It’s that time of year again when the Lake Placid Soccer Centre hosts camps in Lake Placid, Canton and beyond.

The Lake Placid Soccer Centre held its first camp in 1977 and has been going strong ever since as more than 70,000 young enthusiasts of the game have received instruction using the Coerver coaching method, which is named after former Dutch player and coach Wiel Coerver.

The Lake Placid Soccer Centre camps have a long history, and first started out as a one-week stay for young players at the Northwood School. During more recent summers, most campers have congregated at St. Lawrence University in Canton to take advantage of that school’s top-rate facilities. Over the years, camps have also spread out to locations that include Saratoga Springs and Queensbury.

Campers range in age from 5 to 8 years old in the mighty-mite group to older elite players who are hoping to move onto the college ranks, some as high as the NCAA Division I level.

Campers show off their best dab move Wednesday during the Lake Placid Soccer Centre’s day camp at the Jim Kordziel athletic fields in Lake Placid. (Enterprise photos — Lou Reuter)

On Monday, the 41st season of summer instruction kicked off with a one-week day camp in Lake Placid at the Jim Kordziel athletic fields. Dozens of youngsters took part and the photos on this page were taken during Wednesday’s session.

A mighty-mite camper sprints through an obstacle while chasing a soccer ball set up in front of a net Wednesday in Lake Placid. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

Mighty mites players take a short break Wednesday morning during the Lake Placid Soccer Centre day camp at the James Kordziel athletic fields. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

The oldest campers work on ball-handling skills Wednesday morning at the Lake Placid Soccer Centre day camp. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

The mighty mites and coaches gather for a photo after finishing their snack break during Wednesday's camp session. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)