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Athletic camps offer "fun" competition, increase awareness of college life
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| Participants in the Roadrunner Soccer Academy have fun expressing their competitive spirit. |
The 2010 World Cup is over, but the spirit of soccer was alive and well for 58 students, ages 6-14, who attended the Roadrunner Soccer Academy in early July.
The academy is one of multiple Roadrunner camps held each year by the Metropolitan State College of Denver Athletics Department, bringing more than 1,000 youth to campus to learn basic skills in volleyball, basketball, soccer and softball.
The benefits of the camps extend beyond learning the basics of a sport, says Athletic Director Joan McDermott. "The impact on the community is exponential. The competitive, yet social, environment instills at a young age the importance of setting goals and sticking to them. The camps also breed connections between the coaches and the community, allowing them to give back to the next generation of college students."
Giving back is an ongoing theme for the department, which received the NCAA Division II Community Engagement Award in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) in 2008 for its "Building Bridges to the Community" program. The program began in the fall of 2007 when the women’s softball team "adopted" the Denver West High School girls' softball team. The partnering between the two teams is ongoing, continuing to build bridges between the College and Denver Public Schools.