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Summer Camp Season 2013 Opens at Mississippi College in June


The Mississippi Symphony Orchestra Strings Camp in early June will be the newest attraction at Mississippi College.

MC Department of Music professors and members of the Jackson-based symphony will be the instructors for this initial week-long camp. The students will show off what they learned with a June 8 concert on that Saturday morning at Anderson Hall on the Clinton campus.

Fifty high school students are expected to attend the symphony’s strings camp to enhance their musical talents. That activity should help boost the Christian university’s overall summer camp population this year to 6,000 boys and girls from 14 states, said Ken Gilliam, Mississippi College’s continuing education director. There were 5,874 campers convening on the Clinton campus last summer.

The bulk of the Mississippi College campers will be the 3,000 students traveling in church vans from around the South and nearby regions for LifeWay’s Centrifuge and M-Fuge camps.

In addition, there will be 1,100 kids here from churches statewide for the July 15-19 Super Summer camps sponsored by the Mississippi Baptist Convention. July 19 marks the final day of the 2013 summer camp season at MC.

The series of Christian camps at the Baptist-affiliated university combine athletics with quiet time for Bible study and worship services with bands performing in Swor Auditorium. There will be plenty of fellowship opportunities and doors open to develop leadership skills.

The faith-based Fuge Camp costs $304 for five days and $284 for four days.

Also booked for Mississippi College visits in early June will be camps for 300 cheerleaders from high schools and middle schools across the Magnolia State.

When adding up the entire list of athletic camps, including basketball and volleyball, there should be about 1,300 students signed up at Mississippi College this summer. “It’s as big as it’s ever been,” says Gilliam, who oversees the activities.

Mississippi College men’s basketball coach Don Lofton and assistant coach Josh Brooks will team up to again run the Choctaw Super Hoops individual camp from June 16-19 for grades 6-12. The cost is $225 for those staying in residence halls overnight and $150 for commuting players. The day camp is June 17-20 for grades 1-5 at a cost of $90. The dates for the boys Choctaw Team camp will be June 27-29.

“The purpose of the individual camps is to teach basketball fundamentals in a Christian environment regardless of a campers level of ability,” Lofton said. “Each camper will have the opportunity to improve his individual skills and will gain experience in team play.”

Lofton expects to welcome 75 to 100 boys to the individual basketball camps. The team camp will draw 25 to 30 hoops squads from around Mississippi.

MC Lady Choctaws basketball coach Paul Duke and his assistant coach Anesia McBride will operate similar camps for girls, from elementary schools through high schools.

“Each camper will have the opportunity to improve her individual skills and gain valuable experience in league and tournament play,” Duke said. “All campers will participate in their own age groups.”

Key dates for girls hoopsters include the June 1 team shootout, the June 17-20 day camp for students entering grades 1-5 (at a cost of $95), and the June 23-26 overnight camp (girls entering grades 6-12). It will cost $235 for girls staying overnight and $205 for commuters. The June 13-15 team camp will cost an entire squad $750.

There’s also plenty to do this summer for girls who want to step up their volleyball skills.

MC Lady Choctaws head volleyball coach Peter Cosmiano will supervise several summer camps.

Among the key dates: June 10-12 for the middle schools all-skills camp for girls entering grades 6-8. It is set for the Baptist Healthplex at a cost of $90. High school and junior high hitters are invited to volleyball camp at the Baptist Healthplex June 24-26.

Other events include the high performance clinic on July 16 at the A.E. Wood Coliseum at a cost of $30. A combined Mississippi College-Millsaps team volleyball camp July 22-24 will be at the Hangar Dome on the Millsaps campus in Jackson at a cost of $110.

For additional information on the girls basketball camps, contact Anesia McBride at 601.925.3363, and for the boys hoops camp, reach Josh Brooks at jbrooks@mc.edu. For volleyball camps, contact Peter Cosmiano at 601.925.3357. Ken Gilliam, the university’s continuing education director, can be reached at 601.925.3264 or gilliam@mc.edu regarding Mississippi College’s entire 2013 summer camp season.