Southwest Washington · Washington
Youth Sports in Camas: Leagues, Facilities & What Families Need (2026)
Youth sports in Camas, Washington offer more structure and variety than most families expect from a city of 27,000. The programs here run deeper than typical suburban rec leagues — you'll find competitive soccer pathways reaching ECNL and Girls Academy levels, a football skills camp coached by the varsity staff at Camas High School, and a lacrosse club that's been operating for over a decade. If you've moved here from a larger metro and worry about the options thinning out, those concerns are largely unfounded.
What shapes the sports landscape in Camas is the unusually tight connection between community programs and the school district. Camas Community Education (CCE) functions as the operational hub for most recreational leagues, running youth basketball, volleyball clinics, wrestling, and football skills camps — many of them on school district facilities. The Camas Papermakers' athletic culture at the high school level sets the tone, and organizations like the Camas Lacrosse Club and Columbia Premier Soccer Club (CPSC) fill in the competitive gaps for families who want more than recreational play.
This guide covers everything from introductory rec leagues for kindergartners to travel-level competitive pathways for serious athletes. Whether you're a family just looking for an after-school activity for a second-grader or a parent whose kid is eyeing a high school varsity program, the full picture is below.
| Organization | Sport | Age Range | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camas Youth Basketball League (CYBL) | Basketball | Grades 2–8 | Recreational |
| Little Spikers Clinics / CYVL | Volleyball | Grades 2–5 | Recreational |
| Camas Washougal Soccer Association (CWSA) | Soccer | Youth | Recreational |
| Columbia Premier Soccer Club (CPSC) | Soccer | U-5 through U-19 | Rec + Competitive |
| CPSC Girls Academy / Boys ECNL | Soccer | Select Ages | Elite Competitive |
| Camas Little League | Baseball & Softball | Youth | Recreational |
| Clark County Youth Football | Flag & Tackle Football | Youth | Recreational |
| CCE Youth Football Skills Camps | Football | Grades 2–4 | Skills/Development |
| Camas Wrestling Club | Wrestling | All Ages | Rec + Competitive |
| CCE Intro to Freestyle & Greco | Wrestling | Elementary/Middle | Developmental |
| Camas Lacrosse Club | Lacrosse | K–12 | Developmental + Competitive |
| Camas Kendo Dojo | Martial Arts | Youth/Adult | Recreational |
The Camas Washougal Soccer Association handles recreational soccer for the community, with spring 2026 enrollment actively running at the time of publication. For families whose kids are ready to step up, Columbia Premier Soccer Club is the local club of record — serving Camas, Washougal, and parts of Vancouver with programs from U-5 through U-19. CPSC runs a recreational entry point for the youngest players and escalates into Academy and Junior Academy programs as players develop.
At the elite end, CPSC fields teams in the Girls Academy and Boys ECNL leagues — two of the most competitive youth soccer circuits in the country. Practices and home games typically use fields across Camas and Washougal, often on school district grounds.
CWSA spring recreational registration tends to open in late winter; CPSC Academy tryouts run in the spring for the following fall season. Academy spots are the first thing to go — players who've been in the developmental pipeline have a significant head start.
Competitive track: CPSC's ECNL and Girls Academy pathways draw regional scouts and lead directly into high school and collegiate recruitment pipelines.
The Camas Youth Basketball League runs as a recreational 3-on-3 format for grades 2 through 8, administered by Camas Community Education. Teams are small — four to five players per squad — coached by parent volunteers who run 20 minutes of practice before two running-clock games per session. The fee runs $125 per athlete.
Games are played at Dorothy Fox Elementary, Liberty Middle School, and Skyridge Middle School — all within the Camas School District. The gyms are well-maintained and the league is structured to prioritize skill development over scoreboard pressure, which parents of younger kids tend to appreciate.
Registration fills quickly, particularly in the grades 4–6 range. If you're new to Camas, the CCE website (communityed.camas.wednet.edu) is the single registration point for all school district-run leagues.
Competitive track: There is no in-house competitive travel basketball through CCE; families pursuing that level typically connect with Vancouver-area AAU clubs.
Camas Little League covers both baseball and softball for youth players, using fields at Prune Hill Sports Park, Grass Valley Park, and Fallen Leaf. The organization operates out of a PO Box at Camas, WA 98607, with a related entity — Lacamas Little League — anchored at 640 NW Logan Street. Between the two, most of the youth baseball and softball needs in Camas are covered.
Field quality at Prune Hill and Grass Valley is solid — these are community parks with maintained diamonds, not makeshift setups. Registration for the spring season typically opens in January, with early registration closing before February.
Competitive track: Players who develop through Little League can feed into travel ball programs in the Vancouver metro, with tournament play available throughout the summer months.
