By MIKE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
To many people summer camp brings back memories of sitting around the campfire.
But mention summer camp to kids these days and thoughts of dribbling a basketball, hitting a softball or clearing the bar in the pole vault could pop into their heads instead.
Area high schools and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point are the homes to numerous camps during the summer months from the traditional basketball camps to the specialized pole vault camp.
UW-SP men's basketball coach Jack Bennett hosted a camp earlier this week focusing on offensive skills. And not far away from the dribbling of basketballs was 1972 Olympic bronze medalist Jan Johnson, who held a pole vault camp in conjunction with UW-SP women's track and field coach Len Hill.
Lucas Elliott of Stevens Point, age 13, attended Bennett's offensive skills camp. "I learned a lot of offensive skills - dribbling and shooting. I also learned to hustle more," said Elliott, who is entering eighth grade at P.J. Jacobs.
"I needed help on dribbling and my dad recommended (the camp) too. And it looked like a very good program."
A.J. Pagel of Almond, age 13, took part in the basketball camp for the second straight year. Pagel, who is entering eighth grade at Almond-Bancroft, said one thing he learned was to improve his dribbling skills too, so his left hand dribbling is just as strong as his right hand.
"These camps are about learning lessons and creating competition for kids in the area and around the state," Bennett said.
The offensive skills camp is a few years old. Bennett brings in Ladysmith coach Forrest Larson to help with the camp. Larson's son Brent is UW-SP's point guard and also helps with the drills.
Bennett said 165 players from around the state, ranging from grade 5 to 12, were enrolled in the offensive skills camp. He says it is getting bigger and better every year and players were turned away so the camp wouldn't get too large.
The offensive skills camp is one of several Bennett and his top assistant coach Ken Koebl are holding. There are two remaining general camps, one for grades 9-12 and another for grades 5-8. UW-SP is also hosting a three-day team camp for two dozen teams.
"The help I get is very excellent. They do a really good job of blending games and concepts with the instruction," said Bennett, who brings in high school coaches from around the state as well as his players and assistant coaches to work the camps. He also credits UW-SP students Heidi Goodman and Katie Wolf, who help keep the off-the-court portion of camp running.
While basketball players were working on their shooting touch, 89 track and field athletes and coaches from all over the Midwest were honing their skills in the pole vault.
Johnson's pole vault camp, in its fifth or sixth year at UW-SP. The four-day camp ran from Sunday through Wednesday and attracted campers from Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois.
"They learn the system of how to pole vault higher and safer," said Johnson, who held the world record in the event. "When you know the system you can go back and keep working on the appropriate things. We want them to walk out of here with knowledge that they can keep using. We teach everything from the ground up."
Five of the camp participants were coaches. "That galvanizes the future of the event," Johnson said. "It's a different thing to do and a different thing to coach."
Johnson, who lives in Ataseadero, Calif. made a series of instructional videos on pole vaulting and holds camps all over the country, including Pennsylvania, Ohio and Alabama.
When he came back from the 1972 Olympics in Munich, where he vaulted 17-feet-6-3/4-inches, Johnson held his first camp in his hometown, Chicago Heights, Ill.
"I did it and I liked doing it and it kept growing every year," he said.
The pole vault event is on the upswing since high schools around the country, including Wisconsin, are opening the event to girls. The NCAA held the women's pole vault event at its national meets for the first time this year too. A good number of the camp participants were women and Hill is holding a women's pole vault camp in January.
"That's been really good for the event," Johnson said. "They do a great job learning the basics, better than the boys."
Johnson enjoys holding his camp at UW-SP, which he said is one of the best places to hold a camp. "UW-SP has been, no doubt about it, one of the leaders in pole vaulting. Len Hill is the reason," Johnson said.