'I love seeing little kids getting involved': Hilltopper Track Club summer camp is back

FALL RIVER — Serving the community is a top priority for Kristen Gauvin.

Another one for the B.M.C. Durfee High School assistant athletic director is seeing kids get more involved in sports at a young age.

"My kids went to a track club in Mattapoisett for years and I wanted to bring something closer here," she said. "I loved the program there. I met with Brad [Bustin] and talked to him about it. I ran the program strictly as a volunteer for three years."

Now Gauvin is ready to restart a summer program she organized five years ago.

The Hilltopper Track and Field Club summer camp, for grades 1 to entering ninth grade, will take place on July 12 through Aug. 11 from 6 to 8 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday at B.M.C. Durfee High School on the north end of the campus.

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This five-week, casual camp-based club is designed to let kids have some fun and get some exercise this summer while trying out the sport. Attendance is not mandatory to participate.

"It has been hard with the pandemic and things shutting down," said Gauvin, a Fall River native who's been in this job for three years now. "We have seen that in the high school and middle schools. We're hoping to get those kids back and active in the summer.

"I love to get them exposed to track and everything it has to offer. But also athletics in general and get them involved."

Gauvin, who graduated from Durfee in 1990 and played field hockey and ran track for the Hilltoppers, said part of her job at the high school is to create new activities, even for students in the middle and elementary schools.

Kuss Middle School, Talbot Innovation Middle School, Morton Middle School, Henry Lord Community School, John J. Doran Elementary School, and the two charter schools now have sports for every season for the kids to enjoy and grow.

Sports like cross country and spring track were added to the fall and spring extracurricular activities outside the classroom.

"When I started, we only had boys and girls basketball at the elementary level," Gauvin said. "This past year, my goal was to add something like a co-ed sport in the fall and a co-ed sport in the spring so they could do something all year if they wanted."

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The numbers on some Saturdays exceeded over 1,000 kids during the spring. Gauvin would like to see more kids involved in sports on a daily basis.

"We're trying to get those kids to be involved in athletics at the high school and having that feeder program at the elementary and middle schools is very important," she said.

Gauvin enjoys doing things for the community, especially seeing smiles on the faces of future Hilltopper stars.

"I enjoy volunteering,"  she said. "I never thought I would do something like this but I think I found my calling. I enjoy doing and believe in community service and building that up. But for athletics, I love seeing the little kids getting involved out there and figure out what they want to do eventually when they get to middle school and to the high school."

Registration is ongoing for Gauvin's summer camp. For more information, contact her at  kgauvin@fallriverschools.org or check out updates on their Facebook webpage HIlltopper Track and Field Club.

Camp cost is $65 per person, and $35 each additional sibling. Make checks payable to the Durfee Sports Booster. Mailing information is the Durfee Sports Booster, c/o Kristen Gauvin-Athletics, 460 Elsbree St Fall River, Ma 02720.

Gauvin lives in Fall River with her husband, Paul, and three kids — Jack 17, Kathryn 15 and Claire, 7.

Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette sports editor Steven Sanchez can be reached at ssanchez@heraldnews.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Chezsports. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Hilltopper Track and Field Club summer camp to be held at Durfee High