Rhiannon Blaney, the senior program director of the Lakewood Ranch YMCA, said she has noticed a lot of gratitude from both parents and kids as the 10 weeks of summer camp are wrapping up the week before the start of school.
"We had parents give a pack of Gatorade to counselors, saying 'Thank you so much for everything you've done this summer.'"
Traditional camps were split into five age groups: 5, 6-7, 8-9, 10-11 and teens.
One of the camps for the last week revolved around training for an upcoming youth triathlon at the YMCA where the kids will bike, run and swim on Aug. 23.
Lakewood Ranch's Brady Kerr is one of the kids who will participate. He said he is excited for the biking and running, but prefers swimming in a more casual setting.
"My favorite part is that I can do something fun with people my age," Kerr said.
William Rasulo and Grayson Blaney do not let the heat stop them from putting their all into a game of soccer. Blaney has played soccer for four years and calls it "fun soccer" when he plays at the Y.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Parrish resident Abigail Demus and Lakewood Ranch's Ellie Kil are long time campers at the Y. This week they did aquatic camp, which allows for three hours a day in the pool.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Lakewood Ranch camper Nyle Super, 8, trains for the upcoming triathlon at the Lakewood Ranch YMCA that will occur on Aug. 23. Super didn't know about the event when he started going to the camp, but is eager to participate.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Lakewood Ranch's Milana Gittens, 8, gives Bradenton's Olivia Medez, 8, a high five after they play a game of "Try Not to Laugh."
Photo by Madison Bierl
Lakewood Ranch's Zoey Evans and London Nooney, both 5 years old, freeze in place when "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift is paused. If they fail to freeze, they are out of the game.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Campers between the ages of ten and eleven are eager to burn off some energy, running around and making goals, before heading to the pool to cool off.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Lakewood Ranch's Beckett Sage, 5, says his favorite part of camp is the toys. Cars are his favorite and he hopes to become a race car driver.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Lakewood Ranch's Brady Kerr and Blake McGrew both enjoy the biking part of a triathlon over swimming and running. McGrew describes it as exciting and fun, especially because he gets to do it with his friends.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Rayna Shapiro, Maya Santos, Layla Vonador, Mackenzie Notman and London Nooney are all 5-year-old campers who spent their morning dancing and doing crafts.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Isabelle McCann, Ellie Mclellen, Fiona Reinhold, Alia Lascaibar and Nadiyah Aljukic attend the camp for 8 and 9-year-olds. They do a little bit of everything including sports, crafts and games.
Photo by Madison Bierl
The triathlon trainees run as fast as they can to beat camp counselor Aiden Thede.
Madison Bierl is the education and community reporter for the East County Observer. She grew up in Iowa and studied at the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University.
