Sports camp comes to community center in June
If you want to achieve the best, it makes sense to work with the best.
In June, young athletes throughout the area are going to get the chance to do that as three week-long preparation camps will be held at the North Fort Myers Community Park.
The youths will get to work with those who competed in the Olympics and see just how their athletic skills translate in all sports.
The camps will be held from June 9 to 13, 16 to 20 and 23 to 27 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The cost is $575 per one-week camp.
The brand-new camp is the brainchild of Cristian Zaharia, who played in team handball in the 1992 Olympics, who saw the need for a more inclusive camp for youths who don’t have a sport they specialized in.
“This is the first year we’re doing this and North Fort Myers is the first location we’re doing it,” Zaharia said. “They worked with us and they’ll be at the forefront of everything.”
Zaharia said the camp, which is not sport- or gender specific, will expose the kids to the right way to train and prepare, as well as pick the brains of Olympians and learn what sacrifice, discipline and hard work are all about.
The price includes a voucher for a free AQI test (Athletic Quotient Index) that was designed and administered by Olympians to identify specific athletic qualities to help coaches find individuals who can fill scholarships in any collegiate or pro sport.
“AQI is a company that will create a database for all those in the camp and be accessed by all the colleges and pro teams if they are looking for specifics in their sport,” Zaharia said.
The campers are tested for a single score over 10 events. The scores are valid for athletic accuracy for four months due to physiological changes in muscle skeletal development and base line fitness levels.
The tests will be administered at different locations throughout the summer, likely at a high school football field with a track, and standardized nationwide, giving each candidate one solid score, like an athletic SAT exam, Zaharia said.
Campers also receive a picture with the Olympians, a camp T-shirt and a certificate signed by the Olympian at the camp.
“We are looking for the 99 percent who aren’t doing anything this summer. Having Olympians will give them an incentive to look at life differently. We believe everyone has a chance. They just need the opportunity,” Zaharia said.
Zaharia and his wife, Noemi, an Olympic silver and bronze medalist in swimming in 1988, will conduct the camp and, depending on its popularity, more Olympians will participate.
For more information about the camps or training, call 305-342-8731 or e-mail to:info@aqindex.com