Special Olympics State Summer Games
Local athletes are getting ready to compete in the Special Olympics State Summer Games in Orlando over the weekend.
Hillsborough County’s teams, which primarily train at and around Plant City High School, will head to Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports complex on Saturday and will finish by Sunday. This summer’s featured sports include bocce, cycling, soccer, volleyball and cheerleading, as well as a soccer skills competition and a softball toss competition. Local athletes will compete in all events but cycling and cheerleading.
Summer tennis offerings
The Plant City Tennis Center will have plenty to offer in the coming summer months.
Sessions of youth tennis lessons for all skill levels will start June 3, June 24 and July 19. Tots (age 4-7) meet at 8:15 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays while beginners through advanced students (age 8-12) meet at 9 a.m. Mondays and Wednesdays. Tots lessons cost $30 per session and the others cost $60 per session.
The Ladies Summer Doubles Tennis League runs from June 5 through July 31 and will have matches at 9 a.m. on Wednesdays. The doubles format is two out of three matched with a 10-point third set match tie breaker if needed. Twelve teams will be able to register and pass holders at the tennis center can sign up for $20. Non-member teams can join the league for $60. Register by 5 p.m. May 29.
On the second Friday of each month, the tennis center will host its Monthly Mixed Mixer at 6 p.m. Pass holders can attend for $5 and non-members for $15.
Registration forms can be found online at plantcitygov.com/parksrec/page/plant-city-tennis-center-activities. For more information call 813-707-7485 or email C. Shane Johnson at sjohnson@plantcitygov.com.
Baseball tourneys on deck
Global Sports Alliance’s Stars and Stripes Slugfest VI tournament will come to Plant City this weekend.
The tourney runs from Saturday through Sunday at Ellis-Methvin Park, Mike Sansone Park, Snowden Park, Plant City Stadium, the Randy L. Larson Softball Four-Plex and the MLK complex. Games run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.
Florida USSSA Baseball’s Ultimate Florida Championship III tournament will use multiple fields at Plant City Stadium, Randy L. Larson Softball Four-Plex, Mike Sansone Park, Ellis-Methvin Park and the MLK Complex May 25 and 26. The tourney runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.
Sign up for Durant youth football camp
Durant High School will host the ninth annual Mike Gottman Youth Football Camp this June and registration is now open.
The annual summer skills camp is run by Gottman and the rest of Durant’s football coaching staff and teaches kids from third through (incoming) ninth grade the fundamentals of the high school game. Everything from specific positional drills to physical conditioning is covered and flag football games close out each day.
Campers need to bring football cleats, solid navy blue athletic shorts and a grey t-shirt if they have clothing in those colors, a towel, sunscreen, extra socks, underwear and a sack lunch. The coaches will sell hot dogs, hamburgers, bananas, apples, chips and Gatorade. Gottman recommends all athletes drink 64 ounces of water per day for five consecutive days before coming to camp.
This year’s camp runs from June 3 through 6 at the Ron Frost Athletic Complex on campus, 4748 Cougar Path. Each day begins at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 4:30 p.m. unless inclement weather hits the Durant area. The cost is $125 per camper plus a $5 online processing fee and all campers must be registered by 11:59 p.m. June 1.
To register, view the itinerary and get more information visit durantfootballcamps.com.