Area Set-Up
Wednesday, June 18th, 2014
My second full day at camp, the kids have yet to arrive but staff is already hard at work. I will be the baseball specialist at cam and today my responsibility is preparing the baseball, softball, and kickball fields, along with organizing and taking inventory from their corresponding closets and sheds. After breakfast I head directly to the main baseball field which is in rough shape, weeds need pulled out of the infield, the field needs to be dragged, the grass cut, the dugouts clean, and many other maintenance functions need to be completed in order for the field to be ready to be played on. I go about pulling the weeds and then drag the infield by hand. I take a quick break to go check on the storage closet. There are approximately twelve helmets and easily over twenty sets of catching gear. I quickly hang the helmets on the wall and stack all the catching gear. After putting the baseball bats in a tub and putting all the balls in buckets I go about sweeping the dugouts. Lunch is at noon, and it takes me until then to finish the dugouts. After lunch we have a staff meeting, the purpose of which is to encourage activity specialists to develop a "wow factor" for our respective areas, I have taken this meeting seriously and think on it as I continue to work on the field. I rake the base paths and the home plate area and then chalk the field, base lines, batters box, and the foul lines in the outfield. Afterwards I have spare time, which I spend developing lesson plans for the first three weeks of campers. I use drills from our college practices and simplify them in order to better suit the age of the campers. The day is concluded with dinner and an evening of relaxation. |
Presentation Day!
Friday June 19th, 2014
It's Friday! We were informed last night that today we would be showing off our activity areas with the other specialists in our division! I have met some amazing individuals so far from all over the world and I am extremely excited to share my favorite sport with them! Being the baseball specialist means that I am in the athletics division so I will be sharing my first period of lessons with all the athletic specialists in camp. The sports in camp include soccer, basketball, hockey, lacrosse, and baseball. We start the morning off with basketball, we do some dribbling and layup drills for about an hour. It is at the first station that the importance of meshing skill development with fun is pressed upon us, by turning the ball handling drills into races we forgot that we were trying to enhance a skill and just focused on having fun. We moved on to lacrosse, instead of working on drills we played a game called princess, pony, rider. This is a game that was brought to a camp by the lacrosse specialists. It does not enhance skill but it focuses on getting campers involved, excited, and moving. Even with adult counselor/specialists it proves to do just that. Hockey was rather uneventful, as much as I love the sport the counselor in charge of that area did not share the same enthusiasm as the rest of us and it took away from his area. Although it was unintentional, I also found this helpful, if I wanted baseball to be successful and fun for campers, I had to be enthusiastic and excited everyday to be there. Soccer was extremely well put together and organized. The drills were separated and after we finished we played a game implementing the dribbling skills we had used. Finally, it's my turn. I start by having everyone warm up their arms, this is more complicated than I had thought at first. Most of the counselors are from England and have never picked up a ball before so I try to teach the basic fundamentals. Then I move into to ground ball drills. My fellow counselors struggle with using mitts. I allow everyone to take their gloves off and we take ground balls bare handed. Performance improves and I take note that if a camper were to struggle there may be adjustments I have to make on the fly. After we finish our tutorials we have lunch and a free period to relax afterwards. In the afternoon I spend time fine tuning my lesson plans and making adjustments based on the things I learned throughout the day. The evening again is spent relaxing, socializing, and getting to know our fellow counselors/specialists. I'm told it won't be this way when the kids arrive.
