a quick break from instruction. “We want them to leave with some soccer knowledge, but we also want to challenge them to think about their relationship with Christ.”

See photos from the soccer camp at the CIU Flickr page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ciuimpact/sets/72157644858294398/.(Photos by CIU student photographer Christine Benz.)

To see photos from the CIU Basketball Camp visit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ciuimpact/sets/72157645714684591/.

Check out photos from the CIU Cross Counry Camp at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ciuimpact/sets/72157645938151193/.

For more on CIU Athletics: http://www.ciuathletics.com/.