Players, coaches spend off-season coaching young athletes

July 19, 2016  | Sports |

Harding coaches and athletes are spending their off-season doing more than just running line drills, creating plays, and preparing for the upcoming season. They’re investing in young athletes who might one day become a fellow Bison.

This summer, Harding Sports is working with coaches and student athletes to host more than 20 summer sports camps for soccer, football, softball, basketball, baseball and volleyball.

Head softball coach Phil Berry and the Lady Bison softball team hosted their summer camp June 20-22. Berry said the summer camps are a great way for prospective student athletes to learn what it would be like to attend Harding or another university to play sports.

“They stay in the dorm, eat in the cafeteria, and participate in the 2 1/2 days of softball camp,” Berry said. “In the camp, they are also able to interact with our players and coaching staff.”

For each sport, camps vary depending on age or skill level. With Lady Bison softball, young athletes are divided into two camps — kindergarten through seventh grade and eighth through 12th grade. The men’s basketball camp is split by individual or team camp.

For Berry and his student athletes who assist with the camp, they’re looking to outfit their campers with not only the skills to succeed on the field at their own schools but also skills to make them a standout college prospect.

“Camp activities include skill instruction on both offense and defense, testing on key measurables that college programs use to evaluate prospects, and scrimmages, which allow them to showcase their talents,” Berry said.

High school junior Tylar Vernon said she attended the summer softball camp because she has a real interest in Harding and the Lady Bison softball program.

“Some of the highlights were the live games in the afternoons and getting to spend time with the coaches and players at Harding,” Vernon said. “Learning from the coaches and players is really amazing. We get to learn what you have to do to compete and succeed at the college level.”

Berry, his staff and players said the biggest take away of the camp was seeing how hard all of the campers worked throughout the week.

“Our players and staff did a great job of coordinating and keeping everyone moving,” Berry said. “The campers responded in kind with great energy and effort.”

According to head volleyball coach Meredith Fear, the summer camps are a unique way for her to connect and build stronger relationships with her players.

“The [players] that do come to work camps get a lot of quality time as a player and coach,” Fear said. “It is exciting for me to work with them in a new capacity, not just as a coach/player but more of a mentor coach and helping them teach younger athletes.”

Fear enjoys the opportunity to discover players who have the ability to coach others, and growing that coaching ability in her players is one of her favorite outcomes of the summer camp.

“Being able to recognize the [players] that have the gift and cultivating that ability is one of my favorite parts of the job,” Fear said. “You really get to tap into that mentor relationship in the camp atmosphere.”

For more information on Harding Sports camps, visit www.hardingsports.com.