It's Friday! We were informed last night that today we would be showing off our activity areas with the other specialists in our division! I have met some amazing individuals so far from all over the world and I am extremely excited to share my favorite sport with them! Being the baseball specialist means that I am in the athletics division so I will be sharing my first period of lessons with all the athletic specialists in camp. The sports in camp include soccer, basketball, hockey, lacrosse, and baseball. We start the morning off with basketball, we do some dribbling and layup drills for about an hour. It is at the first station that the importance of meshing skill development with fun is pressed upon us, by turning the ball handling drills into races we forgot that we were trying to enhance a skill and just focused on having fun. We moved on to lacrosse, instead of working on drills we played a game called princess, pony, rider. This is a game that was brought to a camp by the lacrosse specialists. It does not enhance skill but it focuses on getting campers involved, excited, and moving. Even with adult counselor/specialists it proves to do just that. Hockey was rather uneventful, as much as I love the sport the counselor in charge of that area did not share the same enthusiasm as the rest of us and it took away from his area. Although it was unintentional, I also found this helpful, if I wanted baseball to be successful and fun for campers, I had to be enthusiastic and excited everyday to be there. Soccer was extremely well put together and organized. The drills were separated and after we finished we played a game implementing the dribbling skills we had used. Finally, it's my turn. I start by having everyone warm up their arms, this is more complicated than I had thought at first. Most of the counselors are from England and have never picked up a ball before so I try to teach the basic fundamentals. Then I move into to ground ball drills. My fellow counselors struggle with using mitts. I allow everyone to take their gloves off and we take ground balls bare handed. Performance improves and I take note that if a camper were to struggle there may be adjustments I have to make on the fly. After we finish our tutorials we have lunch and a free period to relax afterwards. In the afternoon I spend time fine tuning my lesson plans and making adjustments based on the things I learned throughout the day. The evening again is spent relaxing, socializing, and getting to know our fellow counselors/specialists. I'm told it won't be this way when the kids arrive.
The Kids Arrive!
Saturday June 28th, 2014
Today was the day we have all been waiting for, the day the kids finally arrive! I wasn't quite sure what to expect and we have all been preparing the last week and a half, preparing our areas and being trained by outside professionals to handle multiple situations that might occur during the course of the summer. We awoke early for breakfast and made sure our bunks were clean and then we waited. As we sat upon the guest lawn of the camp we watched as the charter buses known as "Leprechaun buses" approached. They parked and off rolled the kids. It took awhile for us to collect all fifteen members of our bunk, once we did me and my co-counselors were in charge of getting them to their lice checks and then escorting them to our bunk so that they could get their things situated. They are many different kinds of kids in our bunk and they brought with them a lot of things that you would think are unnecessary for a sleep away camp, so the remainder of the morning was dedicated to the organization of our bunk. Once everyone was settled in we decided to do some ice breaker activities, we went around in a circle and shared information about ourselves. Then we played a communication that we learned in camp to emphasize the importance of communication in our bunk, it's called "tanks". This is a game played in a blocked off square with three individuals on a team, one person is the tank who is blindfolded, one is a shield who can block shots, and one person is the communicator. Only the communicator is allowed to speak and the area is filled with tennis balls. The communicator must direct his tank to the balls and point him in the direction of other tanks in order to eliminate them. We spent about an hour playing the game and then we allowed the campers to roam around the boys side of camp to socialize with their friends or hang around the cabin and play sports with us. After dinner the evening was capped with a boys side bond fire welcoming everyone back to camp.
Today was the day we have all been waiting for, the day the kids finally arrive! I wasn't quite sure what to expect and we have all been preparing the last week and a half, preparing our areas and being trained by outside professionals to handle multiple situations that might occur during the course of the summer. We awoke early for breakfast and made sure our bunks were clean and then we waited. As we sat upon the guest lawn of the camp we watched as the charter buses known as "Leprechaun buses" approached. They parked and off rolled the kids. It took awhile for us to collect all fifteen members of our bunk, once we did me and my co-counselors were in charge of getting them to their lice checks and then escorting them to our bunk so that they could get their things situated. They are many different kinds of kids in our bunk and they brought with them a lot of things that you would think are unnecessary for a sleep away camp, so the remainder of the morning was dedicated to the organization of our bunk. Once everyone was settled in we decided to do some ice breaker activities, we went around in a circle and shared information about ourselves. Then we played a communication that we learned in camp to emphasize the importance of communication in our bunk, it's called "tanks". This is a game played in a blocked off square with three individuals on a team, one person is the tank who is blindfolded, one is a shield who can block shots, and one person is the communicator. Only the communicator is allowed to speak and the area is filled with tennis balls. The communicator must direct his tank to the balls and point him in the direction of other tanks in order to eliminate them. We spent about an hour playing the game and then we allowed the campers to roam around the boys side of camp to socialize with their friends or hang around the cabin and play sports with us. After dinner the evening was capped with a boys side bond fire welcoming everyone back to camp.
