You know, being a kid in the
summer is is pretty much the best.
The freedom, the excitement,
man, it is, It is a blast.
But there are some kids out there
that have challenges and can't
just go out and do things whenever
they want on their own, you know,
like being in a wheelchair, for example.
It's tough for kids that just want to play,
especially to camp like everyone else.
And Boise though?
There is a summer camp every
summer for just about everybody,
including those kids,
a chance for them to learn about the
heights they can push themselves.
Joe Paris takes us there.
The sounds of summer are so,
so sweet. There's something about
the first day of summer camp,
an energy that is just hard to match.
You guys heard them, right? So we got
to be way louder than that.
Being a kid, learning a new sport,
meeting new friends.
Summer is hard to be
better than sliced bread. Yeah,
but the morning formalities are just
the beginning for the 35th Annual
Idaho Youth Adaptive Sports Camp.
I've been involved in disabled
sports for quite some time.
I got hurt about 19 years ago
and and picked up, you know,
several sports right away.
Gonna do is we're gonna do a quick demo.
Learning from the best is hard to beat.
Steve Baxter is an avid wheelchair
tennis and rugby player.
He's a part of Team USA winning a bronze
medal in quad tennis just this past month.
I was a pretty athletic beforehand,
so just started playing things and got
to know a couple of people here at Boise
Parks and Rec and they said they had a
camp and asked if I wanted to coach.
So been doing it for about 12 years now.
Hey everybody turn to watch.
Come on guys, over here.
Camp for the blue team begins
with a wild obstacle course.
Twisting, turning, ducking,
jumping, screaming.
A fun time trial with
plenty of lessons in there.
That that's really what we try and
show the kids as much as possible is.
You know, a lot of times they just
don't see what what they're able to do.
A lot of times you know,
they're held back because they don't
understand what their real limitations are.
So that's a big thing that we
try and do is try and push.
Their experience a little bit and get
them to realize you can probably do a
lot more than you think you can. The
camp is offered to kids and teens aged
6 to 19 whose primary disability is a
physical disability that limits mobility.
Young athletes with physical
disabilities who use a wheelchair,
afo braces, Walker or crutches spend
the week exploring new sports while
connecting with new friends and mentors.
It's fun getting getting to show those
things to them for the first time.
And when that light bulb comes on,
they're like, oh wow, I can do
these things. It's really nice.
Taking a break from the sun.
You'll find action on the hardwood.
It's really fun.
Morris Caldwell, as a camp veteran,
you'll find him flying around the gym
or maybe crashing because defense,
well, that's his focus.
I'm like this
and the other players are going
really trying to like, shoot,
but I just. Lay my hand up. You
better believe Morris had this
week circled on his calendar.
I like that I can make friends
here and I get try out new stuff.
Really fun, and it's a good
learning experience for the others.
It was really crazy.
I mean, I was right there,
almost fell off twice. And yeah,
and they learned so much from each
other as well, not just from us,
but from each other.
Seeing people that may not have
as much function as them doing
things differently or doing things
more than they thought they could.
It really opens their eyes and
and and makes them realize
how much more they can do.
The experience and adaptive sports camp
with such a variety of opportunities is
unique to Boise Parks and Recreation
and the team of organizations that
they work with to make it all happen.
And for families, it's a special
opportunity to connect with new
adventures ventures that at the core are
about just being a kid at summer camp.
And Brian, this is the first time
I'd been out and you know I'd heard
about summer camps like this,
but it's hard to describe and
I know we had the great video.
It's hard to.
Really captured like the emotion for some
of the families that are watching this.
And the kids.
I mean, frankly, some of these kids had
never been in this environment before.
And at first you can see that some
of the kids were nervous and kind of
feeling it out and maybe felt uncomfortable.
But pretty quickly after
the activity started going.
Smiles everywhere, lots of cheering.
You heard the screaming.
Making friends too.
Yeah. I didn't want to come
back to work. I wanted to
hang out with them all day.
Oh yeah, who wouldn't? It sounds
like a blast. Alright.
Thank you very much, Joe.