AUBURN - Amy Spin has accomplished a lot within the past couple of months. From winning a NJCAA national women's lacrosse title with first-year program Onondaga Community College to being given a letter of commendation from Auburn Mayor Mike Quill, Spin's accolades have piled up.

Recently, she decided to give back to the community that started her interest in the sport, by running a girls lacrosse camp at Casey Park, which started Monday and goes through the week for 6 to 12-year-olds.

“As a (physical education) teacher and growing up in this area,” Spin said. “I remember being a young athlete in this community.”

Spin is teaching the girls drills for their age level, breaking them into groups. She's joined by former and current Auburn girls lacrosse players Kaitlyn Liccion and Nikki Schattinger as coaches at the clinic. Liccion and Schattinger both were members of Spin's AHS girls lacrosse team a few years ago.

“The girls look for role models,” Spin said. “It's important to bring back prior athletes for the role models.”

With help from Liccion and Schattinger, the first-year camp teaches several drills to improve their lacrosse skills.

“We've learned picks and how to run good defense,” first-year lacrosse player Hannah Lesch said. “Also defensive positions.”

Spin is also working on helping the girls come together in the hopes that they play together for years to come. Each day they come up with a word that helps them to be a better player or teammate.

“Once we pick the word of the day we discuss how it pertains to the game of the lacrosse,” Spin said. “We've had words this week like team work, hustle and communication.”

Spin understands that given the girls' ages, they have a short attention span and to help them learn the game better they are split into groups by grade level and for a half hour, work on a dance that involves a lacrosse ball and stick.

“We're incorporating the game with dance,” Spin said. “They love it.”

The friends they are making is something else that can come through communication with one another and the unity they form at the camp.

“It's a lot of fun cause we get to learn new drills and play with people we know,” Lesch said.

Knowing that Spin coaches at a higher level and has succeeded makes it easier for the girls to listen to and set goals for the future.

“The camp has helped us on what we should do with skills that can get us hopefully to the next level,” second-year lacrosse player Lexi Mitchell said.

Spin helps the girls work on stick skills, passing, catching, ground ball drills and the tactical part of the game for the older girls.

“I just write up a plan for Nikki and Kait so they can work with the girls,” Spin said. “We're just trying to keep it as fun as we can for the little kids.”

Spin enjoys seeing the girls progress with the game.

“It's great to watch them groom for this age level up to the high school level,” Spin said. “That's were the reward comes from as a coach.”