MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Youth Sports hosted a bowling camp at the Strike Zone here Monday-Wednesday, as part of the ongoing series of Marine Corps Community Service Command sports camps that ended Friday.
Approximately 45 children showed up to the camp, which focused on giving station residents’ children a chance to take part in group sports and become accustomed to interacting with others and learning sportsmanship.
“The camp’s purpose was to get the kids out and spend their summer playing a sport they may have not played before, something new,” said John R. Baltazar III, MCCS youth sports’ coordinator. “Youth sports’ biggest drive is to teach kids sportsmanship and how to play well with others. This is a small base. They’re going to have to learn to know one another and play with one another.”
The camp is the third one so far this summer, covering four different sports. Earlier in the summer, camps covered basketball and soccer.
The focus on bowling was something unusual to the camp compared to the sports listed above. Many of the children taking part in the camp had never truly bowled before.
“There are a few who are picking up on the techniques we’re teaching them,” said Baltazar. “They’re learning how to actually push the ball instead of just throwing and dropping it down the lane. We have two more days to perfect it but they are learning.”
The first day of the camp focused on establishing the proper form and technique to bowl. The basic terms and etiquette of the game were also incorporated.
The next day sought to refine those skills and continue to hone and fine-tune them.
The last day of the camp was spent reviewing the children’s progress from the past several days.
Along with Baltazar, several volunteers were on hand to help children get a better feeling and understanding of the game. Many of the volunteers were the parents of the participants.
“It’s actually been really fun,” said Amanda E. Snay, a MCCS camp volunteer. “I’m an amateur when it comes to this but they wanted people to come out and help.”
Though children listened attentively, they still laughed and joked among themselves as volunteers worked with them on their overall techniques.
“It’s more about the experience for the kids,” said Snay. They’re not going to be perfect at what they’re doing. It’s more about them having fun overall.”
Some children had plans to attend only the volleyball camp but decided to take part in the bowling one as well.
“Our teachers made it fun,” said Tenacity L. Clayton, 14, camp participant. “They kept us laughing while we were going through the exercises.”
With temperatures steadily rising over the next several weeks and the startup of school right around the corner, camp can often serve a dual purpose in getting children out of the house and also introducing them to other children before the start of the school year.
“This helps (children) to get out more and socialize, especially for those new to the station,” said Clayton. “I think it’s also beneficial because the camps help out in the summer because a lot of kids stay inside and play video games. This helps to bring them out.”
Bowling camp, along with the volleyball camp, are a part of a pilot series to see if children are willing to come out for such events which may eventually lead to these sports becoming seasonal for Youth Sports.
The camp also brought in a more diverse group of children in comparison to the other camps.
“I had a lot of kids come up to me after some of the camps were over and tell me how much fun they heard their friends were having,” said Baltazar. “So, I definitely think that had a much bigger part to play in the turnout. We’ve actually got 12 kids who are 12 and up out here. So it really is diverse.”
Baltazar said with the camps’ turnout growing steadily since the start of the summer, it may hopefully be a matter of time before the camps turn into fullfledged regular season sports.