Parents Visiting Day
Saturday July 12th, 2014
We have been at camp with the kids for two weeks now and today their parents came today to visit. My responsibilities were completely different today than what they usually are, instead of being out at the baseball field I was helping the kids decide where they wanted to take their parents today. I talked in depth with a couple parents in particular. The parents who were most concerned with their children were the ones already aware of their child's high level of energy. We have been having a hard time with the kids in our bunk listening in our bunk and really overall behavior, for the first week and a half it was quite concerning and some of the children even wanted to go home early. However, there have been improvements and even the smallest act of kindness between bunkmates is now being looked at as a victory. I tried my best to express the concerns that we had while also maintaining a professional and understanding tone with the parents. My job today was not to tell them that their child was acting up but to tell them we were making improvements and walk them through the steps we were taking in order to maximize the potential for the rest of the summer. After I spoke to the parents I was also responsible for helping set up the traditional barbecue lunch and worked in and out of the kitchen. I maintained the food on picnic tables and when we were beginning to run low on food, ran into the kitchen to grab the next serving. My role for the day, as insignificant and different as it was for me helped put things into perspective as to how much work really goes into the camp to help make it run smoothly. There was one camper today whose parents were pretty late and I was the only counselor around our bunk so I had my supervisor attempt to contact them. They eventually showed up but the look on his face was easily the lowest point of my day. The kids were pretty down after the parents left so we jumped right into our break out for Tribal War! This got everyone excited and now is still being talked about in the bunk.
We have been at camp with the kids for two weeks now and today their parents came today to visit. My responsibilities were completely different today than what they usually are, instead of being out at the baseball field I was helping the kids decide where they wanted to take their parents today. I talked in depth with a couple parents in particular. The parents who were most concerned with their children were the ones already aware of their child's high level of energy. We have been having a hard time with the kids in our bunk listening in our bunk and really overall behavior, for the first week and a half it was quite concerning and some of the children even wanted to go home early. However, there have been improvements and even the smallest act of kindness between bunkmates is now being looked at as a victory. I tried my best to express the concerns that we had while also maintaining a professional and understanding tone with the parents. My job today was not to tell them that their child was acting up but to tell them we were making improvements and walk them through the steps we were taking in order to maximize the potential for the rest of the summer. After I spoke to the parents I was also responsible for helping set up the traditional barbecue lunch and worked in and out of the kitchen. I maintained the food on picnic tables and when we were beginning to run low on food, ran into the kitchen to grab the next serving. My role for the day, as insignificant and different as it was for me helped put things into perspective as to how much work really goes into the camp to help make it run smoothly. There was one camper today whose parents were pretty late and I was the only counselor around our bunk so I had my supervisor attempt to contact them. They eventually showed up but the look on his face was easily the lowest point of my day. The kids were pretty down after the parents left so we jumped right into our break out for Tribal War! This got everyone excited and now is still being talked about in the bunk.
Tribals Day 1!
Sunday July 13th, 2014
Today was the first day of Tribal War which marks the end of the first three weeks of camp. It was awesome! The camp is broke down into four separate teams and they compete in different activities in order to earn points for their teams. Points are also awarded or deducted for spirit and sportsmanship. My responsibilities today weren't too different from what I usually do but instead of coaching the children I was a judge for different activities. I began by being an umpire for a kickball game. My role as the umpire and judge was to not only to enforce the rules of kickball but to also amend them to cater to the different age groups and skill levels of the campers at the events. This is a common theme throughout camp, if someone is not being successful during an activity, we need to put them in a position to succeed and either make it easier or motivate them to try harder. Throughout the day I helped move the campers from event to event and also judging multiple events. The only complaint I have about today is the fact that because I'm the baseball specialist the events I have been assigned to are all baseball based rules, I had hoped that I would have the opportunity to broaden my horizons and try different things, it just wasn't in the cards today. I was, however, one of the leaders among counselors when it came to spirit and helped to motivate our kids during team meetings. I forgot to mention that I'm on the red team. The other colors include blue, white, and gold. Throughout the day I also heard people talking about Color War at the end of the summer. It's supposed to blow Tribals out of the water.
