Malone offers non-traditional sports camp for Canton students

CANTON – Kendric Johnson's preferred sport is baseball. But for the past few days, he's shined in lacrosse.

That's because Kendric, 11, spent the week at the inaugural Pioneer Leadership/Exploratory Sports Camp at Malone University. He and 29 other campers played a variety of sports, heard from guest speakers, and connected with each other.

"It's been fun because I've made a lot of new friends, and it's a good environment to be in," he said. "It's always good to try new things."

The camp was organized through a collaboration of Canton City Schools, the city of Canton and Malone University. Mark McClure, the camp's director and Malone's track coach, said he feels the university's job is to strengthen connections to the broader community.

Students enrolled in Canton schools were able to attend the camp for free through a $24,000 American Rescue Plan Act grant from the city, said Rollin Seward, the city's community development director.

The city administration recognized the effect the COVID-19 pandemic had on children, and funding the camp was a way to get students back outside and exposed to different experiences, he said.

A focus on non-traditional sports

The camp strategically featured non-traditional sports — golf, track and field, and lacrosse — and catered to students in third through sixth grades. That group of students often gets left out of valuable programming, which is usually geared toward middle school and high school students, McClure said.

Seward said the decision to introduce non-traditional sports to those at the camp was meant to spark some newfound interests in the students.

"For non-traditional sports, a lot of students don't get involved until later ages, and so they're not as competitive," Seward explained. By introducing the sports at the camp, younger students are able to build their skill levels and compete sooner than they normally would.

Junia Rozko, 8, said she was used to playing soccer, which she likes best. After attending the camp, though, Rozko said she enjoyed track and field and would maybe want to try it again soon.

She isn't alone. Davis Reinhard, one of the camp's counselors, said most of the students he worked with were eager to try new sports. He was worried they might get bored, but their fascination took off.

"The idea that there are different sports out there other than football and basketball and baseball — the ones they're brought up with — it might lead them down a path of other sports that are non-traditional, too," Reinhard, 22, said.

Another of the camp's counselors, Azure Curtis, 21, said she was amazed by the sportsmanship. Most of the students were new to the sports they were playing, she said, which gave everyone an even playing field and encouraged them to root for their peers.

Will there be a 2023 camp?

As of right now, there is money set aside to fund two more summers of the camp, Seward said. McClure has thought about adding more grade levels or changing how many days the camp runs, but nothing is set in stone.

Overall, though, he said the camp's debut has gone better than he expected. Of course, some things needed adjusted, but it's been a positive experience for him.

"I would definitely be interested in coming back," Johnson said. "I wish we had more time to play sports."

Contact Ryan via email at rmaxin@gannett.com, on Twitter at @ryanmaxin or by phone at 330-580-8412.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: A leadership sports camp was hosted by Malone University for students