ROCKINGHAM — One of the largest turnouts in program history showed up to participate in the 23rd annual Richmond Senior High School soccer camp this week.
Campers from across the Sandhills spent four days learning more about the game and fine-tuning their mechanics and skills.
As local interest in soccer continues to gain traction, head coach Chris Larsen said he was “really pleased” with this summer’s 132 participants.
A few years ago, when the camp returned after a year off due to the pandemic, a single-year record of 140 campers were in attendance.
This year’s camp was broken up into several age groups: 5 and 6-year olds, 7 and 8-year olds, 9 to 11-year olds, as well as middle school and high school age groups.
Larsen said aside from the youngest age group, which had about a dozen campers, each group had roughly 30 players.
“We had a great number of kids come to camp this year, more than I initially expected,” Larsen said. “I had to call in some extra help, which isn’t a bad thing.
“Our biggest groups were the middle school ages, which is a good sign for the future of soccer in our county,” he added. “There was a lot of representation from all four middle schools, and hopefully their time here will pay off in the future.”
Working with the youngest group were former player Caroline Whitley and senior Allie Rodgers. Former players Morgan Hooks and Kyra Wall coached the 7 and 8-year olds, while assistant coach Michelle Denson and senior Jenna Gardner helped out with the next age group.
Larsen brought in area coaches Ray Blatz (Union Pines High School) and Jeremy Blake (Pinecrest High School) to assist with the middle and high school groups, respectively. Senior James Eason worked with Blake.
The first few days of camp were spent learning the proper ways to stretch, pass, communicate on the field and worked on other key fundamentals and offensive and defensive skills.
Larsen said the wealth of knowledge from each coaching staff allowed a tailor made experience for all campers.
The week wrapped up on Thursday with a series of small-sided games, scrimmages and even a water balloon fight.
“With a lot of returning faces year after year, I hope we’re doing a good job providing an opportunity for the community for kids to enjoy the sport,” Larsen said. “There is a strong interest and desire to learn about soccer, and it’s our job to help grow with the sport.
“We also wanted to make it fun for everyone to enjoy,” he closed. “I think this week was an enjoyable experience for everyone and I saw a lot of good things on the field.”
Below are photos from Thursday’s final day of camp taken by sports editor Kyle Pillar.
