Princeton sophomore Nalani Mornes shows two young campers how to setup a move. Photo by David Wolman / C&S Media
By David Wolman
Although the 2025-26 school year has ended for students in Princeton ISD, the doors remain open for those who want to learn a new sport or continue their development.
Last week, elementary and middle school athletes learned new wrestling moves that were being taught in the high school’s wrestling competition gymnasium, while softball players enjoyed playing catch, running the bases, hitting and sliding on a Slip N Slide mat.
More than 40 campers used a Slip N Slide mat to learn how to properly dive and slide into a base, going both headfirst and feetfirst.
The campers also slid down an 18-foot slide while being sprayed with water. They also exacted a fun measure of revenge on Princeton head softball coach Brian Goulart later in the week when he was drenched with water by the campers.
“It’s a great group of girls,” he said.
Basic softball fundamentals such as infield practice, throwing and hitting were taught by Goulart and the entire Princeton Lady Panthers softball team. Advanced drills such as outfield catching and throwing and turning double plays were also taught. Three coaches were at each station.
A game of whiffle ball was held at the end of the June 10 session.
“I want them to love softball, get inspired by what they’re taught and build the camaraderie with everyone at Princeton instead of transferring somewhere else,” Goulart said. “It’s something that I’ve been fighting since I got here. But I think that we can build something great here. Also, it’s great to see the high school players give back.”
That same week, student-athletes got a chance to take a break from the heat and learn wrestling moves at the wrestling camp.
A lot of basic moves, such as single-leg takedowns, blast-double takedowns and duck-under takedowns were taught, in addition to more advanced moves such as half nelsons and chicken wings for pins as well as power halves.
“I really wanted the youth wrestlers to get a love of the sport out of camp,” Princeton head coach Ryan DeLaVergne said. “If we planted that seed of ‘I think this is something I want to do again’, then camp was a success.
“For the middle school campers, we wanted them to come away with a few moves they could add to their tool belt and use to be successful when they got back to their team.”
DeLaVergne, assistant coach Ron Baker and high school wrestlers Logan Wilczynski, Luis Landa, Nalani Mornes, Lucas Yost, Emilio Martinez and Ethan Fox provided instruction for campers who were entering grades two through nine.
“I really enjoyed seeing our high school kids working with the youth in the community,” DeLaVergne said. “Giving back and hopefully growing the sport we all love and having some fun with kids. It was a great experience for all of us. Hopefully the campers enjoyed it too.”
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