Rumor has it that some humid summer weather is in the forecast for Camp Takajo. In the meantime, we continue to enjoy the bright sunshine and temperatures in the high seventies– perfect for competing in land sports and warm enough to not discourage our boys from jumping in the lake for instructional swim. We took advantage of Point Sebago Golf Course and brought a few more groups out to play on this magnificent eighteen-hole golf course.
During pre-season, our pioneering staff arrived in camp two weeks prior to opening day. Under the leadership of our head pioneer, Chris Young, our staff received their Maine State trip leading certification, as well as CPR, first aid, and emergency rescue training. Chris and his staff have already taken four groups out to explore the incredible, scenic wilderness areas that surround our camp. We are so blessed to have incredible mountains and lakes within driving distance that it is easy for us to take small groups of campers out on day hikes and canoe trips and return in time for dinner. We intend on running trips every week and giving boys at all age levels the opportunity to experience the rustic beauty of Maine.
This afternoon during lunch, I took some time and sat with a Takajo legend, who has made an incredible impact on countless young men during his tenure. Kevin Eagleson began his career at Takajo back in the mid-1970s. Kevin traveled from the west coast, where he was captain of the Santa Clara basketball team, back in the early seventies when Santa Clara was number two in the nation behind UCLA. Kevin was the starting point guard and had a work ethic on and off the court that is legendary. During my years as a camper, I spent every available minute of my day on the Senior basketball court with Kevin. Kevin was the kind of coach who knew how to reach deep into your soul and pull out every ounce of effort that you are capable of giving. The workouts were hard and demanding, he had the unique ability to see the weakness in one’s game and teach you to make it one of your greatest strengths. When a basketball period would end and you felt you had nothing left to give, he would bring you into the weight room for a strength training workout. Somehow these workouts always ended up with a dip in the lake, where your body would rejoice when you took the plunge. In typical fashion, Kevin would pick up the basketball floating in the water and challenge me to water basketball. He was relentless, and while the workouts were grueling, I became a better basketball player and learned as many life lessons off the court as I did on the court.
After a long hiatus, Kevin has returned to Takajo. In typical form, he spends his days on the Senior basketball court, working with our 7th-, 8th-, and 9th-grade campers. With his unique style, he has earned the respect of our boys who naturally gravitate towards him and somehow know instinctively that this man is special. They will become better if they remain in his presence. If you have spoken with your son about basketball and his goal is to improve this summer, I would encourage you to pepper your son with emails and suggest he take advantage of this incredible talent that we are fortunate enough to have in camp.
