A news sports camp for kids in underway in Windsor.
Sports Discovery Camp aims to, "make sports fun and enjoyable for all kids, while teaching values like confidence, teamwork, leadership, and respect."
The organization behind a summer STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) camp held in Windsor and throughout southwestern Ontario came up with the new program that will help kids get a taste of sports and teamwork.
Sarah Wilder is looking forward to sending her seven-year-old son Matthew to camp this year believing the concept will help develop his character.
"That's one of the things that attracted me to this camp, it's more about team-building and working together and being a part of something bigger than just individual recognition," she says.
Wilder says the camp will make it easier for her son to try new things.
"All different types of sports they're going to be learning about," she says. "It will give him different exposure to things that, maybe he'll have an interest in that I would never even dream of offering him to try."
Founder and CEO Kevin Cougler says picking Windsor as one of the launch locations was a no brainer.
"Windsor parents seem to be naturals at wanting to provide opportunities for their kids, so it was just natural for us to back to Windsor and go to some existing parents [from the STEM camp] and say, hey, we're trying something new, would you guys be interested in giving it a try with us," he says.
As a coach, Cougler sees a gap in support first hand and wanted every kid to know what it feels like to be cheered on by the crowd.
"We tend to cheer when somebody actually scores, but what we don't cheer for are those kids who are there trying every day, and maybe they can't lift the basketball high enough to make a bucket," says Cougler. "Those kids are the kids that need some cheers and we're trying to provide those opportunities so they can get some cheers."
The not-for-profit camp is already underway and will continue for eight weeks in nine different communities in Southwestern Ontario.
Cougler says parents can register for programs in one week blocks.
The camp is being held at the Windsor Polish Club on 1275 Langlois Ave.
CLICK HERE to find more information on the camp.