It’s been a long nine weeks since our staff first came together. The counselors here put in long days. We are up at 7 and are up working most nights until midnight. The days are hot, and if they aren’t hot, they’re rainy. Sometimes the kids can bring us up while other days they can be more challenging than anyone might expect. A counselor has to be mom, dad, doctor, coach, teacher, and psychiatrist, all before lunch. Considering all of this, we expect our staff to be tired, exhausted, and totally drained coming in to the last week of resident camp this summer. Then we ask them to find whatever gas they have left in the tank and leave it all on the field.
What absolutely thrilled me today was that not only have our staff answered this call, they have gone above and beyond what is expected. Playing at camp today had the energy of a fresh group of counselors with the feel of an experienced group of role models.
I spent much of my day down at the land sports field, stepping in to fill Roger’s shoes for the day, so I’ll give you guys a bit of an idea of how today went through my eyes. After breakfast the boy’s all decided on their progressive skills for the week. Progressive skill gives everyone the chance to learn new things from our unique set of counselors. The guys put together some really cool choices this week, some of which included the formation of an air band and Ockanickon’s Royal Navy. Pat and Kyle are hosting Progressive “Do-Good” in which the group heads out around camp doing good deeds and cheering on other skill groups.
After we came back together in the bowl everyone headed out in to cabin activity. I hung out with Cabins 3, 5, and 7 at the courts to play a few rounds of dodgeball before Cherokee village came down to play Acid Tag and Pinwheel. Right before lunch, Oneida visited the courts and we played one of my very favorite games, Speedball, a combination of soccer and basketball. After Jason and his crew cooked us up some hot dogs for lunch, the Mohawks joined me for a few innings of baseball before we made our way down to the waterfront to cool off. What impressed me most today out at land sports was how all of our campers were able to take new instructions, run with them, and still manage to be respectful of each other while having a good time.
After dinner the villages went their separate ways to enjoy a number of different evening activities, a couple of which were H2O Ultimate Frisbee and Star Wars Dodgeball. Right now everybody is settling down for the night, brushing their teeth and climbing into their bunks for a good’s night rest before we do it all again tomorrow.
Dave Kaubin
Boy’s Program Director