Youth sports camps are often prohibited, but Cheney coaches are willing to think outside the box
Coaches hoping to host youth sports camps during the school year are often out of luck due to a statewide rule that prohibits contact between coaches and players outside of their regular season, but coaches in the Cheney School District are prepared to think creatively to make these camps happen.
Several sports at local high schools host youth summer camps that introduce elementary and middle school students to different types of sports and offer them the benefits of participating. But due to a Washington Interscholastic Activities Association rule, camps can only take place during the summer or during the sports’ regular season when most athletes and coaches are focused on conditioning and winning games, not on community outreach.
The association is the governing body of athletics and activities for secondary education schools in the state of Washington, and its rules are strictly enforced throughout the Cheney district and others.
The rule exists to ensure that coaches aren’t working with players in their chosen sport outside of the regular season to avoid creating an unfair advantage. It allows schools to manage an even playing field and lets kids play multiple sports without committing to just one the whole year, Cheney High School athletics director Jeff Chandler said.
But over the years, several coaches throughout the state have expressed interest in hosting short winter or spring break camps that would benefit local families.
Cheney High School’s girls soccer coach Nels Radtke is one of them.
“I just think it would be huge for our community and great for the girls (on the team) too,” Radtke said. “The kids at the camps just look up to them so much and it creates interest for high school athletics and games, as well.”
The WIAA rule is in place for a reason, and does encourage an all-important work-life balance for students, Radtke said. He understands why the rule exists and the value it holds for players, and its role in preventing a team from gaining the upper hand during the off-season.
“There are coaches out there who would take advantage of that and coach year-around,” Radtke said. “And sometimes students need a break.”
So how do you host a youth camp when you agree with the rule that prevents them?
“That’s a challenge that hopefully I’ll figure out, but the last thing I want to do is do something that would jeopardize our season next year,” Radtke said.
This particular rule has been in place for years and is nothing out of the ordinary, Chandler said.
“We want kids to be able to play multiple sports,” Chandler said. “You can get too much of a good thing.”
It’s possible that such camps could be put on, but it would require a lot of work between coaches, the district and players to reach a feasible compromise, he said.
Radtke said his current focus is on the girls soccer awards banquet this week, but he hopes to eventually brainstorm a solution that allows him and players to work with the community in the off-season while adhering to the district’s rules and regulations.
A possible solution would be hosting youth camps with graduating seniors, but Radtke has concerns that it’s underclassmen that would benefit most from the experience.
“That might be something we do, but I haven’t really gotten a chance to sit down and plan out what a camp like that would look like,” he added.
Shannen Talbot can be reached at [email protected].
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