FARMINGTON — Farmington Parks and Recreation Department has a whole host of activities for kids with camps set up for lacrosse, basketball, softball and tennis. One new addition to this year’s lineup is ultimate frisbee, which will be directed by Benjamin Ladd, University of Maine Farmington coach of the ultimate frisbee team.
The program is geared towards kids between fourth and eighth grades and will start meeting on Monday, July 10, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Hippach Field. The group will meet every Monday until Aug. 14. Registration for residents of Farmington is $25, with out of town residents paying $35.
Ladd has an extensive history with ultimate frisbee, having played the sport for 14 years.
“I really liked sports just in general,” Ladd said in a phone interview. According to Ladd, he had some friends in college who were playing the game and he decided to give a try. “I fell in love immediately.”
Ladd was a part of the UMF ultimate frisbee team until his graduation in 2012. After his graduation, he stuck around to help coach the team. “I’ve coached on and off since 2012, probably six or seven years altogether,” he said.
Ladd was really interested in bringing ultimate frisbee to the Farmington Community Center. The game brings together elements of basketball, football and soccer, which Ladd thinks will go over really well with kids.
“I wanted to bring frisbee to a younger age group and to get more kids involved,” he said. “I have run programs for the [Farmington Parks and Rec] for five years or so and this is the first year that I put together a frisbee program. I wasn’t sure how popular it was going to be but you know, I keep hearing about it.
“At the middle school level,” he continued, “kids have been playing it around at recess and stuff. So I thought I would offer it to kids that age and see what kind of interest that would gain.”
Ladd’s only recommendation for those interested in signing up is to bring lots of water. For more information, please contact the Farmington Parks and Recreation Department at (207) 778-3464 or email farmingtonrec@farmington-maine.org. The department also posts information regarding summer programing schedules on the Facebook at www.facebook.com/farmingtonrec.
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