For organized flag and tackle football, Clark County Youth Football (clarkcountyyouthfootball.com) is the primary rec league serving Camas families. On the skills development side, CCE runs a Youth Football Skills Camp for grades 2–4 on Sundays, priced at $99, held at the CHS Field House. What makes this program unusual is who's coaching: Camas High School varsity head coach Adam Mathieson and members of his varsity staff run the camp alongside current CHS players.
The traditional "Big Guys – Little Guys" camp, also run by Coach Mathieson, brings the same varsity coaching staff into contact with elementary-age players in a structured development environment. For a kid who will eventually play at Camas High School, this is an early introduction to the coaching culture they'll encounter on varsity.
Registration for CCE camps opens through the Community Education portal; Clark County Youth Football fall registration typically runs through the summer.
Competitive track: The CHS varsity program is the natural endpoint — a program with five consecutive unbeaten league seasons and consistent WIAA state playoff appearances.
CCE offers two tiers of wrestling programming. The entry-level Intro to Freestyle & Greco course runs at $125 and welcomes elementary and middle schoolers with zero experience. For more committed wrestlers, the Camas Wrestling Club charges $299 and competes throughout the Southwest Washington and Northwest Oregon regions.
Both programs operate out of the CHS Wrestling Room, which means student athletes train in the same facility as the high school varsity program. Instruction comes from Camas School District and Camas Wrestling Club coaches.
CCE wrestling sessions are typically offered in fall and winter windows, aligned with the school calendar. The introductory program is legitimately beginner-friendly — parents regularly report that kids with no wrestling background have a good experience.
Competitive track: The Camas Wrestling Club competes regionally in SWWA and NWOR circuits, with pathways to the middle school and eventually high school programs.
The Camas Lacrosse Club is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that's been running for over a decade, making it one of the more established youth sports organizations in Southwest Washington. Programs are open to players from kindergarten through high school, drawing from across Clark County — not just Camas. The club reserves and pays for field use across the Camas and Washougal area, with one primary facility at 26600 SE 15th St., Camas, WA 98607.
For a sport that's still considered a growth sport in the Pacific Northwest, the depth of coaching and player development here is notable. The club positions itself as the regional leader for youth lacrosse player development in Southwest Washington.
Registration and tryout windows vary by age group; check the club's website directly for current season schedules.
Competitive track: Club lacrosse feeds directly into the CHS varsity lacrosse program, which competes in the spring season as part of the Greater St. Helens League.
Little Spikers is the entry point — a co-ed clinic series for grades 2–5, held on Wednesday evenings in April, priced at $79 per series. The location is the Zellerbach Admin Center (ZAC). What elevates this program above a typical rec clinic is the coach: Stephanie Grandits, a former Division I player at Washington State and former D-I coach at Montana State University. That's a genuine credential for a community intro program.
The Camas Youth Volleyball League (CYVL) handles more structured league play and is referenced in CCE's administrative materials, though specific season details should be confirmed through the CCE portal.
Spring enrollment for Little Spikers is the entry point for most families; spots in the clinic format are limited by gym availability.
Competitive track: Competitive club volleyball pathways run through Vancouver-based clubs for players ready to step beyond the community league level.
The Camas Kendo Dojo offers classes on Tuesday evenings at the Discovery High School gym, with instructors George and Ai Nakayama. The fee is $165. Separate children's classes are available at the Camas Community Center. Kendo is a less common offering in youth sports programs, and having a dedicated dojo with consistent instruction in a city this size is genuinely uncommon.
Camas High School competes as the Papermakers in the Greater St. Helens League (GSHL) at the WIAA 4A classification level. The GSHL's current 4A group — Battle Ground, Camas, Skyview, and Union — remains intact through 2028, and starting in fall 2026, the 4A schools will face each other twice per season in a new double round-robin format. The league has also restored crossover games between 4A and 3A programs for 2026 and 2027.
The fall lineup includes football, boys golf, boys tennis, girls slow-pitch softball, girls soccer, girls swimming, volleyball, and cross country. Winter brings boys and girls basketball, wrestling, gymnastics, girls bowling, and a dance team. Spring covers baseball, lacrosse, and track and field. The standout program — by any measure — is football. The Papermakers have made the WIAA state playoffs in every season from 2005 through 2025 except 2008 and 2009, claimed back-to-back state championships in 2016 and 2019, and finished the 2025 season with their fifth consecutive unbeaten league season. Home games are played at Doc Harris Stadium, originally built in 1959 and rebuilt in 2010. The Camas Athletics Boosters, a 501(c)(3) active since 2001, fund equipment, programming, and scholarships across all sports.
