Camp included sports drills, prayer and giveaways.

Joe Blankenship wants every kid to learn how to catch a ball. It could change that child’s life.

Statistics show high schoolers who play a varsity sport are 40 percent more likely to graduate, Blankenship said. To help kids get a head start on those on tryouts, Blankenship started the Inner City Sports Clinic.

Run by the One Hope Ministry, the camp aims to help at-risk children from ages 7 to 16 by teaching sports like football, volleyball and golf. The camp, from 9 a.m. to noon at Comanche Park, started Tuesday and ended Friday. And on each of those mornings, a team of volunteers picked up 200-250 kids throughout Tulsa for a day of athletics and prayer.

“It’s a way to help them break out of some of the cycles of discrimination and some of the cycles of desolation,” Blankenship said. “And we do it a little bit in hopes of trying to talk to them about the Lord in the process.”

The camp draws local sports celebrities — high school and college coaches and their players — to instruct the campers. To kick off the week, Union head football coach Kirk Fridrich brought about a dozen of his players Tuesday to lend a hand and toss some passes. Half of James Thomas’ volleyball team also showed up.

Even rain couldn’t stop the camp. About 200 kids and more than 100 volunteers crammed into the gym after a heavy downpour began Thursday.

Football, baseball and basketball coaches from Coweta, Sapulpa and

even a college in Shreveport, La., set up stations for sports drills.

“As long as it’s fast-moving, fast-paced, they enjoy it,” said Bubba Burcham, Coweta’s head football coach.

Jeric Robinson agreed. The 14-year-old wore a Chris Paul jersey while running agility drills and clutching passes.

“It gets you energized, enthusiastic for sports,” Robinson said. “It helps you realize God is the one true God.”

Prayer and songs sandwich the sports sessions. At noon, prizes are given away, such as a Kansas Jayhawks basketball jersey — it’s one final camp feature, and one that always throws the kids into a frenzy.

Said Blankenship: “We’re a group of (people) committed to finding things that help kids.”