Author: Brian Kooperman

The Humpback Whales are the Session 2 2016 BSL Champs! Congrats to them and to all of the teams on an incredible season.

It is one more spectacular day here at camp—what a way to finish out our session and season! Color War activities consumed most of the day (and we took a few breaks to do some cleaning and packing!) and the evening will finish with our Banquet (where all staff and campers enjoy a delicious meal together and celebrate the season) and our Final Campfire.

Thank you, once again, for a great summer. We wish everyone a wonderful year ahead, and we can’t wait to see you all next summer!

Day two of Color War was busy! Campers spent the entire day in Color War competition. There were guys dressed in yellow and red sprinting from event to event as they earned points in soccer, handball and basketball. Everyone took advantage of rest-hour to re-fuel for the afternoon’s continuation of games.

Before dinner, we enjoyed the Color War Hockey Game (tons of cheering from both teams as their friends competed on the ice!) Following the hockey game, the rink was open to the whole camp for a free-skate.

Dinner was a camp favorite-cookout night!

And finally, our evening ended with the BSL Championship Games. We will update you tomorrow when we can announce the Session 2 2016 BSL Champs!

Color War has begun! This morning at breakfast, we had a great surprise. While we were listening to the day’s announcements, the front doors burst open and Slugger, the awesome Sea Dogs’ Mascot, came running in to Break Color War! The teams were divided up and everyone headed to the gym for the first event—Dodgeball!

Throughout the next few days, campers will compete in all sorts of games and activities to earn points for their teams (this year we have the red team-Cavaliers and the yellow team-Penguins). Today, there was a big kickball game, a “Chopped” cooking competition, and a “Jeopardy” contest.

In between Color War events, there is still time for the boys to get work-outs in, in their majors, and we are still waiting to crown the BSL Champs of the session. This evening’s activities included games in flag football, street hockey and ultimate Frisbee.

It has been a spectacular, Maine, summer day outside—the sun was shining all day and it is a perfect temperature for sleeping tonight!

The fishing report was excellent—in at least two of the periods, multiple fish were reeled in! I think the boys have really become experts this session. Another group of campers were still excited about the handball and volleyball games they had played in, and this was hours after the games had concluded! And finally in minors’ news, the golfers hit the driving range for some practice and the archery counselor reported a few more Bulls-Eyes!

The lacrosse majors did a 4v3 drill and then worked on fast breaks and ended the day with a full-field 3 on 2 drill. Basketball ran 3 of the more complex drills for the majority of practice and then finished with a scrimmage. And on the soccer field, they are mastering the quick-possession drill and then finished with shooting drills and a scrimmage. Coach Warde has the hockey guys in great shape and they are holding some competitive scrimmages in the afternoon sessions.

It was a big day in the dining hall–we all enjoyed waffles with an assortment of fresh fruit and berries for breakfast, and then had our final Taco Tuesday lunch. This evening there were 5 different types of pizza and soda!

Tonight the boys are involved with the BSL play-offs. It is hard to believe we are almost ready to declare champsions!

Monday 8/1

This morning, the campers returned to their weekday schedules and went about doing their work-outs in their majors and for a while in the afternoon, regular outdoor activities were altered a bit due to a much needed rain-shower. The campers enjoyed an entertaining Bingo session, a free-skate at the rink and some games in the gym. We are lucky to have so many great indoor arenas to use on the rare, rainy day!

The minors I observed today were weight-training and fitness, where the 12-and-under group ran a medicine ball relay and did other fitness drills, and volleyball-where I caught the action in the middle of a close game between the 13-and-over group.

As always, we have been well-fed today. The campers especially loved the French toast at breakfast and the chicken sandwiches at lunch!

This evening (still a little rainy here), there will be free-play in the gym, a movie in the Humanities Center, and some games in the Wolverine Den (I heard that a ping pong tournament was in the works!).

An overcast, cooler day set the stage for a perfect “Lazy Bones Sunday”. Campers slumbered late and then feasted on the breakfast and Dunkin Donuts treats. Sundays are quite low-key in the mornings, and the guys enjoy this time to take things more slowly than usual. However, by late morning, everyone is usually ready for some activity!
This week, the 1st Sunday special event was broomball and the campers had a blast playing this crazy variation of hockey/street hockey. Each group, Rookies, Pro’s and Seniors, had a designated game and time up at the Ice Rink.
Lunch today was an assortment of fajitas, salads and M&M cookies, and following the meal, the counselors introduced a new BSC activity/competition called “Dorm Wars.” The contests, among the floors in each of the dorms, began immediately after “Rest Hour”. The dorms challenged each other in flag football, Whiffle-ball, kickball, and volleyball. Also, held this afternoon were some of the BSL play-off games.
The evening activity is phone calls home and then free play!

