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Free sports camp planned for youths
Fitness camp follows controversy about 9-R policies
Herald Staff Writer
To register
Registration for the free sports camps organized by Ted Rifkin begins at 5:30 pm. each night, July 20-23. Preregistration may be done by e-mail to rifkin@animas.net, by fax to 382-9284 or by mail to Fitness Basics LLC, 517 Jenkins Ranch Road, Durango, CO 81301.
I see all these people charge all this money. I know (parents) don't have it.
- Ted Rifkin, Camp organizer
The camp, set for July 20-23, will be led by Durango Sports Club trainers and local youth coaches. Ted Rifkin, a local youth coach and former attorney, is organizing the event.
Funds for insurance were donated by the Four Corners Young American Football League, and Rifkin is paying the field rental fee. Participants will not be charged.
"This is not to slight the for-fee camps, rather it is to get local kids in shape for whatever fall sport they may be interested in," Rifkin said in an e-mail to the Herald.
The free camp comes after a controversy about for-profit sports camps run by Durango High School coaches. An independent panel commissioned by Durango School District 9-R to examine the district's sports policies recommended banning coaches from running for-profit camps attended by school athletes.
School coaches still can run camps through 9-R that adhere to district rules, and they can run private camps not attended by high school athletes.
A DHS parent, Jack Turner, had raised concerns about soccer camps run by DHS coach Scott Emrich, including a two-week camp costing $550. Turner said there essentially was a pay-to-play system at DHS whereby athletes and their parents felt pressured to gain favor with the coach by patronizing his private camps.
Rifkin said the controversy persuaded him to start a free camp after considering it for years.
"I see all these people charge all this money," he said. "I know (parents) don't have it."
Rifkin has managed health clubs in California and Tennessee. He has lived in Durango for 15 years and now coaches youth baseball and football teams.
In future years, he said he wants to get parents more involved in the camp, allowing them to participate alongside their children for part of it.
Rifkin formed Fitness Basics, a limited liability company, in May.
The camp will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. each evening. The conditioning camp, held at the FLC football practice fields, will focus on stretching, aerobic conditioning and strength training rather than sport-specific skills, Rifkin said. It is for athletes ages 8-14.
FLC frequently hosts sports camps, church groups and other activities during summer.
The camp will be limited to 100 athletes, Rifkin said.
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