VIJAYAWADA: Several city-based government and private organisations have started summer sports camps for children to nurture their inherent talents on the lines of the usual summer camps, which help them hone their talents in arts and crafts.
Perhaps, the most popular among these summer sports camps is the one that is being conducted by the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) in association with Vijayawada Municipal Corporation. The camp, being conducted at the Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium here from May 1, is meant for children in the age group of 8 to 16 years and hundreds of children have already joined it t get trained in different games and sports such as basket ball, throw ball, volley ball, handball, table tennis and gymnastics. There are 80 sutdents in each of these disciplines.
The SAAP, which is collecting Rs 50 from each student for football, volleyball, basketball, throwball and gymnastics and Rs 100 for table tennis and badminton, is also providing the former with eggs and bananas.
Terming the student response to the camp as highly encouraging, SAAP football coach M Johnson said that the children were enthusiastically turning out for both the 6 am-to-8 am morning session and the 5 pm-to-7 pm evening session.
He further said: “Children who are playing football are very enthusiastic about learning the nuances of the game. Fundamentals of football like stance, ball holding, juggling, dribbling, passing, shooting, individual defence stance and rebounding are being taught to them”.
Most of the national players in table tennis from the region are champions in the game and are products of the past summer sports camps here, according to SAAP TT coach B Srinivas. He said that the students currently undergoing coaching in TT at the camp were doing well and were eager to continue the training even after their schools reopened after the summer vacations and added that three of them had shown great potential.
“Sports have fascinated me since childhood. I have joined the SAAP-run summer sports camp along with my friends. Among all, I found table tennis most interesting and I want to continue to practise it even after my school reopens,” said D Snehith, a Fifth Class student of NSM Public School.
Says P Charitha, a Tenth Class student of Karnati Ramamoha Rao Municipal High School, “These summer camps are helping students to get relief from the academic pressures and long hours at school and are giving them a chance to chill out. Holidays give me an excellent chance to devote more time to practice and improve my skills in my favourite game of football.”
Though the usual summer camps offer a variety of activities, including arts, crafts, dance and music, most of the parents appear to be preferring the summer sports camps for their children to enable them to keep fit. “Sports help in maintaining my children’s physical fitness. Hence, I prefer sending them to the summer sports camps during the vacation. Otherwise, they become lazy watching TV and browsing Internet,” said P Harika, a parent.