June Camp Lays Foundation for Next Year’s Teams
For most students, summertime is about sleeping in, relaxation, pool time . . . anything but work! However, that was not the case at the School in early June. About 75 students hung on a little longer to the structure of practice, hard work, and drills by participating in one- to two-week sports camps on campus.
Many of the camps were attended by a mix of varsity, junior varsity, and incoming freshman players. With the majority staying in the dorms, students spent their days living, eating, sleeping, and breathing their respective sports—and loving every moment of it.
Sara, who will be a junior next fall, spoke glowingly of the experience at volleyball and basketball camps: “June Camp is really important because it brings our teams back together. It is a time for us to bond, but also for leadership. The new upperclassmen can step up to the plate as new leaders for the incoming freshmen.”
Coaches Brad Warrick (US'90, C'94), Spencer Clevenger (US'10, C'14), Jim Moser (C'04), and Howie Bay (US'69, C'73) ran rigorous football practices, while Ken Leavoy (C'75) and Paul Perea took the softball girls under wing, using a camera/computer system to give them immediate visual feedback. Girls’ and boys’ basketball, wrestling, and volleyball welcomed additional coaches to campus, including Walt Ragan for wrestling; Stephanie Rich, a former University of Wisconsin player and former Saint Louis University coach for girls’ basketball; Steve Weingarten, a former basketball player for La Salle University; and two coaches from Gold Medal Squared, an elite volleyball training program.
Matt, who will also be a junior next year, split his time between football and basketball camps, and was very positive about the experience. “You get exposure. It’s experiential, and you get to know the guys better,” he said. “It is really good that everyone gets exposure now, so we don’t have to waste a lot of time reviewing [plays] in August.”