In its 36th year of existence, Chip Rohr’s Soccer Camp, located on the Linton Hall School campus in Bristow, is still providing the right balance of soccer training and fun day camp experience.
The day camp serves children, both boys and girls, ages 6-13, providing age-appropriate activities and games to help children develop and improve their soccer skills during the summer season. And they do it all on a scenic local campus with access to both outdoor and indoor facilities.
Drawing upon a depth of talent, founder Chip Rohr regularly invites back his former campers to be coaches and counselors so they can pass on their skills to the next generation of campers.
Randolph-Macon College sophomore Mitchell Surkamp is one of those former campers. Having attended the camp when he was an elementary student, he wanted to be a counselor and pass on what he had learned to a new generation of young athletes.
Surkamp said he still remembers all the fun he had playing along with friends and meeting new people.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Surkamp said, explaining that he remembers not only the training but also the experiencing of attending a day camp, right down to the excitement of pool time and Popsicle breaks.
However, Surkamp explains the daily routine includes everything campers need to either get acquainted with soccer as a sport or improve their skills. This usually includes a morning warm-up sessions, late morning drills, lunch, afternoon games, then Popsicle breaks and swim sessions.
He explains that the coaches split up the different age groups, especially in the afternoon, when one group will play soccer games inside the school’s gymnasium, another will play on the field, while a third group may go swimming.
Rohr said the camp is fortunate to have that many options at Linton Hall School, and it even offers a place to play on days in which the weather is bad.
Depending upon the age of the camper, he or she will receive a different experience with a different focus.
The coaches keep everything age-appropriate, Surkamp explains, teaching the younger children the basic skills of soccer, and working up to more specific skills with the older campers. However, they also have the flexibility to take a particularly skilled camper and move him or her up to play with the older players.
And no matter what the level, Surkamp says the coaches and counselors try to “switch it up” so that it is fun for the kids.
Surkamp said the mix of young coaches and counselors are easy for the campers to relate to, but young adults also bring the experience of having played on high school, travel and college teams, so they know what is expected of student athletes.
“I’ve been playing ever since I was four,” Surkamp said, who played top-level youth soccer throughout his K-12 years and now plays for Randolph-Macon.
However, he said that campers do not even need to come to the camp with any previous soccer experience.
“It is really for all levels,” he said, explaining that they see campers with a “wide range of skills.”
And he believes it is a great camp to introduce younger kids to their first sport, explaining that “it gives kids exposure to a game and gets them interested in a young age.”
At the same time, the camp also provides the necessary skills training for those looking to improve their game and possibly take their game to the next level by becoming involve more leagues or travel teams.”
“Definitely, [I would recommend it to those serious athletes.],” Surkamp said. “The summer time is very important to crack down and work on their skills. I think the camp can really help with that.”
Surkamp said that Chip Rohr’s camp was a big help with improving his game, progress as an athlete, and it helped him create lasting memories as well.
Parents and guardians can choose to sign their children up for full or half day camps that run for one-week sessions. Campers are invited to continue for multiple weeks in the summer.
For more information, visit the Chip Rohr Soccer website. Registration is open.
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