Author: Jason Stone
Camper – A Day In The Life: Saturday July 1st
LAST NIGHT – Friday – (sorry we didn’t post yesterday!)
Friday night came to an end with a surprise. Some pretty cool musicians came to camp to put on a great show for our campers. A bunch of them got called on stage to participate in different songs. The stage was rocking and the kids were having a blast dancing to the music.
TODAY
Saturday morning comes with a bit of a late wakeup. Instead of our normal 7:45am whistle, everyone gets to sleep for an extra hour. This morning, fluffy golden silver dollar pancakes were at the breakfast line, along with a yogurt bar. I myself needed to wash it all down with a glass of our famous chocolate milk (that I mentioned the other day). Per usual, campers and counselors head to their dorms after the meal for the final clean-up of the week. After today we will add up the total scores from each dorm and send the winning rooms into town tomorrow for ice cream (on our brand new pontoon boat!!). Always important to teach our campers to keep their rooms neat and tidy.
As a result of our late wakeup, on Saturday’s we go straight into majors at the activity whistle. From 10am – 12pm campers hit the fields, the pitch, the court & the rink for skills & drills followed by some game play. The sun beamed down on us as campers focused on getting better and working hard. Besides wearing sunscreen, it is important to stay extra hydrated when playing. Every morning we make sure there is plenty of water at all the facilities.
Lunch consisted of pulled pork sandwiches and macaroni and cheese. Really tough to beat that! Oh, and chocolate cake and fruit lined the dessert bar. Is there anything better to follow lunch than rest hour? I don’t think so. It is a great time for campers and counselors to have the opportunity to wind down and rest up for the afternoon activities.
INTERCAMP
Instead of having a rest hour, some of our 12 and unders got to experience the first intercamp session of the summer. 15 of them and some coaches traveled 30 minutes to Camp Wildwood for a mini flag football tournament. Our guys had an awesome time playing against some of the other camps. The tournament got cut a little short due to some weather, but they came back to camp with big smiles on their face and excited to have been apart of it.
NIGHT TIME
As dinner time rolled around, some nasty weather hit the Bridgton area. We got into the dining hall a little early, just before the rain hit. We ate dinner, played table games, had fun with some chanting and all was well. The rain didn’t stop us from having our weekly Saturday night at the movies. We all stayed in the dining hall, and as an entire camp, we enjoyed some warm brownies and watched an all time classic, The Mighty Ducks.
It was another great day at camp. The rain stopped and our campers returned safely to their dorms and hung out and got ready for bed. Tomorrow is our first Lazy Bones Sunday of the season. I think everyone is looking forward to some extra sleep after a great first week. So, until tomorrow everyone – signing off.
Wishing all of our families a Happy 4th of July weekend,
The Bridgton Sports Camp Staff
Camper – A Day In The Life: Thursday June 29th
Bridgton Sports Camp director Brian Kooperman starts off every morning the same way, and today was no different. He woke up, went for his run and then hit the office to get some work done before the mayhem begins. At exactly 7:15am, the division leaders came into Koop’s office for their daily meeting. They recap the previous night and discuss what will be happening for the day. No matter what, once 7:45 hits, the whistle is blown and the campers are getting up and making their way to breakfast.
As usual the rookies are up and ready to go, eager to get to the dining hall first. The professionals are ready, but they’re moving at a much slower pace. The seniors do not care about eating first. They very slowly, with counselors assistance of course, make their way out of their bed and up to breakfast. The room was pretty quiet this morning as everyone was enjoying eating french toast and watching the morning Sportscenter.
It was a beautiful morning. The waterfront was clicking on all cylinders and majors and minors were moving at their usual fast pace. 4 days into camp, and the schedule is now routine. Counselors were doing an amazing job running their activities and making sure campers were where they needed to be at the proper times.
Ice Hockey is one of our most popular major periods. The program is led by Bridgton Academy’s head coach, Mike Warde who runs an incredible program here at camp. Today’s period started off with a warm up where players circled Coach Warde and skated forwards and backwards at different speeds. The players then put their skills to the test with stick handling circuit training, quick transitioning, and finally moving into a 3-on-3 scrimmage.
Unfortunately, the sun can’t always shine all day, and after lunch the rain came and forced a little schedule change. Ice Hockey campers got to play, while the rest of us had to move to some indoor activities. For 90 minutes, rookies and professionals went and played jeopardy and other fun board games, and seniors had an indoor handball tournament. After the ice hockey period was done, the entire camp had the opportunity to enjoy a free skate. Campers and counselors hit the ice. It was awesome being able to see some kids get up on skates for the first time! It was a fun experience for everyone who attended and hopefully we’ll have the opportunity to do it again.
