Celebrating the summer camp success with some of the youngsters who took part with Cormac Whelan, Peter Ryan, John Kiely, Elizabet Plepsis, Aaron Ryan, Debbie Watson and Big Blue.
Young Coventry Bears have fun and raise £700 for charity
Bears in the Community, supported by sponsors McDonalds and SCS Sports Tours was a resounding sporting success in 2019, going from strength to strength showing a real appetite for Rugby League within the city.
Engaging more than 100 youngsters in the 13 weeks of Rugby League Junior training and over 200 further youngsters at a summer holiday camp, the Summer of 2019 has been instrumental in inspiring the next generation of Coventry Bears players and supporters.
Coventry Bears Junior Training with coaches Peter Ryan and Troy Perkins
Junior training more than doubled in size from 2018, led by coaches Troy Perkins and Richard Squires. There were healthy numbers of boys and girls taking part in full contact Rugby League, many for the first time. Starting from U6’s up to U16’s, the youngsters learnt skills including tackling, kicking, catching, passing and improved their fitness in the fast paced summer sport that is Rugby League.
The free to participate summer camp, called Bearfest, was multisport and ran over 12 separate days, coached by Coventry Bears professional Rugby League players and the first team coaches. Engaging more than 200 youngsters in total, between 40 – 50 youngsters each day took part in mixed Tag Rugby, Football, Endball, Rounders, Quick Cricket and even a good old water fight with sponges and sprinklers on the really hot days!
Not only connecting and physically challenging the youngsters, the camp also raised £450 from daily £1 donations. This was supplemented by a further £250 from Mcdonalds restaurants Coventry, resulting in a £700 total donation going to the Ronald McDonald House Charity which provides free 'home away from home' accommodation for families with children in hospital.
Bears in the Community believe that physical activity is a fantastic way to positively engage youngsters as well as give them real life role models, opportunities to build friendships and steering them away from potential anti-social behaviour, especially in the long summer holidays. If you would like to get involved in any capacity next summer, please contact Bears in the Community co-ordinator debbie.watson@coventrybears.co.uk
The youngsters taking part in the Bearfest Summer camp together with the coaches Ryan Alexander, Peter Ryan, Richard Squires, Elliot Hall and Callum Manley.
Some of the feedback received from the summer camp included:
“An excellent summer camp, with excellent activities, made even better by the positive and enthusiastic staff. Couldn't recommend the camp highly enough. My son has grown not only physically with trying different and new activities, but also as a person.”
And...
“I had a great time at the sessions I went to. The activities were always fun and the staff were kind and made me feel part of the group. I also enjoyed meeting new friends. I would definitely like to do this again. The only thing I would change is that it carried on for the whole of the holidays!! Thank you for making it fun.”
BECOME A BEARS MEMBER IN 2020
The Coventry Bears professional team’s 2020 season kicks off in January at the Butts Park Arena and children under 12 can attend for free with a paying adult. Juniors between the ages of 12 – 16 can watch games for £7 or buy a season ticket for just £50. More details on payment can be found here.