We are back to quintessential summer weather. I could feel the dew points increasing and some humidity in the air. By the time the boys left the bunks for first period activities, we insisted that all sweatshirts be left behind so that we didn’t have huge amounts of lost and found after our first round of activities. Our boys broke a great sweat as all fields and courts were in full swing this morning. To top it off, no one complained about instructional swim.
I heard great reports from our Senior Intermediates, who enjoyed their first excursion out of camp. The boys loved bowling in their private bowling alley and having complete access to Sunday River Resort. With the exception of one camper dialing 911 from the Snow Cap Inn, reports were that our boys were well behaved, which was confirmed by the police officer who arrived on the property. Our SubSeniors boarded their buses and will follow our Intermediates, experiencing the same itinerary, just one day behind.
The second round of Zoom calls was a huge success. The feedback from parents was incredibly positive. The boys were more relaxed and less startled at the sight of their parents. Having all of our boys call by age group, at the same time, creates a balanced “playing field” and eliminates the unnecessary stress of waiting for your name to be called to the phone.
This week, Warrior Camp is creating All-Star games for all of our campers. We will be breaking our boys into groups based on comparable ability to make sure that the teams are fair and balanced. These games will be very competitive for our boys who are looking for the extra challenge and a fun learning experience for those boys who have a lack of exposure to a particular sport but are eager to learn. (The Warrior Green versus Grey all-star baseball game was live-streamed on Facebook this evening, and the recording remains there.)
One of the wonderful aspects of being in a traditional summer camp is providing children with the opportunity to play all sports. Unfortunately, nowadays, many local programs all but force children to play a single sport with multiple seasons and threaten reduced playing time if a family won’t commit to participating throughout the entire year. Often this results in children committing to a particular sport at a very young age. There is often early burn-out, fatigue, and even risk of injury as younger children’s bodies are still developing and more prone to repetitive strain injuries.
Over the years, I have noticed more children who do not know how to throw a baseball because there is no time left in their schedules to play youth baseball in their local communities. Camp provides an opportunity for our boys to cross-train, and I firmly believe that you become a better athlete when you play multiple sports. The same footwork that’s required in basketball is needed in tennis. The agility and speed that are needed in soccer are also needed in lacrosse. Just imagine going to a gym and working solely on one body part. If you do curls, you develop a big bicep; when you cross-train, you get a balanced, total body workout.
During the last few weeks of camp, we will give our boys the opportunity to play many sports so that they can develop the skills and confidence to return home, ready to play on their local teams.
