| Denville sports camp expands |
| From soccer to self-defense,
activities coached by former high school stars |
BY TEHANI SCHNEIDER
DAILY RECORD
Thursday, July 5, 2007 |
|
DENVILLE -- When Mike Carmiche began
hosting a summer baseball camp for local children years ago,
one of the frequent requests of parents was to expand the
activity to include a variety of sports. |
| Carmiche, a health and physical
education instructor and former head baseball coach at
Mountain Lakes High School, was happy to oblige. |
| This past week, the Denville
resident unveiled the Stealin' Home Sports Camps, a joint
venture created with Denville police Sgt. Paul Nigro and
sponsored by Denville's Police Athletic League. |
| Carmiche, 38, assembled a staff,
including former area high school standouts in soccer,
baseball and football, to man the camps for kids ages 7 and
up from across Morris County. |
|
"I wanted to combine forces because I have the
resources as a teacher and former coach," Carmiche
said. "The kids will be learning from what I feel are
top-notch coaches, some of the best coaches in the
area." |
| In addition to baseball, five new
sports, a self-defense course and a fun-fitness boot camp
will be held through Aug. 16 at Gardner Field and Mountain
Lakes High School. |
| Nigro, who coaches Denville's Blue
Angels Pee Wee football with Carmiche, said the PAL was
eager to sponsor the camps. |
| "It had everything imaginable
for the kids," Nigro said. "Denville's recreation
program, which includes the PAL, is enormous. There's always
something going on simultaneously." |
| Furthermore, he said, the
expertise of the coaches recruited by Carmiche will be
valuable to the kids. |
| "They have a lifetime of
experience," Nigro said. "The kids will look up to
them." |
| The camps are open to all Morris
County youths, although they have mainly attracted the
attention of Denville, Mountain Lakes and Boonton Township
children. Registration is still open, Carmiche said. |
| Courses in self-defense, a
specialty of his, will be held during a three-day span, from
Aug. 13-16, at the conclusion of the camps. |
| Carmiche, who offered courses in
self-defense before his school teaching days, said
participants will be taught basic concepts, including
different ranges of attack such as various kicks, punches,
blocks, throws and take-downs. |
| "Nothing too difficult,"
he said, chuckling. "I did it in conjunction with the
baseball camp and decided to build it into these
camps." |
| A recent morning session at
Gardner Field was buzzing with activity. |
| Near the playground, more than
two-dozen boys engaged in noncontact football, snatching red
flags from an opponent's shirt to make a "tackle."
On the far end of the field behind Riverview School, a dozen
youngsters learned the fundamentals of soccer, visualizing
aiming for the net. |
| Troy Jones, a former Sparta High
School soccer star, demonstrated dribbling and controlling
the ball before taking a shot, as the kids watched with rapt
attention. |
| "The most important thing --
at 8 years old -- is that they learn to be good
sports," said Jones, 25, who has experience coaching
elite athletes in the United Kingdom. |
| Cameron Cipriano, 8, of Denville,
said soccer is one of his favorite sports. |
| "I like kicking," said
Cameron. "Shooting at the goalkeeper. It's fun." |
| Fellow Denville resident Kristen
Onorati, who also brushed up on her skills for fall soccer,
agreed that scoring is the best part of the game. |
| "He helped me with kicks and
passing and like, doing head balls," she said, of
Jones. |
| Jones was aided by Kevin Rankin
and Ethan Steible, two current players on Mountain Lakes
High School boys soccer team. |
| Steible, 15, assisted the kids but
took a more advanced approach to soaking in Jones' tutelage. |
| "A lot of positioning,
drills, a lot of reaction saves," he said, when asked
what tips he was picking up. |
| On the other field, Jim Delaney,
football coach at High Point High School, and former
Mountain Lakes Herd players Paul Chiara and Joe Selimo
explained the different positions and roles to the boys for
flag football. |
| "If the kids can learn to
play now, when they grow up, they'll have the
instincts," said Selimo, 19 and currently an offensive
center at Gettysburg College. He gestured to the group,
where Chiara, a tailback at Syracuse University, advised
them how to avoid a tackle. |
| Parent Tom Woods, whose
11-year-old son, Nick, participated in the action, said this
fall will be his first in Pee Wee Football. |
| "He's going into middle
school this year, so we told him he could," said Woods,
of Denville. "I want him to get his feet wet. He won't
get hurt much (and) he'll understand the game better." |
|
| Tehani Schneider can be reached at
(973) 428-6631 or tschneider@gannett.com.
|
