Author: Brian Kooperman

Your kids want to go to camp for a variety of reasons: to swim, boat, craft, play games, sleep in a bunk, make up stories, sing songs, eat s’mores, and stay up late. Who among us wouldn’t want to spend many warm weeks of summer having fun with our friends? And while parents endorse all those endeavors, fondly recalling sing-a-longs around campfires, secret languages made up in the dark, and days on end spent in wet bathing suits, the real reason we send our kids to camp? It’s the independence.

Sending our kids to camp lets us give them the freedom we remember from our youth. Freedom to play and be adventurous, to explore and discover nature and ourselves, away from the eyes of adults. Camp life is an alternate reality that is controlled yet wild. We can trust that our kids are safe, being watched over by counselors and staff, but with space to get immersed in the outdoors, to form their own tribes, to go a little native in the deep woods of Maine.

The kids know that camp is a special place. That it’s kind of a magical world that exists apart from and outside the one we inhabit the other ten months of the year. Campers are aware that it’s an escape from the pressures of the school year. What they may not realize is that they are acquiring skills, through play and everyday activities that help them grow and develop, independent of parental guidance.

You are giving your kids the incredible gift of self-discovery and the confidence gained through succeeding at tasks, whether a ropes course or simply getting up, dressed, and ready for the day all by themselves. The secret of camp is daily incremental growth intertwined with self-assurance. At the end of their weeks away you will be so impressed by your small person, how proud they are, how strong they have become.

A summer away at camp in Maine can change your child in these two distinct ways. First, that they happily unplug and commit to play and the quiet study of the world around them you thought had been lost in the unblinking eye of technology. And two, that they have transformed into a more capable, competent human being. More childish wonder and more independence, all at once. And it happened without them even knowing it.

Camp teaches kids something every single moment of every day, even when we all are at play.

First and most importantly I want to thank all BSC campers/staff for making 2014 the best summer ever!
Our daily camp blog and pictures from around camp provided parents a glimpse into their son’s experience away from home. The importance of this feature was evident by the ton of phone calls and emails we received when the pictures weren’t posted by a certain time ☺
I often think back to when I was a camper and wonder how my parents made it through seven weeks with no blog, pictures or communication. However, I realize we live in a different time and it’s important to embrace the technology available to us. I know parents feel comfortable when they can see their child active, playing in his major sport or read about an inter-camp tournament that we are competing in. What you don’t see from a picture or blog and what you are hopefully hearing now are all of the camp stories and lessons learned from on/off the fields, new friendships that were formed and those that have carried over from summers past. It is these moments that will help develop your child’s character and be invaluable as he re-connects with friends and family and throughout the school year.
A personal highlight for me this summer happened the last night of camp. I was in the office late when a few of the CIT’s came in and wanted to talk. This years CIT group was the largest yet and most of them have been campers since the inception of BSC. They had very mixed emotions; upset over the realization that their camp career was over, but we enjoyed reminiscing about the past. I told them how my experiences as a camper are still with me today and how they ultimately decided my career path. My hope for them is to focus on all of the good camp has brought them…the stories, memories, and friendships will always remain strong and that is what camp is all about!
Enjoy the rest of your summer and we will be in touch.
Koop

Day two of color war brought the Spurs and Kings even closer. They competed in soccer, basketball, and flag football these sports were all done in a rotation. Rookies, Pros’s and Seniors played all three sports against each other. There were little to no points deducted. Which means there was fair play and good sportsmanship.

At line up the Kings are in the lead by a mere 5 points….320 to 325. Tomorrow should be quite exciting. Color war looks like it might all be decided on the whacked up relay race.

The Ducks won the BSC league in a game of cricket. They will be celebrating with a pizza party.

Color War is now in full swing. Points were tallied at lunch. All majors this morning had competition. On the soccer field the athletes were broken into their respective color wars teams ( Spurs & Kings) and competed in a series of juggling, shooting, long balling, and endurance exercises. Both teams had fantastic attitudes that made the morning fun and enjoyable. The Spurs came out on top with a 12-9 victory on the pitch today.

Basketball, Hockey, Baseball and Lax all did their respective drills for points. Good sportsmanship is stressed and points are added or taken away accordingly.

This afternoon the competition was taken off the fields. There was broom ball matches on the ice, a cook off in the dinning hall, and arts & crafts in the wolverine den. For arts & crafts the campers worked on a banner for their team.

At line up the score for the day Kings 179 & Spurs 173. This is amazingly close.

Tonight is the final BSC league followed by making your own ice cream sunday in the Wolverine Den.