Today was the first day of Tribal War which marks the end of the first three weeks of camp. It was awesome! The camp is broke down into four separate teams and they compete in different activities in order to earn points for their teams. Points are also awarded or deducted for spirit and sportsmanship. My responsibilities today weren't too different from what I usually do but instead of coaching the children I was a judge for different activities. I began by being an umpire for a kickball game. My role as the umpire and judge was to not only to enforce the rules of kickball but to also amend them to cater to the different age groups and skill levels of the campers at the events. This is a common theme throughout camp, if someone is not being successful during an activity, we need to put them in a position to succeed and either make it easier or motivate them to try harder. Throughout the day I helped move the campers from event to event and also judging multiple events. The only complaint I have about today is the fact that because I'm the baseball specialist the events I have been assigned to are all baseball based rules, I had hoped that I would have the opportunity to broaden my horizons and try different things, it just wasn't in the cards today. I was, however, one of the leaders among counselors when it came to spirit and helped to motivate our kids during team meetings. I forgot to mention that I'm on the red team. The other colors include blue, white, and gold. Throughout the day I also heard people talking about Color War at the end of the summer. It's supposed to blow Tribals out of the water.
Tribals Day 2
Monday July 14th, 2014
Today was the second day of the Tribal War. It was way better than the first. Instead of being responsible for only baseball based activities I spent the majority of the day helping to build our team raft. Counselors were not allowed to physically touch the raft or do anything to it but along with one of the good friends I have made here at camp we helped put together an amazing design that I think will beat the other teams. Campers will have to put their raft in the lake and paddle it to one end and then back, it should be pretty interesting. During our rest hour I also took a group of campers around the camp to look for the hidden arrow. The arrow is hidden around camp and clues are given during different periods of the day. The more clues it takes to find the arrow the less points the arrow is worth. I was still responsible during different periods to take care of baseball events but it was less than yesterday. I'm relieved to get out of my comfort zone to see and experience what else camp has to offer. There is one rule during Tribals and that is there is no competition within the bunk. The competition is never allowed to interfere with the cohesiveness of the bunk. Although we were struggling as a bunk, the successes and failures of the kids have brought them closer together and it was perfect timing.
Today was the second day of the Tribal War. It was way better than the first. Instead of being responsible for only baseball based activities I spent the majority of the day helping to build our team raft. Counselors were not allowed to physically touch the raft or do anything to it but along with one of the good friends I have made here at camp we helped put together an amazing design that I think will beat the other teams. Campers will have to put their raft in the lake and paddle it to one end and then back, it should be pretty interesting. During our rest hour I also took a group of campers around the camp to look for the hidden arrow. The arrow is hidden around camp and clues are given during different periods of the day. The more clues it takes to find the arrow the less points the arrow is worth. I was still responsible during different periods to take care of baseball events but it was less than yesterday. I'm relieved to get out of my comfort zone to see and experience what else camp has to offer. There is one rule during Tribals and that is there is no competition within the bunk. The competition is never allowed to interfere with the cohesiveness of the bunk. Although we were struggling as a bunk, the successes and failures of the kids have brought them closer together and it was perfect timing.