Yesterday’s rain was quickly replaced by another bright, sunny day! After an exciting Casino Night, the campers enjoyed a little sleep-in this morning and then moved on to a morning dedicated to their majors.
In basketball, they concentrated on post player work. Drills included a focus on drop-step and up and under moves. During the second half of practice, all players did a conditioning workout with plenty of sprints. They concluded the morning with free-throw practice. It was an excellent effort overall!
Up at the rink, Coach Warde continues to see improvement as the players work through the series of drills that are now become more and more familiar. The scrimmages are starting to look quite impressive as the skills learned are implemented into real game situations.
“Suit-Up Saturday” was the highlight on the lacrosse field. Coaches and staff dressed and participated along with the lacrosse majors in a 7v7 scrimmage. They also worked on fast-breaks and the goalies had individual work-outs with their coach.
Baseball majors had a great morning going through the competitive drills and playing Home Run Derby, Fly Ball and Ground Ball Knock-Out and doing running drills. Again, Coach tracks running times so that the players can see their progress throughout the session.
And last, but certainly not least, the soccer players continue to perfect their passing skills by concentrating on multi-pass series in their grid possession drills. The majority of the morning session today was a full-field scrimmage. The counselors noted that passing was sharp and workout drills are positively affecting the game-play.
There were lots of fans at the 16-and-under baseball inter-camp game this afternoon. Our BSC team walked away with a big win!
This evening, there were some more BSL games after dinner, but the highlight, Movie Night, followed! It was a nice, relaxing evening at Camp—a perfect segue to Lazy Bones Sunday!

Casino Night!

Finally, we had a day with some short rain showers! No one minded this slightly cloudy day—in fact, the temps were perfect and all activities carried on as usual.

The Lacrosse majors are enjoying their time on the field. This morning they played a very competitive 7v7 scrimmage. Coach was impressed with the passing especially, and says that this group of majors are a fun, and extremely hard-working bunch of athletes.

There were more inter-camp games held throughout the day. In the afternoon, the Rookies left camp to play a Kickball Game and finally, the 13-and-under Flag Football group hosted a game here at BSC. We had lots of camper support at the football field—so fun to see the guys rally around their camp teammates!

This evening, our photographer will capture the Wolverine Den’s transformation into a bustling casino! Everyone is excited to try their hands at blackjack, roulette, craps and high-stakes poker. I’ve heard lots of talk of cotton candy and popcorn machines too! Stay tuned for the pictures tomorrow.

Trips and Adventures

This morning the campers headed out in three groups on three totally different adventures!

Our seniors were the first ones up and out. They boarded their bus at 6:30am to drive north for their white-water rafting excursion. Always an amazing experience, the seniors enjoy a full day on the river (with rapids and “Magic Falls” to keep them on their toes) where they paddle, swim, and eat a delicious lunch of steak, chicken, and/or veggie burgers prepared over an open fire mid-way down the river.

The CIT’s were lucky enough to earn a trip to Boston! After Spending some time at Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market and exploring the city a bit, they attended a Red Sox Baseball game at Fenway Park!

And finally, the Rookies and Pros departed later in the morning for the much-anticipated journey to FunTown/SplashTown Amusement and Water Park. It is a full day of fun as they hop back and forth from the rides (think rollercoasters, log flume, and rides with names like “Thunderbolt”, “Astrosphere” and “Dragon’s Descent!”) and games to the slides and pools.

By 10:00pm tonight, all campers were back at camp, safe and sound, and very tired.

I can’t wait to hear all their stories about these amazing trips!

Busy Day of Matches and Games

It was a busy day at camp. We started with pancakes at breakfast (along with the other usual items: eggs, bacon, oatmeal, cold cereal selection and the fresh fruit/yogurt), had tacos mid-day (on Taco Tuesday, of course!) and finished with a favorite dinner: pizzas and sodas!

In majors this morning, the soccer players focused on their passing accuracy, off-ball movement and game IQ. They are a hard-working and enthusiastic group according to the counselors.

At the waterfront, our canoeing minor is ever-popular this session. We are lucky to have a beautiful route along the shoreline which leads to a cove. There is a little river and bridge at the edge where they can practice some maneuvering skills. Most of the canoe periods end with a cool swim in the lake!

I caught a street hockey game where they were playing a game of 5v5 and the first team to score 11 would be the winner. As they typically do after the game winner has been determined, there is a just-for-fun, shoot-out!

This afternoon our 15-and-under soccer players went to a local camp for a game, and it sounded like it was an excellent match with a close finish (unfortunately, in favor of the other team). And our campers are all getting fired-up to cheer on our basketball players tonight in another camp vs. camp match-up. The plan is to fill the stands with cheering BSC fans!