Copperas Cove ISD set to begin summer camp season

By TJ MAXWELL

Cove Leader-Press

As students across the district get their caps and gowns ready as they prepare to conclude their high school careers, a bunch more student athletes will get a jump on the 2017-18 school year by attending the plethora of athletic summer camps offered by the Copperas Cove school district.

The summertime mentoring session begins with one perennial district contender and another program that is quickly approaching that status.

Cove volleyball head coach Cari Lowery has amassed an impressive 717 wins in her career and, with more than 300 participants in the Cove spring volleyball league, it looks as if those numbers will continue to grow.

The annual Lady Dawg volleyball camp, taught by Lowery and her staff, will kick off Tuesday, May 30 and run through Friday, June 2 at a cost of $60 per camper.

“They need to come to camp,” Lowery said about anyone interested in the game of volleyball. “Every junior high and high school coach gets to teach them. We teach them everything and they get a ball to take home to practice with. In the league we can’t coach them but at camp we can so it’s hands on one-on-one and they are going to learn a lot.”

All campers will receive group and one-on-one instruction on basic fundamentals as well as more advanced offensive and defensive techniques. The drills will have a high level of repetition to reinforce the fundamentals. 

The incoming ninth-grader session will go from 8:30-11:30 a.m. each day while the seventh and eight grade campers will participate from 12:30-3:30 p.m. and the first through sixth grade session will close out each day from 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Camp registration is due no later than Tuesday, May 16. All campers will receive a camp ball, a t-shirt, prizes, a certificate and awards.

Running in conjunction with the volleyball camp will be the Bulldawg baseball camp.

Head baseball coach Dusty Brittain and his staff are knocking on the playoff door every year and continue to improve as a program and that improvement also begins on May 30 and ends June 2.

The camp will focus on basic fundamentals of the game of baseball with emphasis on hitting, fielding, throwing and base running. The cost is $50 per camper and includes a camp t-shirt, certificate, competition and prizes. 

You will need a glove, athletics shoes (cleats preferred) and any other baseball gear you have.

Registration will be held on day one with the first-sixth grade students registering at 8:30 a.m. with camp to follow from 9-11 a.m. 

Registration for grades 7-9 will take place at 10:30 a.m. with camp to follow from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Tuesday through Thursday will focus on the fundamentals while Friday will be competition and slip and slide day.

The following week will feature the Bulldawg football and Lady Dawg basketball camps.

The young students of the district will participate in the NCAA football camp for students entering grades 1-6 to be held Monday, June 5 through Thursday, June 8 at S.C. Lee Junior High School.

The cost of the camp is $65 per student and will run from 8 a.m. to noon each day. On-site registration will begin at 7 a.m.

Lady Dawg basketball looks to keep their playoff streak alive as they kick off their camp, hosted by head girls basketball coach Eldridge McAdams, June 5-8.

The camps focus is on the basic fundamentals skills of dribbling, shooting, passing, footwork, defense and offense.

Campers in grades K-3 with go from 8:30-10:30 a.m. and the 4-9 grade students will participate from 9:30 a.m. through 1:30 p.m.

The boys’ basketballers will kick off camp on Monday, June 12 and will run through Thursday, June 15 at a cost of $65 per camper. 

The camp, hosted by head boys’ coach Billy White Jr. and staff, will run from 9 a.m. through 2 p.m. daily with an awards ceremony held at 1 p.m. on Thursday.

Also June 12-15 is the Lady Dawg softball camp for incoming 3-9 graders, hosted by head softball coach Bryan Waller. The camp will consist of two sessions. All campers will participate from 9-11 a.m. while a session for just pitchers an catchers will run from 11 a.m.-noon.

The cost of the camp is $50 per student and includes a camp t-shirt. Last but not least, the Bulldawg football team will close the camp season with the NFL Camp for incoming 7-9 grade students. 

The camp will be held at Bulldawg Stadium on July 31- August 4 from 8 a.m.-noon. The cost is $65 per camper and includes a camp t-shirt.

Head coach and athletic director Jack Welch and his staff will be raring to go to get the program back to prominence after missing their first playoff berth since 2003.

Family, Copperas Cove ISD and multi-camp discounts may be available. 

For more information on any of the camps, contact Becky Jewell at the athletic annex at 254-547-4111 or contact the head coach of the respective sport you are interested in.