A Regular Day at the Office
Wednesday July 23rd, 2014
I realized tonight I have been writing about all the cool things camp has to offer and not very much of it has to do with my actual everyday responsibilities. Every morning at camp starts with wake up, followed by breakfast and a brief clean up period. I always have to leave before clean up is over in order to prepare the baseball field for the days activities. I start by raking the base lines and lining the field. After the field looks good I begin to take out all the equipment we will need, helmets, bats, gloves, and balls. By the time I finish setting all the equipment out the kids are usually there. We go out to left field and play catch to get the arms warmed up and then head back into the dugout. Activity periods are fifty minutes long so I try not to spend any more than ten minutes on throwing. We then break down into drills. Different bunks come on different days so I created a chart to keep track of what we do. I break it down into outfield, infield, hitting, catching and pitching, and then just a regular baseball game. So every period we do drills in accordance to the chart that I had created. The important thing about camp is, when kids behave and really participate reward them. Sometimes I would just throw away the lesson plan and we would play kickball, ultimate Frisbee, or my supervisors favorite, Brooklyn slap ball. Mornings are bunk periods but afternoon periods are electives so kids can choose where they want to go. In these cases I let the campers dictate what they want to do. Some kids are first baseman so we do those drills, some kids need more work hitting so we do that, its all case by case. After the last period of the day I return to my bunk and do my best to catch up on the days events and be a counselor for them. At around nine we put the kids to bed and sit on the porch for nightly duty.
I realized tonight I have been writing about all the cool things camp has to offer and not very much of it has to do with my actual everyday responsibilities. Every morning at camp starts with wake up, followed by breakfast and a brief clean up period. I always have to leave before clean up is over in order to prepare the baseball field for the days activities. I start by raking the base lines and lining the field. After the field looks good I begin to take out all the equipment we will need, helmets, bats, gloves, and balls. By the time I finish setting all the equipment out the kids are usually there. We go out to left field and play catch to get the arms warmed up and then head back into the dugout. Activity periods are fifty minutes long so I try not to spend any more than ten minutes on throwing. We then break down into drills. Different bunks come on different days so I created a chart to keep track of what we do. I break it down into outfield, infield, hitting, catching and pitching, and then just a regular baseball game. So every period we do drills in accordance to the chart that I had created. The important thing about camp is, when kids behave and really participate reward them. Sometimes I would just throw away the lesson plan and we would play kickball, ultimate Frisbee, or my supervisors favorite, Brooklyn slap ball. Mornings are bunk periods but afternoon periods are electives so kids can choose where they want to go. In these cases I let the campers dictate what they want to do. Some kids are first baseman so we do those drills, some kids need more work hitting so we do that, its all case by case. After the last period of the day I return to my bunk and do my best to catch up on the days events and be a counselor for them. At around nine we put the kids to bed and sit on the porch for nightly duty.
Senior Baseball GameDay
Friday July 25th, 2014
Today was a big day for the Upper Senior boys, it was the day of their Senior All-Star Game. I was up and at 'em very early this morning to make sure that we could get the game in. It rained really hard last night and the field had flooded. The entire home plate was under water along with the first and third base lines. So instead of coaching today I got to spend the day manicuring the field and getting it in working condition. I was not only responsible for getting the field ready but the mangers of camp wanted to give the game a real life feel so I was in charge of creating entertainment for campers in between innings and different activities throughout the game. I was alone for the better part of the day so I had time to think about what I wanted to do. I booked on of the camp bands during rest hour to come play during the game and helped the rock band specialist move the equipment to our field. In between innings I decided to shoot tennis balls out of the pitching machine to the crowd in the outfield, who were acting as a wall because there is no fence. While the game was going on the kitchen worked up some hand made soft pretzels to serve the kids. I was also able to put together little throwing courses and accuracy trials that campers could play with if they weren't interested in the game itself. After I got all that organized and had the field all prepped and ready to go I was asked to be a coach for one of the teams. It sounds like its not that big of a deal but to theses kids who have been coming here for seven-eight years its what they live for so I was honored. After the game I came back to the bunk and played infection, a tag like game, with my bunk.
