Throughout the course of the summer, we impress upon our boys the importance of including others and making everyone feel like they are part of the family. During a typical day at camp, there are literally hundreds of times when a child is presented with an opportunity to do the right thing.
Here is one example that I witnessed today. A group of boys were playing basketball on the Warrior basketball court– a simple game of around the world. The concept of the game is to start at one corner of the court, and the first person who makes consecutive shots around the perimeter of the court, with the final shot from the opposite corner, wins the game.
Three boys started to play this game, but no one had yet made a shot from the final corner. Another camper came over and asked if he could join the game. While the simple answer would be “yes,” one camper quickly responded by saying that the game had already started and he would have to wait until the current game was finished before joining. Clearly, the camper who wanted to join the game felt rejected, and it was at that moment that the other two boys who were playing the game chimed in.
“We’re just playing a game,” he said. “This isn’t the NBA finals.”
The other boy responded with a very simple comment, “We don’t do that here.”
While most boys might become defensive and embarrassed that they did not have the support of those playing in the game, the first camper took the high road. He turned to the boy who wanted to join the game and said, “My bad, I got too caught up in the moment. Of course you can play.”
One of the most difficult things for a child to do is to stand up and use his voice when they see something happening that is unacceptable. Today, I witnessed a few of our boys using their voices, which turned a potentially negative situation into something very positive.
Camp Takajo Arch Ideal: Friendliness
- Today in Warrior Camp, we spent the morning indoors with some dodge ball and bingo as a big group. The afternoon was back to a regular schedule. This evening, some of our boys went out on a trip to the golf driving range for some practice.
- In Junior Camp today, a number of boys took an inter-camp trip to Camp Skylemar for a soccer competition, while the other half of the camp stayed to host the players from Skylemar.
