Clarkston High School sophomore Allie Brown dashed up the right side of Old College Field on Wednesday, yelling for her teammates' attention as she passed the ball to her fellow players on team Spain.
Challenging team England for the MSU Spartan Soccer Camp's world cup playoffs, Brown and her team were wrapping up a three-day stay on campus — usually filled with drills, scrimmages and living like a college student in Wonders and Wilson halls.
MSU women's soccer head coach Tom Saxton said the campus, which has welcomed about 980 girls and boys during four weeks of camp, is one of the things the camp-goers enjoy most.
"We have really beautiful fields, and being on a college campus makes them feel like an adult," he said.
Associate director of athletics Karen Langeland said Wednesday was the last day for any sports camp at MSU, which has held camps for 17 different sports — including soccer, cross country and diving — during a six-week period of time.
This summer 8,654 kids, mostly between the ages 10 and 16, visited campus for various camps, a figure that is down a couple hundred from last year, she said.
Also in session on Wednesday was the final girls' high school basketball camp at Jenison Field House.
Saxton said the range of ages of the girls and boys who generally attend the soccer camp is 9 to 17, which adds variety to his regular season of coaching the MSU women's team.
The camp usually lasts 4-1/2 days, but was cut short by another organization's visit to campus, Saxton said.
Saxton said campers range from casual gamers to potential college players.
"There is a level of seriousness and a very businesslike attitude — others are just here to have fun," he said.
The scrimmages were more relaxed than club or high school soccer, which is something she appreciated, Brown said.
"This is more laid-back. You can laugh while you're playing," she said.
Fellow Spain teammate Dani Thomas said one of her favorite parts of the camp was the downtime.
"Talking about the hot coaches and hanging out in the dorms and having slip n' slides in the dorms with shampoo," the Clarkston High School junior said of her favorite things about the camp.
The camp's instructors are college and high school soccer coaches, as well as current and former MSU soccer players, Saxton said.
The camps are open to the public and range in both price and length of stay.
Former MSU men's soccer team member and MSU graduate John Minagawa-Webster played for the Kansas City Wizards for a year and a half before returning to MSU to coach team Mexico at the camp this summer.
Minagawa-Webster, who first participated in the camp when he was 14, said it has been a chance for him to teach up-and-coming soccer players things he has learned in his 17-18 years of playing soccer.
"I just look back, and there are some things I wish someone would have told me — in how to improve my game or how to be a better player in general," he said.
"I just make sure I give them every bit of advice that I can."
Brandon Swigart, a senior at Port Huron Northern High School, said Minagawa-Webster has helped him improve his game.
"He helped me with my shot — I used to just blow it over the net, but now I've got it down," he said.
"It's cool having a pro soccer player as your coach," he added.
At the beginning of the play-offs, team Mexico had the most points out of the boys teams.
"We're looking pretty good," Swigart said. "We've definitely had some chemistry."
Swigart said he hopes to continue his soccer career in college.
"I don't care if I have to move to Egypt to do it. I just want to keep playing ball," he said.
"It's the only passion I have in life."
