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For the love of the game

Pandemic can’t stop youngsters from learning, having fun at LP Soccer Centre day camp

Mighty Mite camper Avery Dugan gives the ball a boot during Wednesday’s Lake Placid Soccer Center day camp session at the Jim Kordziel Athletic Fields. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

LAKE PLACID — A group of youngsters who love soccer aren’t going to let any pandemic spoil their fun, or their opportunity to lean some new skills.

This week, the Lake Placid Soccer Centre has been hosting its annual day camp on the Jim Kordziel fields at the North Elba Show Grounds. The camp, which was originally scheduled for mid-July and pushed back to this month, drew around 60 young campers, ranging in age from 5 to 18.

With overnight camps of all sorts being canceled, the boys and girls who are participating are helping ring the 44th summer of instruction for the Lake Placid Soccer Centre, which places an emphasis on the Coerver coaching method.

Mike “Twig” McGlynn, one of the founders of the Lake Placid Soccer Centre, was working with the youngest group on Wednesday — the 5- to 8-year old Mighty Mites, who are half-day campers

McGlynn said the camp is operating with four pods, which enables the instruction to be well spread out. The Mighty Mites work together in one location, the next oldest boys (8-13) and the older girls (10-15) have their separate groups and the high-school age boys (14-18) go through their drills as one unit in another area at the fields.

Day campers in the boys 14-18 group dribble around cones at Wednesday’s session in Lake Placid.

“It’s worked out pretty well,” McGlynn said. “We have plenty of room here.”

On Monday, a downpour dampened the morning session a little on the first day of camp, but for the most part, the week has provided nice weather. The camp runs through Friday.

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