Today was a big day for the Upper Senior boys, it was the day of their Senior All-Star Game. I was up and at 'em very early this morning to make sure that we could get the game in. It rained really hard last night and the field had flooded. The entire home plate was under water along with the first and third base lines. So instead of coaching today I got to spend the day manicuring the field and getting it in working condition. I was not only responsible for getting the field ready but the mangers of camp wanted to give the game a real life feel so I was in charge of creating entertainment for campers in between innings and different activities throughout the game. I was alone for the better part of the day so I had time to think about what I wanted to do. I booked on of the camp bands during rest hour to come play during the game and helped the rock band specialist move the equipment to our field. In between innings I decided to shoot tennis balls out of the pitching machine to the crowd in the outfield, who were acting as a wall because there is no fence. While the game was going on the kitchen worked up some hand made soft pretzels to serve the kids. I was also able to put together little throwing courses and accuracy trials that campers could play with if they weren't interested in the game itself. After I got all that organized and had the field all prepped and ready to go I was asked to be a coach for one of the teams. It sounds like its not that big of a deal but to theses kids who have been coming here for seven-eight years its what they live for so I was honored. After the game I came back to the bunk and played infection, a tag like game, with my bunk.
Tournament Time
Saturday July 26th, 2014
Its been a long couple of days. I had the Senior baseball game last night and today I was at a rival camp for a fourth grade baseball tournament. About a week ago I knew we had a tournament scheduled and I held tryouts for our fourth grade team during on of our shower hours. We didn't do much during the tryout, I really was just looking to see who could pitch and who could hit. At such a young age your either good at all of baseball or none of it. I have to say when we had the tryouts I wasn't so sure that the team I put together could be successful because I don't work at a sports camp, but I was proven wrong today. The morning started out just like any other, we had our bunk activity periods and then lunch. I was excused from the last period of the morning so that I could get our equipment together for the tournament. I met the kids at lunch and after we finished eating we were off to our competition. We arrived and immediately were ushered to the baseball field to begin. The kids didn't have very much time to warm up which I wasn't pleased about but they performed phenomenally our pitcher threw a shutout. There were four games in all and we and to win them all to be tournament champions. After the first game it was all down hill. I was in charge of keeping the campers safe along with managing the roster and team activities in between games. We only played five inning games and we ended up sweeping the tournament! It was amazing to see how happy the kids were after winning the entire thing. We returned to camp in time for second dinner and it was a casual night after that.
Its been a long couple of days. I had the Senior baseball game last night and today I was at a rival camp for a fourth grade baseball tournament. About a week ago I knew we had a tournament scheduled and I held tryouts for our fourth grade team during on of our shower hours. We didn't do much during the tryout, I really was just looking to see who could pitch and who could hit. At such a young age your either good at all of baseball or none of it. I have to say when we had the tryouts I wasn't so sure that the team I put together could be successful because I don't work at a sports camp, but I was proven wrong today. The morning started out just like any other, we had our bunk activity periods and then lunch. I was excused from the last period of the morning so that I could get our equipment together for the tournament. I met the kids at lunch and after we finished eating we were off to our competition. We arrived and immediately were ushered to the baseball field to begin. The kids didn't have very much time to warm up which I wasn't pleased about but they performed phenomenally our pitcher threw a shutout. There were four games in all and we and to win them all to be tournament champions. After the first game it was all down hill. I was in charge of keeping the campers safe along with managing the roster and team activities in between games. We only played five inning games and we ended up sweeping the tournament! It was amazing to see how happy the kids were after winning the entire thing. We returned to camp in time for second dinner and it was a casual night after that.
Battle of Soccer Hill
Thursday July 30th, 2014
Today was easily the best day at camp! My bunk, B7 won the Battle of Soccer Hill!. The Battle of Soccer Hill is a tradition within the junior division based on the show Game of Thrones. Each bunk in the division is designated a house in the show. We spent all day today designing shields and then building fortresses out of cardboard boxes for our battle. The battle was fought with water balloons and tennis balls, each team was given catapults in order to fire these projectiles. Extra ammunition was allocated to teams based on design decoration and spirit of the shields and fortresses. As the name states the battle took place on the camp soccer fields. Counselors were in charge of organizing their respective bunks and thereby more efficiently construct the fortresses. Each camper had their own individual shield. The battle was absolutely crazy! Our campers took turns firing the catapult and we did a lot of damage. It was cool because it taught the campers that in order for the team to succeed everyone needed to re3main at their assignments until it was their turn to fire. Points were awarded for direct hits which could be deflected with shields and then for having the sturdiest fortress. We were awarded the most points for direct hits and for having the sturdiest fortress! Our bunk has come along way and I am extremely proud of the progress they have made as human beings.
