Perhaps you have noticed the streams of young teenagers walking down East Wheelock street, or the packed tennis courts in front of Alumni Gym. Already this summer, several hundred six to 16-year-old athletes from around the country have attended the different sports camps at Dartmouth College.
Among these athletes, many have been returning for years, citing the quality coaching as well as the attractive campus as their reasons for returning to Hanover.
Robert Bliss, a high school football player from Nashville, TN, remarked that the John Lyons football camp here at Dartmouth is "awesome because there's so many coaches from different colleges here." Along with the regular Dartmouth staff, coaches from Bowdoin, Middlebury, the University of Vermont and other colleges make up the summer camp staff.
Cape Cod, Mass. native Cooper Anster, 16, echoed Bliss' sentiment. "Players can talk to a coach and get a feel for the school," he said.
Amy Miller, a 16-year-old tennis camper who has been attending since she was 11-years-old described the coaching as excellent. "Some of the coaches are professional and some are college-level players," she said. "At the higher levels [of the camp] you get the professional coaches."
Neither Miller nor any of the other campers interviewed by the Dartmouth reported actively looking at Dartmouth as prospective applicants.
Most campers are 16 years or younger, assistant tennis coach Dave Jones explained. "When tennis players reach 17 or 18-years-old, they usually go to tournaments to get recruited."
Jones told The Dartmouth that while Head Tennis Coach Chuck Kinyon -- makes a yearly trip to a tournament in Kalamazoo, Mich. to watch up-and-coming players, the summer camps are reserved for teaching younger players skills.
"The camps are generally pretty fun," Jones said. He said that due to a limited number of courts "we can only have 48 campers per camp, which allows us to get to know the kids."
Miller, a resident of Norwich, Vt. said she loves the College. "If I didn't live so close I would definitely think about going [to school] here."
She pointed out that the camps offer a "more inside look at the campus," allowing students the first-hand experiences of dorm living, utilizing athletic facilities and Thayer Dining Hall.
Michelle Robinson, an employee of Dartmouth athletics, emphasized that these camps are not sponsored by that department.
Jill Joyce, summer camp intern for the Dartmouth Athletic Facilities described the way the camps are organized.
"Each coach owns the rights to their camp; they rent Dartmouth facilities," Joyce said, adding that the camps benefit the College by allowing coaches to have a forum for recruitment of athletes in high school.
Joyce said, however, that not all camps are used for recruiting. "Baseball, for example," she said, "is a day camp for younger kids: ages six to 10-years-old."
This week volleyball, field hockey, squash, tennis and soccer camps are being held. Football camps ended yesterday.
