Sure, the Paris Olympics had LeBron James and Snoop Dogg. But, the Coleman Country Day Camp has Shaq. The same giant who was ‘scared’ of watching Team USA enjoyed his weekend at the ‘Olympics’ being a big kid. Shaquille O’Neal spent the summer traveling between two continents, deejaying at European venues, hosting Shaq to School events, and preparing for the return of Bass All-Stars. During that, he arrived in New York to make an entire summer camp of kids very happy.

Coleman Country Day Camp, which has given young kids in and around Merrick a recreational outlet for years, collaborated with Authentic Brands Group for its annual ‘Olympics’ spectacle. In March, they announced that Shaquille O’Neal would join the highlight of the camp’s annual calendar on August 16.

O’Neal had a grand entrance on the stage in his usual tee and graphic pants, with a little scarf to accessorize. But, the campers and counselors were apparently divided into two teams with #34 home and road Lakers jerseys. There were some #32 Orlando jerseys in the mix too.

Competing in these Olympics were Red Riptide and the Tan Candy Land. The 1996 Olympian opened the games and joined in too. In one day, Shaq played basketball, football, tennis, archery, volleyball, and golf, all with kid-size equipment. The 7’1″ giant really has a way of making a bow look like a rubber band. The volleyball fit in one entire hand span and the mini golf club might as well be a toothpick.

But, the highlight was his adorable interactions with the kids. A little one gifted him a handmade butterfly necklace and he kept it on through the rest of the event. Shaq doled out high fives like candy everywhere, drafted plays, called a huddle for pep talks, and scored a few touchdowns. We’re missing the highlights of a basketball game and hopefully, the Coleman Country guys share that soon.

They were in fact overwhelmed with how many memories they made with Shaq in one day. It took them a day to sift through it all and share them.

Kid Olympics top Paris Olympics for Shaq

Once CCDC and Authentic Brands Group shared their updates from their Olympics, Shaq shared them with his 34 million Instagram followers. He had a lot to flex about these games but said he’s, “not paying attention” to the Paris Olympics on The Big Podcast. He said about Team USA, “they scare me,” because of their very narrow victories.

The CCDC Olympics are not intense, scary, or nail-biting. All evidence points to fun while Shaq’s big kid energy is around. They even made him his own foam block throne. What did Bron get? Just a piece of gold.

Now we’re hoping for the camps to give a tally of what Shaq won. Is he a better golfer than Charles Barkley? How’s his tennis swing? Does he shoot arrows dead center? Bring on the updates!

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.