When I was a camper at Camp Takajo, we played four major sports: baseball, basketball, soccer, and tennis. Lacrosse was not part of our program, and we had never even heard of street hockey.
Because we have a sufficient number of boys at each grade level in camp, we feel fortunate that we do not have to mix grades when competing in sports. Many camps believe that it is best to allow children to select their sport of choice by signing up on a blackboard. In theory, that sounds great, until you show up at a soccer field and only twelve boys arrive when you need twenty-two to have a game. By making even, balanced teams by grade level, our boys get to compete with others who are physically, socially, chronologically, and athletically at their level.
It takes us two weeks to complete a cycle in our athletic leagues. After each team has competed against every other team in its division, in every sport, we begin a new league cycle. This keeps our athletic games fun and competitive. We recognize that boys want to specialize in certain sports. Because of the increased pressure from hometown coaches for children to specialize at a younger age, we have introduced specialty camps at Camp Takajo.
This week, we have Michael Turtle, owner of Soccer Specific Training, in camp running soccer clinics five times a day for boys of all ability levels. Michael, who holds several coaching licenses, including a NSCAA Premier Diploma, USSF A license and an English FA coaching badge, is a native of Crosby, Liverpool in the UK, is a product of The Crosby Stuart and Marine AFC youth programs, where he played semi-professional football before beginning his coaching career. He is a Former Rider University Men’s Assistant Coach and is currently a physical education teacher, residing in Ocean, New Jersey with his wife, Lizabeth, and twin boys, Luke and Jace.
Campers have the opportunity to opt-out of their normally scheduled programs, so they can train in soccer all week. We also have professional coaches, who will be running clinics in baseball, basketball, and lacrosse throughout the summer. Please encourage your boys to take advantage of all that Camp Takajo has to offer this summer.