Today was easily the best day at camp! My bunk, B7 won the Battle of Soccer Hill!. The Battle of Soccer Hill is a tradition within the junior division based on the show Game of Thrones. Each bunk in the division is designated a house in the show. We spent all day today designing shields and then building fortresses out of cardboard boxes for our battle. The battle was fought with water balloons and tennis balls, each team was given catapults in order to fire these projectiles. Extra ammunition was allocated to teams based on design decoration and spirit of the shields and fortresses. As the name states the battle took place on the camp soccer fields. Counselors were in charge of organizing their respective bunks and thereby more efficiently construct the fortresses. Each camper had their own individual shield. The battle was absolutely crazy! Our campers took turns firing the catapult and we did a lot of damage. It was cool because it taught the campers that in order for the team to succeed everyone needed to re3main at their assignments until it was their turn to fire. Points were awarded for direct hits which could be deflected with shields and then for having the sturdiest fortress. We were awarded the most points for direct hits and for having the sturdiest fortress! Our bunk has come along way and I am extremely proud of the progress they have made as human beings.
Color War Breakout!
Saturday August 7th, 2014
Today was the day of Color War Breakout! Color War is the ultimate cap to the summer. It's like Tribal War, instead of four different teams its only two, blue and gold. I was placed on the blue team. Color War was broke out with a video from Curtis Granderson, that was pretty amazing. Afterwards everyone found out what team they were assigned to. The morning of the first day of Color War we did whats called a floating line up. Teams gathered at their respective areas and waited for a clue. Once the clue is given everyone races to the area alluded to, the team to get all their members to the designated first wins extra points for the floating line up. The day then continues on much like Tribals do. So far, I like Color War a lot better than Triblals. so far I have been a judge but I haven't been a judge for just baseball activities, I enjoy being classified in a more diverse jurisdiction. Today I have judged flag football, archery, and tug of war and although it seems like its not as much responsibility, its refreshing to know that the efforts we go through are not overlooked. Athletics are not the high point of the camp but there are still individuals who are extremely athletic and enable their team to advance athletically and spiritually as far as team spirit goes. It was heartening to see my own campers be better sports on the campus, especially considering where we came from. It was even better having my campers consider their fellow bunk and division mates, completely disregard themselves and aid the other team. I do not encourage this behavior but I understand the behavior within camp boundaries.
Today was the day of Color War Breakout! Color War is the ultimate cap to the summer. It's like Tribal War, instead of four different teams its only two, blue and gold. I was placed on the blue team. Color War was broke out with a video from Curtis Granderson, that was pretty amazing. Afterwards everyone found out what team they were assigned to. The morning of the first day of Color War we did whats called a floating line up. Teams gathered at their respective areas and waited for a clue. Once the clue is given everyone races to the area alluded to, the team to get all their members to the designated first wins extra points for the floating line up. The day then continues on much like Tribals do. So far, I like Color War a lot better than Triblals. so far I have been a judge but I haven't been a judge for just baseball activities, I enjoy being classified in a more diverse jurisdiction. Today I have judged flag football, archery, and tug of war and although it seems like its not as much responsibility, its refreshing to know that the efforts we go through are not overlooked. Athletics are not the high point of the camp but there are still individuals who are extremely athletic and enable their team to advance athletically and spiritually as far as team spirit goes. It was heartening to see my own campers be better sports on the campus, especially considering where we came from. It was even better having my campers consider their fellow bunk and division mates, completely disregard themselves and aid the other team. I do not encourage this behavior but I understand the behavior within camp boundaries.