Dinner was a cookout special with the classic hamburgers and hot dogs. After dinner, the rain stopped and we had our 3rd night of Bridgton Sports League (BSL). Games of kickball, handball, volleyball and cricket were competitive and fun. When the games ended, the rookies went back to their dorms to shower and get ready for bed while the professionals and seniors enjoyed some free play and got to hangout in the wolverine den before it was their time to head back to the dorms.
It was another great day of camp, and as always, we cannot wait until we get to do it all over again tomorrow.
Yours Truly,
The Bridgton Sports Camp Staff
Camper – A Day In The Life: Wednesday June 28th
Camp is underway!
The foggy morning in Bridgton, Maine carried a sky full of sunshine as day three of camp started at 7:45 with the sound of the whistle. Campers scampered up the steep, concrete hill of Bridgton Academy to see what kind of delicious food was waiting for them in the Dining Hall. The menu read waffles, sausage, home fries, and some delicious donuts. The campers enjoyed what would be their meal before a jam packed day of sports, games, and other adventures.
Before hitting the fields, the campers walked briskly back to their dorms to clean their rooms and brush their teeth. Rooms must be pristine as they will be rated how clean it is by the division leaders of each age group. At the end of each week, we take the rooms from each division with the highest total room score into town on our brand new pontoon boat for a little bit of ice cream.
When clean-up is over at 8:55, everyone heads to their first activity to either perfect or become better at whatever sport they are participating in. As the day went on, the competition became more intense as campers played grueling games of basketball, flag football, lacrosse, soccer, ice hockey & baseball. In addition to these sports, campers were able to take breathers and hit the waterfront for some waterskiing, wakeboarding, fishing & canoeing.
As the day seemed to wind down, the Bridgton Sports League continued with a gigantic fun filled game of capture the flag, where teams combined together on two separate sides to compete. The night brought a wave of silence as campers got ready for bed, anxiously waiting for what adventures are to come tomorrow.
Yours Truly,
The Bridgton Sports Camp Staff
Opening Day at Bridgton Sports Camp
Some people say that the best weather is in Maine, and for opening day at Bridgton Sports Camp, you couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day! Right at noon, the cars started pulling up to camp. Parents and campers began setting up their dorms, meeting the amazing counselors, and hanging out with their new roommates. Some campers are returning & some are new, but no matter what, today was the day that new friendships were going to begin! We strive for a family atmosphere here BSC and it didn’t take long to see our values spread quickly across camp.
At 4:30, the NY/NJ/Mass bus pulled into camp, and once that happened we had everyone here. Parents were gone and now camp had officially begun. After everyone was settled in their dorms, we blew the first official whistle of camp and everyone headed up to the lineup area for our first meeting.
After a brief welcome speech by Koop & introductions by our counselors, we split up by divisions and hit the fields. Our youngest campers (The Rookies) went to the kickball field where their fearless & energetic division leader (Henry, who is currently back for his 4th summer) led a game of kickball where every camper shouted their name before they kicked the ball so that everyone can familiarize themselves with one another. Our 6th & 7th graders (The Professionals), were split up by dorms (Sylvester & Mass Hall) and played an intense game of capture the flag! Jason, the professional division leader back for his third summer, but his first since 2012, had a blast running all over the field helping the counselors bring excitement to the game. Jordan (our veteran Senior Division Leader) also played a game of kickball on our new turf baseball field.
We all played for about an hour and then we made our way into the dining hall where our campers enjoyed their first meal…Chicken Tenders & French Fries!! The dining hall was filled with laughter and smiles as campers got to chat with one another and get their first taste of camp’s famous chocolate milk! From dinner, we split up into a bunch of organized games of gaga, basketball, tennis and much more. Some campers even made their way down to The Wolverine Den and played some ping-pong, pool and had an evening snack.
Koop got to make his way to all of the dorms to say goodnight to the campers. It was a great evening and we are off to a fantastic start to the summer. That is it for now, but be sure to check back daily for more blog posts, and please keep an eye on our Facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/bridgtoncamp/ ) & Instagram ( https://www.instagram.com/bridgtonsports/?hl=en ) pages for incredible photos & videos from around camp.
Signing off for now!
