Countesswells welcomed wonderful weather for the Gordonians Sports Camps which saw its largest intake of children from a variety of schools across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire during the summer break.

Spearheaded by the Gordonian Sports Clubs representing Rugby, Hockey and Cricket, members grouped together to coach and organise the week-long sport specific camps last week. Familiar faces made an appearance with staff from the College and former pupils joining the coaching team to guide pupils throughout the week and share sporting expertise.

Mr McEwan, Assistant Head of Physics and Rugby coach at the sports camp said: “In what has been a very difficult year for children missing out on sport and other pursuits, it is so pleasing to see Countesswells buzzing with excitement this week with the Gordonian Sports groups running sports camps again. 

“I am delighted that over 140 children, from preschool through to S2, attended the rugby camp which welcomed children from 28 different primary and secondary schools. All camp groups have been returning to basics and building up their skills across the week, from passing to kicking and full game situations. 

“Highlights for me include the preschool and P1 group learning to catch and seeing the smiles across their faces when they managed 10 catches in a row. The P4 group learning how to make that tackle for the first time and seeing the older groups finally getting back to playing the sport they love with their mates was also great to see. 

“This camp has been our biggest and most successful yet!"

Mr Walker, Teacher of PE and sports camp hockey coach added: “This year saw our camp numbers rise again, with children enjoying developing their skills and getting to play games again. A big thank you must go to all our guest speakers, who have really inspired the children to always believe in themselves and push the boundaries of what they can achieve.”

A big part of the sports camp is to open up the world of sport so children can learn skills for each game, perfect technique, explore opportunities and enjoy sports involvement. Mr McKenna, Cricket Development Officer at Cricket Scotland helped with coaching budding cricketers and said: “During the four-day camp we introduced the players to new skills and also focussed on developing existing skills through technique, drills and game-based activities. 

“Running the sports camp is important as it offers children the opportunity to play the sport they enjoy over a longer period and also allows coaches to spend more time with them to focus on making them better cricketers.”

Commenting on the opportunities in sport, Mr Gray, Secretary of the Gordonians Cricket Club highlighted: “As always we are grateful to RGC, Donny Reid and his team for allowing us access to the wonderful facilities at Countesswells. Whilst the pandemic has stalled many sporting activities, we have managed to maintain momentum in our junior section and through the hard work of our coaches we continue to qualify for numerous national junior age finals.. 

“Running the camp alongside our regular mid-week coaching will help stand us in good stead as we look to build on our existing pathway from junior to senior cricket.”

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