By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

When LaQuize Gilbert was growing up, he had all sorts of options when it came time to choose a youth camp during the summer.

He could play basketball, baseball, football, golf, and the list goes on and on.

Gilbert did not, though, have a wrestling camp he could go to, if he was so inclined.

That’s part of the reason Gilbert is having such a good time helping out at the Callaway High youth wrestling camp this week.

The two-day camp kicked off on Tuesday and wraps up today, and the instructors include Callaway’s coaches and some of the wrestlers.

“My first time wrestling was in the sixth grade,” said Gilbert, a rising junior at Callaway. “I didn’t have a camp like this. If I did, I probably would have gotten into it earlier.”

The Callaway wrestlers lending a hand include Laquize Gilbert, Ladarius Williams, Troy Helton and Lathan Patterson.

“It’s so fun,” Gilbert said. “You’ve got all these kids with different personalities. They’re so eager to learn about wrestling. It’s a new sport they’ve never done before, so it’s really fun.”

Jason Boatman, Callaway’s fourth-year head coach, keeps in mind the skill level and experience of the wrestlers when he designs the camp.

“It’s depending on who’s coming and what their prior experience is, which a lot of time is none,” Boatman said. “You just try to do the very basics, give them a feel for what’s going on.”

Boatman’s hope is that the young wrestlers will walk away with a certain comfort level with a sport that can be challenging to grasp for new-comers.

“A big thing is you can get scared because you don’t know what’s going on,” Boatman said. “So we let them know this is how it works. You want to give them an understanding of it, and give them an understanding of the drills.”