Summer Camps start a summer of sport in Ballymoney
Thursday, 10 July 2008
Some of the children who had a fantastic time at the Ballymoney tennis Camp last year.
THE Joey Dunlop Leisure Centre was a hive of activity last week as the first of a series of nine sports camps this summer organised by Ballymoney Borough Council's Sports Development Unit took place in Tennis and Hockey.
Children aged 7-12 took part in the 4 day long camp and were coached by experienced local coach, Margaret Elliott while over 35 children took part in the 4 day hockey camp which was delivered by coaches of Ballymoney Hockey Club and headed up by experienced first team player, Diane McNeill.
The tennis camp is now an annual fixture in the Sports Development calendar and takes place every summer during Wimbledon and always proves very popular.
“It always great to see the children turn out in and take part in the coaching sessions on these fantastic courts. It was a little disappointing that numbers were down on previous years but for the children it proved to be a fantastic opportunity as they gained experience from more focused one to one coaching from Margaret" said Richard Gormley, Sports Development Officer.
This week saw the children work on several fundamental skills in tennis including basic grip technique, as well as fun games and competition.
Over on the Astro pitch the healthy mix of boys and girls aged 8-15 benefited from the coaching expertise of Ballymoney Hockey club wo hope to recruit some new blood into the mini and junior sections of the club in the forthcoming season.
“It was fantastic to see so many children turn out for the camp this week and it proved to be a very positive camp for Ballymoney Hockey Club with a large number of talented boys and girls attending. There was certainly some potential future stars in the making here this week" said Diane McNeill, Ballymoney Hockey Club.
The camps have been set up to develop new opportunities for the youth of the Borough to take part in sport over the summer and also to help promote the clubs involved.
For information on any of these activities contact the Joey Dunlop Leisure Centre on 028 27660260.
