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Friday, March 29, 2024
NEWS  |  CAMPUS

Youth descend on campus for Gatorade-sponsored sports camps

Thomas Vilardi ran to the sidelines of the basketball court to grab his green Gatorade squirt-top bottle and downed a gulp before jumping back into the scrimmage game.

The Lecanto High School senior — who has been attending Billy Donovan Basketball Camps since he was 7 years old — said the camp has been a defining part of growing up.

“I love coming here,” he said. “This is the one thing I look forward to all year.”

The basketball camp began Sunday at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center during the weekend that kicked off a series of UF-hosted, Gatorade-sponsored summer sports camps. The 14 camps and two clinics will span the rest of the summer.

In 2002, Gatorade began sponsoring the annual camps, which now bring students from across the country to Gainesville to practice their respective sports and showcase their talents, said Rachel Johnson, an office manager at the University Athletic Association.

On Saturday night, a high school athlete at the Will Muschamp Football Camp committed to play for the Gators, she said.

“It’s a great way, if you’re interested in playing here, to get in front of a coach,” she said.

At the start of each sport’s camp, campers get lectured about how to stay hydrated.

And to aid hydration, team leaders — most of whom are undergraduates students — hand out Gatorade drinks throughout the day.

“For a camp...where they’re doing a 5 a.m. practice, they’re not going to eat any breakfast,” Johnson said. “But this is a great way to get some electrolytes in so that they can swim for two hours.”

Bob Marinak, a former UF basketball player, has been working as the assistant director for the basketball camp since he walked onto the UF team in 1984.

As a veteran of the sports camps directors, he said he has witnessed the program’s progression.

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NBA Houston Rockets and former UF basketball player Chandler Parsons attended the camp, Marinak said.

“I’ve seen generations of Gators come through,” he said.

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