Playtime: Play ball — sports camps, clinics and programs for summer and beyond

Surf soccer. (Photo courtesy Greater Seattle Surf Soccer Club)

I often wonder how parents found out about things before it just showed up in your Facebook feed because someone else was “interested” in it. By things I mean sports options, dance classes, or camps. I rely so heavily on social media to find kid events for my kids and this column too. Just this week, a mom in a Facebook group I am in was posting about finding an activity that was just right for their kid only to find out tryouts were a couple of months ago. So when a friend of mine posted about tryouts for her daughter’s select softball team, I thought I’d share a couple of “how’d you find out about that?” options. As I clicked on more of these tryouts, more of them showed up in my feed  Now this is either the ol’ Facebook algorithm or that thing that happens once you know about something and you notice all the time. Either way, I have some tryout dates and some camps to share with you this week!

When I played softball, the kids who were the most invested usually ended up on the all-star team and some took lessons outside of their Little League or high school teams. My now 20- year-old cousin ,who wanted more than just Little League, would join travel/select teams and ended up getting a partial scholarship and playing college softball for awhile. It’s possible the girls I played with did these teams too and we just had no idea they existed — since it was pre-social media along with no long-term aspirations.

This week, my friend posted about Fury Fastpitch, where her daughter plays select softball September through June. The 2018-2019 tryout schedule was just released and this is a great thing to know about if you have a player who wants to do more than spring softball. (You can be a member of Fury Fastpitch AND be on a Pacific Little League team as well.) While there is a fee to join, the players — who practice at an indoor facility in Edmonds — are welcome from any district and there are players from Mukilteo, Monroe, Shoreline, Everett and more.

According to the 10u coach, my friend and Edmonds mom  Tracy Kim, there are approximately 10 to 13 tournaments within the season and they have a lot of fun. There are tryouts on July 28 and Aug. 4 at Lynnwood High School and they suggest “going to both tryouts,” though it is OK if you are unable to. They will also accommodate private tryouts if the scheduled dates are impossible for your family. For more information and the tryout times for your player, you can visit the the Fury Fastpitch Washington Facebook page or PacificFury.com.

While we’re on the subject of Pacific Little League, I just saw a Facebook post from them about their 5th Annual Summer Sandlot Games Camp, Aug. 6-9 at Lynndale Playfields. The camp is run by Baseball Positive and is described as a “fast-paced, informative, and FUN Baseball Camp for the kids from PLL.” Most of the camp time is spent playing games and “woven into the games format is teaching fundamental skills: the batting swing, throwing, catching, fielding and baserunning.” The camp aims to teach the kids “How to Play the Game” while also touching on fundamental skills. You can register, using PLL promo code BP18AE, for one of the three ages groups HERE and there is still some space in each age group at Lynndale. For more information on Pacific Little League, you can visit their website at PacificLittleLeague.com.

Both of our kids have tried soccer with Kidz Love Soccer and one went on to play soccer at Sno-King Youth Club — for those that play with SKYC or would like to, it’s time to sign up for fall soccer, which you can do HERE. My son’s two oldest friends both play a higher level of soccer, one with F.C.E. Premier through SKYC and another through Greater Seattle Surf Soccer Club which “represents the Edmonds and North Shore school districts at the highest level of club play in Washington, the Regional Club League.” Tryouts for both of these groups has passed for the 2018-2019 season, but I have info on a Surf camp at the Ballinger Playfields and the Junior Premier Program which takes place in September. The Greater Seattle Surf is offering two “specialized sessions” of camp the week of July 23 through the 27th. The first, from 9 to 11 a.m., is an Advanced Skills Camp where “players will master ball control at game-speed, build footwork skills, and fine-tune the critical first touch.” The second is called Finishing School, where “players will improve striking technique, learn to create goal-scoring opportunities, and master the “attacking third” of the field.” You can take one or both sessions with a discount if you choose both.

For fall, Greater Seattle Surf is offering a “Junior Premier soccer development program for beginning soccer players age 3-8.” This program meets weekly from Sept. 28 through Oct. 2h at the Meadowdale Playfields with free soccer clinics on both Sept. 9 and 16. For more information about either option you can e-mail Program Director David Hartshorn or visit GSSurfSC.org.

Another camp that popped up in my feed was for the Lynnwood Girls Feeder Basketball Summer Camp. In this case,  sports feeder is used to describe the programs that feed into the eventual high school program. This three-day camp, July 30 through Aug. 1, is put on by Lynnwood Girls Feeder Basketball Program along with Lynnwood High School’s girls varsity and junior varsity basketball program and held at Martha Lake Elementary School. Players entering 5th through 8th grades who want to “become great at basketball” and eventually lead the “Royal Family back to the State Championship” are welcome to join. For more information and registration, you can email Program Director Mike Atendido or visit the Lynnwood Girls Feeder Basketball Facebook page.

Registration is still open for the 2018 season of MTYAA Jr. Football. Flag football is available for those ages 6 and 7 and Tackle football is available for those ages 7 to 14. Teams are starting to fill up and per their website, “Gear Handout” starts July 21, so it’s definitely time to sign up if you are interested! MYTAA “coordinates with the Mountlake Terrace High School football and cheer programs to improve the overall success of the program and its athletes.” The organization is focused on increasing the participation of future Mountlake Terrace High School students in youth sports and also to “provide experience, knowledge, skills and continuity to build successful athletes and successful teams.”

For more information and registration, you can check out MYTAAJrFootball.com or e-mail President Joe Disney.

— By Jennifer Marx

Jen Marx, a mom of two boys, is always looking for a fun place to take the kids that makes them tired enough to go to bed on time. You can find her on Twitter trying to make sense of begging kids to ”just eat the mac n cheese.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Real first and last names — as well as city of residence — are required for all commenters.
This is so we can verify your identity before approving your comment.