We couldn’t have asked for a better day for Fun Town Slash Town. The counselors were armed with plenty of sunblock. The day was divided between the water park and the rides. I heard this was the first time on some rides for our more adventurous daring campers. They all came back cheering and shouting. I am always amazed at how much energy they

Now for some more excitement. Koop arranged for a really awesome magician to perform for the evening activity. We gathered in the school church and were completely amazed by the allusion and tricks the magician had up his sleeve. He had a lot of the campers participating, and I could tell they were in complete awl. Truly an amazing performance!!!

For his grand finale………..

He broke color war. Let the games begin.

Back to our normal schedule. Majors first period, then a minor before lunch.
At the tail end of third period we had a sudden rain shower. I was in the middle of the lake, and lax players were up on the field not letting the rain interfere. Eventually we all ended up in the gym for a quick round of dodge ball. Just as fast as it rained the sun was back out and activities were back to normal.

For choose up the Gore-locks played the Thunder Ducks in our intramural basketball league. Tomorrow we will find out the league winner. Speaking of winners….. we have room inspection every day. At the end of the week the winners from each age group go into town for the best homemade ice cream in the world.

We had an incredible line up at the end of the day. There were shout outs for so many accomplishments. The campers have now started to stand up and give their own shout outs for their fellow campers. At the end of line up we have… THE JOKE OF THE DAY. You’ll have to look at the pics to see who got the bucket.

For evening activity we had the BSL finals. Results will be in tomorrow.

Another Lazy Bones for the boys. Last night was a late night for the rookies so many took advantage of a little more sleep this morning. The breakfast buffet is served from nine to 10.

The 11 and under soccer team left for an away match and the 15 and under hosted their game here. Sadly we lost both our soccer tournaments, but the boys played as a team and cheered their teammates on to the last second of the game. While this was happening we had campers playing basketball and competing in the tennis tournament. We’re making our way to the quarter finals.

Lunch was cold cuts, and everyone made their own sandwich on a croissant, roll, or wrap.

After rest hour all boys that missed wake boarding/water skiing due to bad weather had the opportunity to head to the waterfront this afternoon. The boat has been going non stop.

There was a lax match up on the field, basketball leagues were on the court, and a gaga round robin. We even had a chill period up on the field. Phone calls tonight and then we start our final, but busiest week of the session. So many exciting events to look forward to.

The sixteen and under basketball team lost by a mere two points. They played as a team and showed such good sportsmanship. You would be proud!

Today we hosted another camp for a baseball game. One of our pitchers had a no hitter for three innings. Many of the boys came to watch and cheer our team. We won 8-3.

In case you saw some pictures of our unconventional warm-up in soccer today:
“Light warm-up using the volleyball net before getting into the shooting drill and small-sided games. The summer is coming to its end but soccer never stops.”
Today in hockey it was “suit up Saturday”
I spent the afternoon down at the lake. The boys were wake boarding, skiing, and tubing. Oh, almost forgot there were quite a lot of fish caught today. One camper caught 12. Is someone stocking the lake??
There was a lot of cheering in he dinning hall. Why?– the rookies were invited to Koop’s house to watch a movie.

Another picture perfect Maine day.

Majors this morning were intense. After a good stretch and warm up they worked on drills. It’s amazing how the coaches keep coming up with all these different drills in each sport. I’m sure the boys are starting to see their strength, speed and endurance improve in their respective major.

In soccer:
Shooting on goal with power and finesse: the perfect balance of fun, learning and competition. The boys were testing our goalkeeper and he showed us that he is up to the challenge making some truly spectacular saves.
Thank you Coach Mariano

This afternoon the 12 and under boys headed out of camp for a kickball match. Congratulations on another win!!!!!!

Along with the inter-mural basketball tournament, our BSC leagues, we also have a tennis tournament happening. The first round has just started.

Thanksgiving in July for dinner. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, string beans, and cranberry sauce were a huge hit. Cheese cake was served for desert.

BSC leagues tonight and I believe it was capture the flag and ultimate Frisbee.

From stretching in baseball to king of the court in tennis this morning the campus was packed from one end to the other with out door activity. I was so busy watching the boys have a great tennis session I never made it to the lake to take pictures.

This morning in hockey was Battle Day. The stations were:
1. Alaska 1×1 shadow
2. Union 1×1 back check
3. Power skating
4. Olympic passing
5. 1×1 Net Front Protect
6. 1×1 Tight Area
Thank you Coach Warde. I know all the hockey dads will appreciate that!!!!

Another long line in the dinning hall! Yummm, homemade chocolate chip cookies.

The boys had a little free time after rest hour before the buses pulled out for the Portland Sea Dogs game. A little free time??? Off to the Gaga pit they went in their Bridgton Blues.

GO SEA DOGS!!!!