Bulls/Sox Academy offering summer camps for youths

The Lisle-based Bulls/Sox Academy will sponsor its youth summer camps at more than 60 communities this summer throughout the region with programs for boys and girls ages 5 through 12 and for every ability level.

The camps are designed to improve the fundamentals of all athletes while having fun at the same time. One sport half-day and two sport all-day combination camps are offered at various locations.

The academy has created a unique experience for all of its summer camp participants at the United Center and U.S. Cellular Field.

Each basketball camp participant, along with one guest, will be invited to the United Center for a Q&A session with a Bulls' personality and a current and/or former player.

All baseball and fastpitch camp participants will experience U.S. Cellular Field through a parade on the field around the warning track and a Q&A session with a White Sox personality, a coach and a current player.

All baseball/basketball combo camp attendees will receive both stadium experiences.

"The professional instruction and the opportunity to engage with a pro athlete set us apart from all other summer camp programs," said Xan Pearson, Bulls/Sox Academy president.

The five-day White Sox Summer Camps are broken into three age levels for beginners, intermediate and advanced players. Professional coaches will focus on the essential skills of baseball - hitting, throwing, fielding, pitching, bunting and base running.

New this year, every participant in the baseball and fastpitch softball camp program will receive the U.S. Cellular Field experience, six free White Sox ticket vouchers, a Bulls/Sox Academy hat, a graduation certificate and a special summer camp T-shirt celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the White Sox World Series Championship.

All athletes will receive a skills evaluation report and compete in the White Sox Skills Competition. The top 40 overall qualifiers in each age group will compete at the Champions Day event at U.S. Cellular Field in September.

At the Chicago Bulls Summer Camps, professional instructors will work with campers on ballhandling, passing, shooting, rebounding, footwork and team concepts. The Rookies session is geared toward teaching the basic fundamentals of basketball for young players just learning the game. The Veterans session focuses on advancing essential skills of basketball for the more experienced or travel players.

Each participant in the summer basketball camp program will receive the United Center experience, a Bulls Basketball Schools duffel bag, Chicago Bulls indoor/outdoor basketball, summer camp T-shirt, a graduation certificate and four free White Sox ticket vouchers to attend a 2015 home game.

All athletes will receive a skills evaluation report and compete in the Bulls Skills Competition. The top 40 overall qualifiers in each age group will compete at our Champions Day event at the United Center in the fall.

The academy also extends the training with a two-sport baseball and basketball combination camp. This weeklong, all-day camp gives the multisport athlete the ability to improve their offensive and defensive game in both basketball and baseball before heading back to school. Six hours a day with a one-hour lunch break along with quality instruction in two sports makes this a one-of-a-kind camp.

Each combo camper will receive the benefits of both the White Sox and Bulls Summer Camps including the United Center and U.S. Cellular Field Experiences and much more.

More than 60 locations for the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bulls summer camps are listed on the Bulls/Sox Academy website. For more information or to register for a camp, visit www.BullsSoxAcademy.com or call (630) 324-8221.