As you walk into Grant Park on a summer day, watch out for a stray soccer ball from Bernie Fagan’s soccer camp. “Let’s go!” yell the parents watching their kids play. From September to June, Grant Park and its surrounding schools assume a largely educational role. The brick buildings of Hollyrood, Beverly Cleary and Grant fill with students, and surrounding fields host high school games or are a path on walks home. But come June 14th, Grant Park sheds its uniform and takes on new life filled with snow cones, late-night soccer games, Live Action Role Playing events and picnics.

Bernie Fagan Soccer Camp:

Sports play a large role in any park, and Grant is no exception. The park got a new turf field and track last year, adding to the swimming pool and grass field facilities.

A long-held summer sports institution at Grant is the Bernie Fagan Soccer Camp, which is in its 31st year. Portland legend Bernie Fagan started the youth soccer camps in 1983 after finishing an illustrious career playing professional soccer in England. He also played for the Portland Timbers and was a successful college coach.

At the camp, kids are taught by hand picked staff—such as professional soccer players, college soccer players and even college and high school coaches—to master the techniques and tactics of soccer, team play, and the love of the game. Over the years, Bernie Fagan’s Soccer Camp has served tens-of-thousands of girls and boys in the Portland area and continues to create a warm and caring environment that provides them with enhanced skills to take back to their own teams. Rob Thompson, who lives a few blocks from Grant Park, has a child participating in Fagan’s camp for the first time. So far, Thompson’s son has loved the camp. “All the coaches are very kind, and none of the kids are too competitive,” he says.

Contact Information:

Sign up on their website, http://www.berniefagansoccer.com, or contact Bernie directly:

EMAIL: [email protected]

Grant Pool Swimming Lessons:

Summer never truly starts until you can jump in the pool and swim. Just adjacent to Grant High School is the ultimate community pool, Grant Pool. Grant Pool is open to the public all summer long and is a great place to cool off and have fun. The City of Portland offers swim lessons for children led by trained lifeguards, many of whom are current and former Grant students.

Each day you can do something different, from playing with the pool noodles to going off the slide to jumping into the 8ft deep end. Certain pool times are also reserved for people in the community to lap swim. Once you’re done swimming, make sure to save some room for a slushy or a snow cone from the concession stand!

Kianna Green, 20, is a lifeguard at Grant pool and enjoys the responsibility of watching over the pool and hanging out with her co-workers. “I think Grant is a good place for the community to come together, to swim and to make new friends,” she says.

Contact Information:

ADDRESS: 2300 NE 33 Ave
Portland, OR 97212

PHONE: 503-823-3674

ONLINE REGISTRATION: Call the Parks Customer Service Center at 503.823.2325, receive an account number and password, go to www.PortlandParks.org.

Grant Cross Country:

Boom, boom, boom! Kicking up dust as they run through Grant Park, a herd of 160 runners does practice laps to prepare for a morning run to Wilshire Park.

Since the days of legendary University of Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman and the birth of Nike, track and field has been an omnipresent part of Oregon’s landscape.

Grant High School is pulling its weight. With nearly 160 boys and girls trying out for the team, Grant boasts one of the largest groups of long distance runners at any Oregon high school. (If you’re keeping score at home, 160 translates into one in ten Grant students participating in the sport!)

Coach Doug Winn credits the great turnout to aggressive recruitment at the middle school level and the emphasis he places on having fun and making friends in addition to running’s competitive aspects. Incoming Grant freshman Jolie Riffel, 13, has just started practicing with the team this summer. Riffel says practices are hard but she likes the social aspect of running with friends. Group runs for summer training are casual and are held for interested Grant students on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10am.