By By ADAM FISHER / Niles Daily Star
While the immediate future of Niles' athletics program lies with the junior varsity or freshman players, athletics director John Danaher is looking to the distant future to insure the program's success.
Danaher said the high school wants to get kids involved with Niles sports as soon as possible. to do so, the school offers seven athletic camps for area youth throughout the summer to get younger kids.
Niles offers youth camps in six sports while school is out of session: boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, football, volleyball, tennis and running. The school also offers a one-day cheerleading camp in the fall.
Each camp is a week long and targets third through seventh graders. Danaher said getting elementary students into sports is important because their opportunities in athletics are limited.
While the camps help Niles recruit its future stars, they also serve as fundraisers for the team. The camps cost $30-$40 to attend. The money then goes to the team that put on the camp. Each camp is run by Niles coaches.
The way participation in the camps has grown recently, Danaher said, the clinics can raise a significant amount of money.
The soccer camp has blossomed the most, Danaher said. It has become so popular that Niles puts on two sessions. One is hosted by the boys soccer team, the other by the girls soccer team.
Even though the participants won't play for Niles for years, Danaher said the kids get involved with local leagues after they leave the camps, which still benefits Niles.