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Camp helps kids spring into sports

A weeklong Police Athletic League camp lets kids try various activities, some for the first time.

By ANNE LINDBERG
Published March 23, 2005

SEMINOLE - School may be out this week, but Seminole High School is still the place to be for 70 or so kids from around Pinellas County.

They're taking advantage of the school's tennis and basketball courts and football field as part of the Pinellas County sheriff's spring sports camp. The camp is one offering of the department's Police Athletic League. League programs target ages 5 to 18, but participants in the spring camp are between 8 and 14 years of age.

Some of the kids in the weeklong camp "never, ever hit a ball before," said Deputy Craig Corry. Corry, the school resource officer for Seminole High, helps spearhead the camp.

A tennis player and coach, Corry is especially proud of the tennis segment. The first year PAL offered tennis lessons, the kids took the novice championship for the state of Florida. It's now developed into a program that allows the kids to compete against other clubs.

But Corry is most pleased that the youths are enjoying themselves with the game.

"They'll play all day long," Corry said of the more fanatical players.

St. Petersburg has had a Police Athletic League since the late 1950s. It is headquartered on 16th Street N near Woodlawn Elementary School.

In 2001, then-Sheriff Everett Rice hired Jerry Babcock to create a league program for youths in the unincorporated area. Babcock ran the St. Petersburg program until he retired from the St. Petersburg Police Department.

Babcock, who was accustomed to the city's recreational offerings, was surprised to find that the county offered little or nothing in the way of organized recreation.

"I was shocked at the lack of services from a recreational standpoint," Babcock said Tuesday. "We are filling that void."

In the four years since then, the sheriff's league has grown to serve several thousand children in five recreational centers across Pinellas. Because the county still has mostly passive recreational facilities, the program has had to use schools and other facilities. Many of the kids live in cities.

PAL now offers at least 14 programs. One is its afterschool program, which is aimed at at-risk kids. The free program gives kids arts and crafts, sports, and tutoring.

Those at-risk kids cycle into other PAL programs, but so do youths who are not considered at risk.

"We're trying to keep them from being troubled kids," Babcock said.

The other programs include the spring and summer sports camps, baseball, basketball, golf, boxing, flag football, ice hockey and tennis. There are also leadership programs, a dance program, opportunities to sail and swim, as well as special activities, such as movie night, visits to the fair and other field trips.

Although some of the programs have a $25-a-week charge, no child is turned away for lack of funds, said Babcock.

PAL costs the department about $500,000 a year to run. Much of that comes from the Office of Juvenile Justice, the department itself, other grants and fundraisers.

"Money is tight," Babcock said.

But the result is worth it, Corry said. The kids get to know deputies on a different, more personal level and they have a chance to enjoy themselves while learning new skills, sprucing up their attitudes and improving their self-esteem.

For information, call Babcock at 582-5854 or go to www.pinellascountypal.com

[Last modified March 23, 2005, 00:55:18]