Central students score with summer sports camps

The wind blew hard across the Kennedy High School athletic fields in Bellmore on July 28, and so the ball was tricky to play for the dozen participants in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District’s annual boys’ soccer camp.

No matter.

The boys, all of whom are entering ninth and 10th grades, and who came from Calhoun, Kennedy and Mepham high schools, ran through their assigned footwork and shooting drills. Janine Bizelia, the Kennedy girls’ soccer coach who played for Hofstra and the Rough Riders, held the camp from July 26 to 29 with her husband, Rich, a physical-education teacher and coach.

The camp was one of 12 four-day camps that the Central District is offering athletes this summer to help prepare them for the coming year. In addition to soccer, sports include basketball, volleyball, lacrosse, soccer, wrestling, baseball, softball and hockey.

"The reason I offer them is that they give the community a low-cost opportunity to get good quality coaching at no cost to the taxpayer. In that scenario, everyone wins," said Saul Lerner, the Central District athletic director. Participants pay $45 for four two-hour sessions.

The Herald stopped by the soccer camp on Wednesday to photograph participants as they ran through their paces.

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