RALEIGH, N.C. — Kids across North Carolina are back to in-person summer camps this year.
Skyhawks Sports Academy began practices last week, and are seeing more than just the kids' physical health improving.
What you need to know
Many of North Carolina's youth camps are back this summer after closing last year amid the pandemic
The CDC released a report stating children went to the ER for mental health disorders more in 2020 than 2019
A Raleigh coach said he is seeing kids' mental health and social skills improving
“They’ve been stuck inside all the time. You can tell right when they came out the first day, they were all energy,” said Hunter Crone, one of the coaches of their soccer camp.
Crone says he noticed their dribbling and soccer skills improve by the end of the week, but he’s also seen their social skills getting better.
During the pandemic, the CDC released a report stating children went to the emergency room for mental health disorders more in 2020 than the previous year, with an increase of 24% in kids ages 5 -11 and 31% in kids 12-17.
“After the first few days, they started loving it, smiling, and coming up to us and talking about their story,” said Crone when talking about the improvements he saw in the kids after the first week.
Skyhawks Sports Academy also has camps for baseball, golf and flag football. They hope to teach kids to learn confidence, grit and positive social interaction they said was crippled during the quarantine.