Chief James Donovan and Detective Louis Pacheco are pleased to announce that the Raynham Police Department rounded out the summer with the completion of its two summer camps for young athletes.
Throughout the summer, Detective Pacheco hosted two camps for young athletes — the Summer Speed Camp and J.O.C.K.S. (Juvenile Organization of Cops and Kids Sports) Football Camp.
“The Raynham Police Department is eager to host these exciting camps every summer for our youngest community members as they have become a staple within our community,” Chief Donovan said. “With something as simple as time and effort, we are able to help create lasting memories for these kids that they carry with them. I would like to especially recognize Louis who has dedicated much of his time to ensuring these camps go off without a hitch.”
J.O.C.K.S. Football Camp
The Raynham Police’s 22nd annual J.O.C.K.S Football Camp was recently held from Monday, Aug. 8 through Friday, Aug. 12 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Merrill Elementary School in Raynham. The camp, which is open to all children ages 7 to 14, was hosted for two hours every night for a week straight.
At the camp, the 180 attending elementary and middle school-aged children learned the fundamentals of football and safety practices such as safe tackling forms, concussion prevention techniques and more from approximately 45 Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School football players and 25 adult coaches. The camp also included a mock NFL combine that tests their skills through sets of different drills.
To celebrate the last day of the camp, volunteers presented camp-goers with trophies, certificates and awards and a pizza party.
The program was launched in 1999 by Pacheco after he noticed the costs of youth football rising and more kids having to sit out of programs because families couldn’t afford for them to play. To combat this obstacle and ensure that every kid who wanted to play in the Raynham Giants Youth Football League had the opportunity to do so, SRO Pacheco started the J.O.C.K.S. Football Camp with the goal of establishing a fund that covered the costs of the youth league for those who couldn’t afford it.
As such, the $40 registration fee for the J.O.C.K.S. Football Camp is contributed directly to the fund. The money collected from the camp is then dispersed to those in the Raynham Giants Youth Football League who are in need of financial support, and funds are also sometimes used to purchase additional safety equipment when needed and to sponsor kids to go to the J.O.C.K.S. Football Camp as well.
Summer Speed Camp
Over the course of several weeks from July 5 through Aug. 4, Detective Pacheco hosted the department’s annual summer Speed Camp, which was been running since 1997, for children ages eight years old and up at the Raynham Middle School.
Each day attendees had the opportunity to participate in dynamic stretches; ladder, agility and plyometric drills; track racing; and more. In the morning, kids first participated in a half-hour dynamic stretch to warm up before going through the many different drills and exercises prepared for them.
Throughout the camp, Detective Pacheco was assisted by high school students who served as mentors and role models to the younger children. At this year’s camp, there were approximately 200 boy and girl participants in total with an average of 70 attendees per week. Raynham Police Officers assigned to the day shift also came by in their cruisers to join in on the fun and interact with the attendees.
In addition to those who volunteered their time, the Lions Club sponsored ice cream trucks to visit the camp several times throughout the 2022 session. Thanks to their generous donation, attendees were able to receive free ice cream at the end of practices on especially hot days.
The Raynham Public Access Channel also generously donated 10 sets of Red Sox and Patriots tickets, which were given away through a raffle held on the last day of the camp.
The department would like to thank all sponsors and volunteers who generously donated their time and resources to this year’s camp and especially Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School sophomore Jeff Crandall who volunteered at the camp every day.
“As the department’s School Resource Officer, I greatly look forward to hosting these camps every year as it’s a great way for me and the students to remain in contact with one another during the summer while simultaneously improving their athletic abilities,” Detective Pacheco said. “This camp allows us to keep the connection with our students even in the absence of school, and it’s truly something that gets bigger each year as the kids really look forward to it.”
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