Okay, this is going to do it for the 2008 Summer Camp Series. We’ve covered general day camps, art, performing arts and science and nature. Today, we’ll take a look at sports camps. There is absolutely no way we could EVER catch every sports camp in town - but we’ll try to feature some highlights here!

The obvious place to start is with your local parks and recreation department. Click here for some easy links to parks and rec websites.

After you’ve taken a look at your tax-subsidized options, you might want to check out:

• AKKA - Karate USA (Kansas City, MO/Independence, MO/Gladstone, MO/Overland Park, KS/Olathe, KS) offers a variety of summer camps at their locations - as of March 29, 2008, some of the sites have not been updated with summer camp information yet. So, check back!
• All American Cheer & Stunt (Overland Park, KS) will be hosting summer fun and cheer camps for all ages at their new facility at 143rd and State Line.
• Barstow School Summer Camps (south Kansas City, MO) has a great variety of camps for all ages - baseball, basketball, soccer, tennis, volleyball, football, fencing, golf, gymnastics, rock-climbing and horsemanship.
• Blue Valley Soccer Club (south Johnson County, KS) will host recreation-level and premier-level soccer camps - for ages 5 through high school.
• Challenger British Soccer Camps (multiple locations across the Kansas City metro area), through city and county parks and recreation department and private soccer clubs, holds TONS of camps for kids of all ages and skill levels. The instructors are excellent young British coaches with a high level of skill and patience.
• Coach Rocky Lamar’s Fundamentally Driven Basketball Camp (Olathe, KS) is held in Olathe at the Mid-America Nazarene University. Camps are offered for girls and boys, grades 3 through 12 and are coached by MANU’s head men’s and women’s basketball coaches.
• First Tee of Greater Kansas City (many locations across the city) hosts junior golf camps at public courses to teach kids ages 5 and up golf skills and life skills. Classes and leagues are also available.
• Great American Gymnastics Express (GAGE Center) - Bump City Sports Camps (Blue Springs, MO) offers week-long, full-day camps all summer long for ages 4 to 12. Activities include gymnastics, rock climbing, games, sports, swimming and more.
• Got Skills Soccer Camp (Northland) teaches soccer fundamentals and advanced techniques to boys and girls of all skill levels, from age 6 to 14.
• Heartland Fencing Academy (Overland Park, KS) will be holding introduction to fencing camps at Blue Valley’s Heartland Elementary School (just east of 127th & Antioch) for kids ages 6 to 13.
• Johnson County Community College (Overland Park, KS) offers a HUGE variety of sports clinics for kids of all ages - you name it and they’ve got it: baseball, basketball, football, soccer, conditioning, cheerleading, golf, softball, tennis, track, volleyball and weight training!
• Kansas City Athletic Cheer - KCAC (Overland Park, KS) will host tumbling and cheering camps for all ages!
• Kansas City Fencing Center (Overland Park, KS) offers introductory, recreational and competitive fencing camps for kids ages 7 and up.
• Kansas Gymnastics & Cheer (Olathe, KS) will have a full summer of Monday thru Thursday, half-day gymnastics camps (preschool and recreational) for ages 3 and up.
• Kansas Rush Soccer Club (Olathe, KS) will offer week-long soccer camps for kids ages 5 and up at Lone Elm Soccer Complex and Prairie Center Park.
• Northland Youth Football Camp (Liberty, MO) hosts kids K-8th grade for a four day football camp at William Jewell College, just in time to prepare for the 2008 season!
• Peeper Ranch (Olathe, KS) offers riding camps with two lessons every day plus crafts, buggy rides and more horse-related education. Space is limited!
• Pembroke Hill Summer Camps (Kansas City, MO) offer a little bit of EVERYTHING including sports like basketball, mixed martial arts, climbing, soccer and volleyball.
• R&R Stables (Lee’s Summit, MO) offers a host of horse riding clinics and camps. Contact them for more information.
• Rockhurst High School (Kansas City, MO) hosts several different sports camps this summer. These include baseball camps for boys in grades 4 through 9; basketball camps for boys in grades 3 through 10; football camps for boys in grades 4 through 9; lacrosse camps for boys and girls in grades 3 through high school and soccer camps for boys and girls K through 12.
• Sports City (Blue Springs, MO) looks like it might have camps for baseball, softball, volleyball, basketball and football throughout the year. Their website was a little lacking in information about summer programs - so you may just need to give them a call!
• St. Thomas Aquinas Summer Camps (Overland Park, KS) has grade school camps for baseball, basketball, football and wrestling (boys) and basketball, cheerleading, softball and volleyball (girls). They also offer high school camps for the same sports.

For more articles about camps, lessons or classes, use the pull down menu at the top left hand side of the page to sort previous posts - choose Lessons/Camps/Classes. For links to other classes, use the Links! menu on the right hand side of the page.

Good luck and have a great summer!