As summer reaches its peak and Northeastern athletics come to a standstill, a few Husky teams will break the lull by putting on summer camps in July for athletes of various skill and age levels.
The baseball, football, soccer and swimming teams will all hold camps at different points in July. The camps generally run from a few days to a few weeks, and can cost anywhere from $150 to $700.
“They come and they network and they meet other coaches. We recently hired a coach we had at the camp last year, so it’s a good way for the coaches to network and at the same time they get to see all these kids who could possibly be playing for all these schools,” she said.
The football camp will run July 12-13 and again July 19-20, and is aimed at football players at the high school level. Sarah Gigantino, associate director for the football camp, said around 150 athletes usually attend and spend their time working on their positions of strength with various coaches. She said the camp is a good way for both local coaches and athletes to network as they try to break into the college ranks.
Part of that emphasis on networking comes with a new feature the camp will introduce this year in the form of a recruiting class. The class will help give advice and tips to high school juniors and seniors looking to get recruited to play college football.
“The juniors and seniors can come and we’ll do a 30 minute seminar with them on the best ways to get recruited by colleges and stuff like that,” Gigantino said. “A lot of these kids have no clue about the first thing on getting recruited, so we’ll be able to get them that kind of information.”
As many as 20 schools will be represented at the football camp, including Boston College, Harvard and UMass Amherst. The clinics will be held at Parsons Field and run about three hours per session. Alumni like Maurice Murray and Joe Mele will also be in attendance, though no current Huskies can participate because it would violate NCAA policies.
The baseball team will hold its 20th annual camp in the form of two week-long sessions July 7-11 and July 14-18 at Parsons Field and Brookline Diamond for the 6-12 age bracket, which is co-ed. Among others, head coach Neil McPhee and members of the baseball staff, high school coaches and college players will be in attendance, giving instruction to little leaguers at the camp. The emphasis at the camp will be on basic instruction and having fun.
Brian Ainscough, head coach of the men’s soccer team, and Ed Matz, head coach of the women’s soccer team, will be running soccer summer camps June 23-27 at Parsons Field. Matz said he will also be running a girls-only camp in August, while Ainscough generally spearheads the rest of the camps.
“Campers will be introduced to daily training sessions that will help them develop and enhance their individual ability and tactical awareness,” according to the soccer camp brochure. Small- and large-sided games, daily awards and the presence of Northeastern staff and players are among the highlights of the camp.
The swimming team is working with Harvard to put together nine week-long sessions throughout the summer. The second, eighth and ninth sessions will be Northeastern sessions, and will take place June 23-27, August 4-8 and August 11-15. They will have camps at the novice level (age 7-12), in both intermediate and advanced forms, and the competitive level (age 9-17).
The camps are intended to promote, “stroke technique, mental discipline, race strategy and strengthening exercises, while also emphasizing respect, cooperation and, most importantly, the element of having fun while swimming,” according to the camp’s website.
The women’s basketball team, despite having done summer camps regularly in the past, will not be holding any this year, said women’s basketball assistant coach Vicki Wancel. However, she said they intend to run them again next summer.
