Area children enjoy active lifestyle at FANS Camp

It’s become rare sight to see kids running and playing outside.

When school is out, it seems like the first thing a kid wants to do is sit in front of a screen. If this sounds like your kids, then this summer, you may want to consider sending them to FANS Camp.

FANS Camp founder Adrian Dodson explained how this camp works.

“Well FANS Camp started as an acronym for fitness, agility, nutrition and strength,” Dodson said. “They can drop them off as early as 7:00 in the morning, pick them up as late as 5:00, with the assurance that they’ll be actively engaged all day long in healthy activities throughout the whole day.”

Dodson founded the FANS Camp in 2008, but the camp has grown so much that the same people who attended the camp are now running it, including Gracie Smallwood.

“I definitely see that relationship a lot, even when I was little and I was in camps, the coaches were always my… I looked up to them so much,” Smallwood said. “Every time they walk in the door, they give me a hug and that makes me feel so good.”

Mentorship is a large part of what FANS Camp offers, as standout local athletes like the starting quarterback and running back at Gulfport High School run the program. Dodson once faced a similar situation that left a lasting impact on his life, which is one of the main reasons why he wanted to start the camp.

“When I was in the ninth grade, we got bussed to our high school and our football practice was led — as ninth graders — was led by seniors,” Dodson said. “To this day — and I’m old as dirt — but I can remember every one of those guys’ names, the influence they had on me>.”

You may be asking yourself, “How do they get these kids off their phones?”

Dodson’s response to that is they don’t.

“If we’re going to do a mile run, or half-mile run, whatever it is, when you finish we’re going to give you 15 minutes on your iPad,” Dodson said. “We work hard training on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and then Thursday they know that, you know, we’re going to the movies.”

Even though the FANS Camp specializes in athletic training, Dodson wants to make it clear that his ultimate goal is to simply get kids to be active and leave a lasting impact.

“So we’ve got the range from elite athletes to just kids that probably don’t play sports,” Dodson said. “When they get through with FANS Camp, a lot of times they want to start delving into some of those sports. You start at an early age and make it fun, that’ll carry on through their whole life.”