Lady Mustangs lead Plum soccer camp

They may be knee-high to the proverbial grasshopper, but they know how to shoot and score. And they’re learning how to get better.

Girls as young as kindergarten, 56 strong, signed up for a soccer camp conducted by members of the Plum High School Lady Mustangs, perennial participants in the WPIAL postseason under head coach Jamie Stewart.

He joined many of his players in presenting the finer points of the sport to elementary-age students who, for the most part, already show plenty of promise.

“Our youth program here in Plum is pretty good,” Stewart said. “We start them at basically 4, and our numbers there have been really good, which helps the high school program. And so this is a way we can give back to that program, to help it continue to grow.”

The camp, organized by the Plum High School Girls Soccer Boosters, was scheduled to take place during four weeknight sessions, starting Aug. 1 and wrapping up Aug. 10.

For opening evening, on the turfed surface of the high school’s baseball field, Stewart took charge of enlightening the age-divided group of kindergartners and first-graders.

“They have a whole lot of energy that you really have to harness, so it’s a good thing,” he said. “It gives us a little balance from what we do with the high school girls.”

Speaking of whom, the Lady Mustangs were glad to be doing their instructional part.

“I like that we get to teach them what’s right and what’s wrong, and that we get to encourage them to continue playing soccer,” Mackenzie Kmonk, a member of the Plum Class of 2024, said. “And I feel that it’s good to get outside more, and everybody’s not on their phones.”

She has similar experience working with children through a Soccermath camp she conducted last summer as her project to earn Girl Scouting’s highest honor, the Gold Award. True to its name, the camp integrated elements of her chosen sport as a way to bolster knowledge of mathematics.

One of Mackenzie’s Mustang teammates — Meghan Stammer, who will be a sophomore — similarly appreciated her role as a soccer camp coach.

“It’s definitely something I enjoy,” she said. “It’s good to see all of the upcoming people, because we might play with some of these people. At least, I will.”

For Stewart, participation in the camp represents a key facet in the development of his players as people.

“It gives the girls an opportunity to give back, because at one point in time, they were these girls’ age,” he said. “And the little ones look up to them.”