Color War Day 2
Sunday August 8th, 2014
The second day was even crazier than the first day! We had our floating line ups and then our breakfast. Instead of focusing on my baseball expertise today, I got to help place other counselors in different areas and activities. I myself was able to not only judge activities other than baseball but I was also able to coach the kids on my team, which was an amazing experience. Instead of having to judge the campers on their attitude, effort, and spirit, I was instead able to help motivate the campers and be there for their successes and failures, pick them up when they fall short and celebrate when they go above and beyond. I coached a flag football team which was something I always wanted to do. I helped team leaders place counselors to judge and coach activities that we thought they would excel in based upon our knowledge of them. We did a pretty good job, by the end of the day we were leading the point total by over two hundred points! Tomorrow is going to be huge in contributing to a team victory, it's the Apache Relay, I don't know much about it but everyone around camp is buzzing and I can tell that the anticipation will be well warranted. The kids can't even fall asleep tonight and I myself am feeling a bit anxious
The second day was even crazier than the first day! We had our floating line ups and then our breakfast. Instead of focusing on my baseball expertise today, I got to help place other counselors in different areas and activities. I myself was able to not only judge activities other than baseball but I was also able to coach the kids on my team, which was an amazing experience. Instead of having to judge the campers on their attitude, effort, and spirit, I was instead able to help motivate the campers and be there for their successes and failures, pick them up when they fall short and celebrate when they go above and beyond. I coached a flag football team which was something I always wanted to do. I helped team leaders place counselors to judge and coach activities that we thought they would excel in based upon our knowledge of them. We did a pretty good job, by the end of the day we were leading the point total by over two hundred points! Tomorrow is going to be huge in contributing to a team victory, it's the Apache Relay, I don't know much about it but everyone around camp is buzzing and I can tell that the anticipation will be well warranted. The kids can't even fall asleep tonight and I myself am feeling a bit anxious
The Apache Relay!
Monday August 9th, 2014
Today I woke up to the sound of cheering and I looked outside, the girls side had begun their Apache Relay. The Apache Relay is a marathon race that includes over one hundred and twenty events and every camper must participate in some way shape or form. As the girls continued their race the boys went to go learn our alma mater's and fight songs. These songs will be sung during the closing ceremony of Color War and is weighed heaviest for points. I was assigned to the final ten stages of the relay. My responsibilities include positioning the campers at their respective areas and then running along side them to encourage them and make sure that they correctly complete the tasks that have been assigned to them. The beginning of the race was absolutely amazing, because I had the tail end of the race I chose to run the entire thing and support all of the campers running. The race was neck and neck the entire time. The final event of the race is known as the kettle boil. In order to finish the race campers had to start a fire with the help of counselors and then try to make water boil inside of a kettle so that it would whistle signifying the end of the race. Although the blue team started out in the lead we were unable to complete the kettle boil before the gold team, so we lost the race. Although we lost the race the girls were able to win and in the end of the day we still came out on top in points. Everyone is looking forward to tomorrow, the end of Color War and the symbolic end of the summer.
Today I woke up to the sound of cheering and I looked outside, the girls side had begun their Apache Relay. The Apache Relay is a marathon race that includes over one hundred and twenty events and every camper must participate in some way shape or form. As the girls continued their race the boys went to go learn our alma mater's and fight songs. These songs will be sung during the closing ceremony of Color War and is weighed heaviest for points. I was assigned to the final ten stages of the relay. My responsibilities include positioning the campers at their respective areas and then running along side them to encourage them and make sure that they correctly complete the tasks that have been assigned to them. The beginning of the race was absolutely amazing, because I had the tail end of the race I chose to run the entire thing and support all of the campers running. The race was neck and neck the entire time. The final event of the race is known as the kettle boil. In order to finish the race campers had to start a fire with the help of counselors and then try to make water boil inside of a kettle so that it would whistle signifying the end of the race. Although the blue team started out in the lead we were unable to complete the kettle boil before the gold team, so we lost the race. Although we lost the race the girls were able to win and in the end of the day we still came out on top in points. Everyone is looking forward to tomorrow, the end of Color War and the symbolic end of the summer.