Upward hosts summer camps
By JARED PUTNAM Union Sentinel Editor

Submitted photos Above: Volunteers and participants in the House of Prayer's Upward Basketball and Cheerleading camps.

The House of Prayer Interdenominational Church recently hosted basketball and cheerleading camps as part of the church's Upward athletic program.

Almost 100 children from kindergarten through 8th grade participated in the basketball camp while almost 40 girls took part in the cheerleading camp.

"The main purpose of the camp is the same thing as the Upward program, stressing that every child is a winner, working on their selfesteem and making them feel comfortable," Lee Baenninger of the House of Prayer said.

The cheerleading camp was separated into squads while the basketball camp split into teams. Both camps were set up around stations. Children moved from station to station in their group, working on fundamentals such as shooting, dribbling, and passing. The basketball teams were also able to participate in nightly scrimmages.

The cheerleaders wrapped up their week with a dance routine on the final day, while the basketball camp received a special slam dunk show from Michael Ross and Matthew McCombs of the UCHS varsity basketball team.

Below: Michael Ross of the UCHS Varsity Basketball team wrapped up the camp by putting on a slam dunk show for the kids.

Devotions and Gospel presentations were held each night, and a Gospel presentation was offered to the parents on the final night of the camp. According to Baenninger, all the children in the basketball camp received t-shirts and basketballs while the girls in the cheerleading camp received items like pom-poms, t-shirts, and water bottles.

Baenninger said he was particularly happy with the large turnout of volunteers the camps received. "The volunteers were very involved in what they were doing," he said. "We had some volunteers that had basketball [and some that had cheerleading] experience that helped us out with the instruction."

In addition to the instruction portion of the camp, other volunteers acted as referees, and some helped care for the younger children. Nathan Helton served as Basketball Camp Coordinator while Nichole Patrick and Faith Allen were Cheerleading Camp Coordinators.

Baenninger added that parents have inquired about a soccer camp and that may be offered in the future. Basketball practices begin in early September and will include the cheerleading program this year.