From July 13-15, Sports Reach partnered with the Lord’s Gym in Cincinnati put on a girls’ basketball camp. The girls were ages 9-14 and there were up to 16 in attendance. They do not usually have a lot of sports camp options unless they go with their brothers, so this was a unique opportunity for them. Each day the girls worked on basketball skills and played fun games. The coaches that helped each day were Javell Redwood, Sarah Leach, Samantha Arington, Maria Napolitano and I. Sarah and I both shared testimonies with the girls while Bailey McNutt from the Lord’s Gym shared the Gospel on the last day. The Lord’s Gym provided food each day for the campers and a T-shirt for coming to camp. Sports Reach gave each girl a basketball, water bottle, and Bibles if any of the girls wanted one. Five girls asked for a Bible to take home with them.
From July 20-22, Sports Reach again partnered with the Lord’s Gym in Cincinnati to put on a football camp. The boys were 4-12 years old and we worked with over 60 boys, most of the days having about 30 at a time. This was the third year of doing this football camp, and many of the kids remembered us from previous years or when they had come to basketball or soccer camp. The boys worked on passing, catching, running, blocking, kicking, and defensive skills each day. The Sports Reach coaches that helped were Nathaniel, and Jeff Arington, Nick Hoyle (Miami Valley Christian Academy), Kyle Ray (Coach at St. Xavier High School), Tim Hilvert (Coach at Milford Jr. High), Ed Veeneman (former Morehead State D End), and myself. The Lord’s Gym also had coaches there learning from ours and helping keep the boys focused and listening. Every day, there was a devotional or testimony shared by Tim and Ed, and then I shared the Gospel on the last day. The Lord’s Gym provided food for the kids and a prize for “Campers of the Day,” and Sports Reach provided a football for each camper and a Bible if they wanted one. Twelve people took home a Bible, including several Lord’s Gym coaches.
