HOT SPRINGS - The sounds and squeaks of running shoes echoed around the gymnasium as a group of young athletes participated in a youth skills football camp.

From Monday June 16, through Thursday June 19, the football camp was held for third through fifth graders. Savage Heat High School Football Coach Jim Lawson directed the camp.

The enthusiastic kids passed to each other and ran from one end of the gym to the other, kicking set pieces in between on the third day of the sports mini camp.

The camp was forced inside for the first few days of the week thanks to the poor weather experienced throughout Sanders County.

However, the change in venue did not stop the kids from having fun, as they ran around the gym, testing their arms and practicing their field goal kicking abilities, sending the football from one side of the gym to the other.   

“If the weather is better tomorrow we will hopefully get outside and try some field goals,” Lawson said.

Field goals were only a portion of the four-day skills camp, with the young football athletes practicing several key elements of the popular sport.

Some high school student athletes assisted with the camp, providing the younger students with a chance to connect with their older peers.

Hot Springs Superintendent Kevin Meredith noted the critical role older students play in some of these summer mini-camps.

“We are trying to establish and promote a mentorship program between older and younger students,” Meredith said.

Lawson, who coaches the school’s six-man high school football team, serves as a part of this mentorship program, bringing his expertise from high school competition to the enthusiastic youth in attendance at the skills camp.

The programs debuted two years ago as an attempt to keep kids learning throughout the year.

The program has been well received in the Hot Springs community and has served as a fun way for kids to stay active in the summer months.

Many of the camps, which include volleyball and fly fishing in addition to football, are an opportunity to introduce the kids of Hot Springs to a wide variety of hobbies and sports.

The Summer Fun Program, started on June 9 with swimming lessons running through to June 12. The lessons were open to those three years old and up.

The program will wrap up with a basketball camp for second through sixth graders from July 7 through July 10.

This week Hot Springs High School hosted a forestry/science camp Monday through Wednesday.

There was also a fly fishing camp held on the same days.

The fishing camp was open to students from third through sixth grades.

In the first few weeks the athletic camps have drawn energetic groups of students.

The kids of Hot Springs attending the football skills camp seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the start of their summer vacation following the recent end of the school year.