The City of Camas Parks & Recreation department operates as a supplement to the CCE-run school district leagues, pointing families toward Columbia Premier Soccer Club, Camas Washougal Soccer Association, and Soccer Shots PDX for introductory soccer programs. The city also references Clark County Youth Football for flag and tackle leagues. City-run programming tends to focus on the younger end of the age spectrum — think introduction-to-sport formats rather than competitive rosters. The Camas Community Center hosts some programming including the Kendo children's classes. For the most current seasonal offerings, the city's parks and recreation portal maintains updated program listings.
Families relocating to Camas specifically for youth sports access tend to gravitate toward a handful of neighborhoods that put kids closest to the action. Prune Hill and Lacamas Shores consistently come up in those conversations because of their proximity to parks, fields, and the broader recreational infrastructure that makes Camas so appealing to active families. Grass Valley attracts similar interest, particularly among families who want a quieter residential feel without sacrificing quick access to leagues and facilities. Homes in these areas under $750,000 that check all the boxes — good layout, yard space, walkability to parks — move fast, sometimes within days of hitting the market. That's just the reality right now.
Which is exactly why I encourage families to sit down with a lender before they fall in love with a house. Understanding your full monthly payment means accounting for property taxes, homeowner's insurance, any HOA dues, and how your loan is structured — not just the purchase price. Maximum approval and comfortable budget are two very different numbers, and only you know which one actually fits your family's life. When the right home appears, and in Camas it will appear quickly, you want to be ready
| Sport | Organization | Registration Window | Season Dates | Where to Register |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basketball | CYBL / CCE | Fall (Sept–Oct) | Winter | communityed.camas.wednet.edu |
| Volleyball Clinics | Little Spikers / CCE | Winter (Jan–Feb) | April (Wednesdays) | communityed.camas.wednet.edu |
| Soccer (Rec) | CWSA | Late Winter (Jan–Feb) | Spring | CWSA website |
| Soccer (Competitive) | Columbia Premier SC | Spring (tryouts) | Fall–Spring | cpsc.org |
| Baseball/Softball | Camas Little League | January | Spring | Camas Little League website |
| Football (Rec) | Clark County Youth Football | Summer | Fall | clarkcountyyouthfootball.com |
| Football Skills Camp | CCE | Varies | Fall/Winter | communityed.camas.wednet.edu |
| Wrestling (Intro) | CCE | Fall | Fall/Winter | communityed.camas.wednet.edu |
| Wrestling (Club) | Camas Wrestling Club | Fall | Fall–Spring | Via CCE |
| Lacrosse | Camas Lacrosse Club | Spring | Spring | Camas Lacrosse Club website |
| Martial Arts | Camas Kendo Dojo | Rolling | Year-round | Camas Community Center |
Camas sits roughly 20–30 minutes from Vancouver and about 30 minutes from Portland, which makes regional tournament access genuinely workable. CPSC soccer teams play in tournaments across the Portland metro and Southwest Washington; most competitive weekends don't require overnight travel unless you're at the ECNL or Girls Academy level, where tournament travel to Seattle, Sacramento, or Dallas is part of the commitment. At that level, families should plan for $2,000–$4,000+ in annual travel costs beyond club fees.
For wrestling and lacrosse, regional competition stays largely within Southwest Washington and Northwest Oregon for younger age groups. The Camas Wrestling Club competes in SWWA and NWOR circuits, which generally means day trips rather than overnights through middle school. High school lacrosse travel is similar in scope — mostly within the GSHL footprint.
What surprises most competitive families after their first season in Camas is how well-organized the volunteer infrastructure is. The Camas Lacrosse Club has been running for over a decade on a fully volunteer model. The wrestling club coaches have direct ties to the high school program. The football skills camp is run by the actual varsity coaching staff. That continuity between community programs and high school athletics is not something every city manages to build, and it's one of the real advantages of raising athletes here.
Local Expert Takeaway: If your kid plays soccer at any level above pure recreation, contact Columbia Premier Soccer Club before you close on your home — spring Academy tryouts are the only entry point for competitive placement, and missing that window means waiting a full year. Basketball and wrestling through CCE fill fast in the grades 4–6 range; registration opens in September and rolls on a first-come basis.
When does youth soccer registration open in Camas?
Camas Washougal Soccer Association recreational spring registration typically opens in January or February. Columbia Premier Soccer Club runs Academy tryouts in the spring for the following fall season — those are the dates to watch if your child is pursuing competitive play.
Does Camas have a youth football league?
Clark County Youth Football handles flag and tackle rec leagues for Camas kids, with fall season registration running through the summer months. Camas Community Education also runs a separate Sunday skills camp for grades 2–4, coached by the CHS varsity staff, which is worth registering for even if your child is already in a rec league.
What is the Camas Lacrosse Club and how do I sign up?
The Camas Lacrosse Club is a nonprofit that has been developing youth lacrosse players in Southwest Washington for over a decade, serving kids from kindergarten through high school across Clark County. Registration windows vary by age group; the club manages enrollment directly through its own website rather than through the CCE portal.
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