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Justin Gallegos was sweating by the time lunch rolled around.

The 12-year-old Lely Elementary School student had spent Tuesday morning playing football with several other campers at the Marco Island YMCA, and by lunchtime he needed a break to cool off.

“I’m enjoying camp,” the sixth-grader said.

Justin is one of about 14 students participating in Vince’s Wide World of Sports Camp at the YMCA this week. And while there two more sessions of the camp this summer, Gina Blassneck, senior program director at the YMCA, said this one stands out because of its participants.

Ten of the 14 campers are part of the Collier County school district’s migrant camp program, Blassneck said. The boys spend a week at the YMCA taking part in the camp, while girls came earlier in the summer to take part in a volleyball camp.

“This is a great opportunity to send these children to camp,” Blassneck said. “The majority of the time they would just be at home. This program allows them to do what our kids would normally do during the summer.”

This week’s camp allows participants to hone their skills at several different sports, including soccer, football and basketball, said youth sports coordinator Vince Iorio.

“What we want to do is better their skills at each of these sports,” Iorio said.

Justin said his favorite part of the camp so far is playing football and basketball.

“It’s challenging,” he said.

Earl Wiggins, supervisor of Title I migrant programs for the Collier County school district, said about 5,000 migrant children take part in a camp like the YMCA’s each year.

“We provide whatever it takes for them to get to camp,” Wiggins said.

Through the migrant camp program, students throughout Collier County are able to participate in educational camps all summer. Wiggins said the program gives about 5,000 students each year a chance to participate in some type of camp over the summer. Wiggins said his department is able to fund the programs through grants.

This year about 150 students will participate in day camp programs, like the one at the Marco Island YMCA, Wiggins said.

“The kids love it,” he said. “They sign up for these programs every year.”

The migrant camp program has been going on at the Marco Island YMCA for about three years now, Blassneck said. The camp not only allows migrant students a chance to spend the day playing outside, but also gives Marco children a glimpse at how others live, she said.

“It’s such a valuable program, I would take them all every week if I could,” Blassneck said. “You find out these kids are exactly like our kids.”

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If you go

Want to send your child to Vince’s Wide World of Sports Camp? The Marco Island YMCA will host two more sessions of the weeklong sports camp.

The next session begins on July 30, while the final session begins on Aug. 13. The camp runs from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., and costs $85 for members. For more information, or to enroll your child in the camp, call 394-3144.