Consider creative camps this summer

Liberty Hill area is home to a variety of innovative camps for children

BY RACHEL MADISON STAFF WRITER

Most parents will admit that they need some way to keep their kids occupied during the summer months. Whether they are working while their kids are out of school, or they are home with them every day, keeping them engaged and boredom-free can be a challenge.

That’s one reason summer camps have become so popular. And while there’s a lot of options out there for kids based on their interests, some camps are more unique than others.

Check out these Liberty Hill area summer camps with a creative twist to keep kids occupied while also learning new and innovative skills.

Country Fire Volleyball

At Country Fire Volleyball, camps will be going all summer long for kids looking to improve their volleyball skills. The camps are available to ages 3 through 18.

Jason Tuggle, owner of Country Fire Volleyball, said this summer, they added several new programs for different age groups to give more kids a chance to learn new skills in an age-appropriate setting.

“We start with volley tots that is for ages 3 and 4 and then we go all the way up to kids in 12th grade,” he said. “We also have beach volleyball, which kids start when they’re a little bit older because it’s way more technical, but both our indoor and beach camps are at the same facility.”

In the past, summer camps would just go for four to six weeks, Tuggle said, but this year he’s decided to add week-long and allday camps as well, to give more flexibility.

“That gives kids a lot of cool options, because they can come to our long-term camps, or just come for the week or a day,” he added. “There is something going on for ages 3 to 18 all summer long. This year is the most in-depth offering we’ve had.”

Some of the camps give kids an introduction to playing volleyball, while others are more specific based on their ages and the positions they play on their club or school teams, such as teaching setting skills or defense.

“The other thing is that for people who want some one-on-one work and interaction, in addition to camps we have private lessons, so they can come and do one on one work with one of our 20 coaches,”

Tuggle added.

While the camps are primarily filled by girls, boys are also welcome.

“Boys can definitely come to the camps,” Tuggle said. “We’ve never had a big enough number of boys that wanted to play at the same time to make a club team, but we do have boys come to the camps.”

Camps range in price from around $75 to $300. Information on the camps can be found at countryfirevolleyball.com.

F5 Ranch Camp

F5 Ranch Camp gives kids a taste of living the ranch life, which for many, is something they’ve never experienced before.

“The ranch environment is great for kids to find their freedom, because everything is a new experience for almost all of the kids,” said owner Joy McCain. “A lot of them don’t have farm experience or horse experience, so they are all learning the same things but at their own level.”

F5 Ranch Camp gives kids from age 4 through eighth grade the chance to spend a week working on McCain’s ranch, where they learn how to ride horses, care for farm animals, learn short- and long-range archery, and even try their hand at axe throwing.

“Every camp is different because the animals are in different phases and stages,” McCain added. “The kids get to ride the horses, feed the animals, muck the stalls, gather eggs—things like that. At the end of the week we have a fun competition with the archery and axe throwing, and we give out awards as well as character awards.”

This year, McCain is only planning to hold one camp in June, which will take place June 5-9 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., but if enough people sign up by May, she will add a second camp at the end of May. She will cap the camps at 50 kids.

The kids do separate during their specific lessons based on age, but some of the activities are done as a group.

“The dynamic this environment creates is really great for those kids who are basically in the classroom with the same 20 kids all the time,” McCain said. “We mix the younger and older kids together and it creates a dynamic that is a really beautiful thing to see.”

McCain created the ranch camp not only as a way to teach kids about ranch life, but also as a way to learn life skills like respecting peers and staff, learning how to be independent, and building confidence. At the end of the week, McCain hosts a family day so the kids can show their parents all the new skills they’ve learned.

The cost for F5 Ranch camp is $250 for the week per camper. To learn more about the camp, visit facebook.com/F5RanchCamp.

The Greatest Showman Camp

Liberty Hill locals Lauren and Zach Brown are the couple behind The Greatest Showman Leadership and Cattle Showmanship Camp, which they host every summer to teach kids all the skills they need to successfully show cattle.

Both Browns are former teachers—Zach Brown served as Liberty Hill High School’s ag teacher a few years ago—and have taken their teaching skills to their annual camp, which they’ve hosted for the last six years.

“Kids who sign up for the camp bring their own animals, and we work on skills like washing their animal, taking care of them both at home and at the show, and all the show ring skills,” Zach Brown said. “We also teach a leadership aspect, like how to have integrity and step out of your comfort zone.”

This year’s camp will be held July 20-23, and is an intensive, overnight camp. The camps have been held in Burnet and Llano in the past, but this year it will be held in

Lampasas. Campers bring their animals to stay in the barn, and they are welcome to stay at a nearby hotel or if their family has an RV, they can hook up at the barn for the camp.

“We need a barn with a show ring and a cafeteria or a hall for workshops and meals, so this year we are going to Lampasas,” Zach Brown said. “We are local to Liberty Hill, but there’s just not a facility big enough in Liberty Hill so we have to go where there is room.”

Another unique aspect of the camp is that parents are actually asked to stay with their kids during the camp, Lauren Brown said.

“We want the parents to stay and do the workshops and learn alongside their kids, because it’s an intimidating industry and they put a lot of time, effort and money into it,” she added. “We make the camps family based.”

Kids as young as 5 have participated in the camp before, and the Browns train kids up until age 18. They typically cap their camps at around 35 to 40 campers. The coaches they hire to help out are typically former campers, many of whom are also a part of Liberty Hill’s FFA program, or are state leaders in FFA.

“We take a very teacher mindset to the whole thing,” Zach Brown said. “The first workshop we hold is a stepping out of your comfort zone workshop because we want the kids to break out of their shells.”

The cost for each camper is $450. For more information on The Greatest Showman camp, visit zbltshowcalvestexas.com.

Iron Horse Motocross Camp

Iron Horse owners Eric and Annelise Turner have been teaching kids how to ride dirt bikes every summer for the last 16 years. Their 100-acre property in Bertram allows kids, ranging from ages 8 to 13, to experience a week-long sleep-away camp that focuses on the skills needed to learn how to ride dirt bikes.

“We teach them how to hide by reflex,” Eric Turner said. “We do feet up, feet down, hands on, hands off—it’s all about calisthenics. They will be all over the place, but after about four stops, they’ll start to get it. The first time they go all the way around the circle track, they have the biggest smiles.”

While campers primarily focus on riding bikes, because it’s a sleep-away camp, they also get free time during the week for swimming, playing games, watching movies and more. All meals are provided by Annelise Turner, and there are separate bunkhouses for all the campers based on gender and

The week-long camps start with the basics of dirt bike riding, and by the end of the week, many of the kids are confident enough to do a jump on their bike. All bikes and riding equipment are provided by the Turners as part of the camp. On the last day of camp, parents are invited to sit in the on-site stands and watch their kids ride around a track that will highlight some of the skills they’ve learned.

Because the property is so spacious, there are several tracks for kids to learn to ride, from an easy-going trail through the grasses to a more intermediate trail the Turner’s call the “roller coaster” track. Each camp runs Monday through Friday, and the Turners host seven different weeks of camp throughout the summer. About 300 kids per summer go through the camps.

“These are machines, but little kids can do it,” Annelise Turner said. “It’s really pretty amazing to see what they can do.”

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