Category: About Camp
Message from our Assistant Director
Hi everyone! My name is Wade LeBlanc, and I’ll be the Assistant Director at Bridgton Sports Camp this summer. As a young adult, I spent six summers working as a camp counselor and was fortunate to meet Koop, our BSC Director. At the time, I had no idea how long lasting our friendship, and my passion for the camping business, would be.
I’ve been invested in Bridgton Sports Camp since its conception in the fall of 2010, and was very eager to see it come alive last summer. For medical reasons, I was unable to join the BSC team at that time. However, now that I’m 100% healthy, I can’t wait to join you all for a FANTASTIC summer.
As a middle school math teacher in Nova Scotia, Canada I know the importance of creating a fun, yet purposeful, atmosphere for youth, whether they’re learning about algebra or how to score goals. I LOVE camp, and promise to bring all of my energy and enthusiasm to the table this summer. I can’t wait to visit all of the sport programs, watch a ball game at the Player’s Lounge, and meet all of the campers and counselors that form the BSC family.
As a member of the camping community, I think that it’s very important to set goals for the summer. My main goal is to go ice skating. Even though I’m Canadian, I haven’t been on a pair of ice skates in 13 years. Brace yourselves!
The countdown is on. Only a few short weeks until the first session begins. See you there!
February update
The good news is that camp is only 4 months away! I wish we had a colder winter and a better ski season but with spring, comes a renewed excitement for camp. I am back in Philadelphia for 2 weeks before hitting the road again and thought it was a good time to update the BSC community.
Over the past few months I have been traveling all over the country visiting our new and existing families. I also had the chance to sit down with Scott (assistant director) when I was down in Florida and Stone (head counselor) in Maryland. Both are doing well and we had the opportunity to talk about camp and some great additions & changes we will be implementing this summer. We will have a complete update in our Spring Newsletter. Speaking of the newsletter, we have begun putting it together and could use your help. If you have anything that is newsworthy or think should be included, please email it to us at [email protected]. Currently enrolled families, you will receive a separate newsletter that will help you prepare your child for camp. It will contain information on our policies and procedures, travel to/from camp, a packing list, and much more.
Our early enrollment ends this Monday, March 5. You can take advantage of this discount by enrolling online by Monday night. If you have any questions call the office at 866-283-5943.
I am back on the road beginning March 14, with the ACA Camp Conference in Atlantic City. This is a great way to connect with other directors to talk about camp while sharing ideas. After the conference I am driving up to camp for a few meetings. I’ll be making stops along the way in NY, CT, MA, NH, and ME for home visits. For new families this is the perfect opportunity to learn more about Bridgton and have all your questions answered. Please call the camp office if you’re a new family interested in learning more about BSC.
That’s all for now! I hope everyone has a great spring break and BSC families, look for the newsletter in your mailbox this April.
Koop
That’s A Wrap
I cant believe the summer is almost over! It honestly seems like just yesterday when we were all at the opening camp fire talking about our goals and what we wanted to accomplish over the course of camp. It was an unbelievable summer with so many new friendships formed and memories that will last forever! We will be posting camp updates on our facebook page during the “off-season”. If you haven’t done so already, please go to the Bridgton Sports Camp Facebook page and like us. I hope that everyone has a great Labor Day Weekend and strong start to the school year!
Koop
Let The Games Begin
I can’t believe we only have 3 days left of camp! Yesterday the whole camp went to Fun Town/Splash Town USA and had a blast. When they got back everyone went up to the basketball arena for what they thought was a dodge ball practice for another inter-camp game. After the first two games the color war captains ran onto the floor painted in black & red to officially start color war. This morning all campers came to breakfast wearing their team colors and the competition is underway with paint ball and ultimate frisbee. We have many exciting events planned for the next 2 days and it all wraps up with a relay tomorrow afternoon!
End of the First Session
We just wrapped up the final campfire for our first session. It was an awesome experience watching each camper get up in front of the group and share their accomplishments for the summer! All 1st session parents should be very proud! Looking forward to meeting all 2nd session campers on Sunday!
Camp Update as of 7/12
Dear Camp Families,
The entire camp is at Funtown/Spashtown USA, so I have a little bit of time to fill you in on what’s been going on at camp. Last Friday night we had casino night. We turned the Players Lounge into a casino fully equipped with a popcorn machine, cotton candy and juice bar. All of our counselors were dealers and the campers had a blast playing poker, blackjack, war and many other table games. We even had a high stakes poker room upstairs. The campers had a blast and I’m not sure how but even the ones that went down early kept coming up with more money.
After running hard on the fields all week we had a low key Saturday afternoon with game of broomball on the ice and paintball in the fields. Both were a huge success and more importantly no injuries. Lazy Bones Sunday was anything but lazy. We had inter-camp all day long. Monday afternoon it was too hot for normal activities so we played kickball under the sprinkler and a slip-n-slide wiffle ball game followed but a mandatory swim. Tomorrow we get back to normal activities with color war breaking any day now!
-Koop
Camp Update
Dear Camp Families,
I am sitting here on the 4th and the office is quiet before lineup. I wanted to take a few minutes and fill you in on a fantastic first week of camp. The weather has been unbelievable! We were out on the fields/rink every day last week and thanks to our staff and the structure of camp I have seen GREAT sports improvement in every one of our campers. They have been working hard and it shows! We had our first inter-camp games on Saturday and lazy bones Sunday was a hit + a much needed chance for some rest and relaxation. Last night we went into Portland to see the SeaDogs play. The game was followed by an awesome fireworks display. Today we were back in our normal schedule but will celebrate the 4th with a surprise ice cream party tonight!
I will try to write once a week to let you know what happening. Sydnee has been doing a great job writing a blog and posting pictures. You can find these where you login to your MyCampminder account. I hope you all had a great holiday weekend
Talk soon,
Koop
It’s Camp Time!
Dear Bridgton Sports Camp Families,
It is a quiet Friday on Long Lake. The staff has the afternoon off after a great week of orientation and preparation for camp. The facility is in unbelievable shape with the grass cut, fields lined and ice down! All we need now are the campers. Drive safely and we look forward to seeing all of our first session families on Sunday!
-Brian
Strength & Conditioning Program
Our strength/conditioning & speed/agility program is one of our more popular “minors” this summer! Below is a brief introduction by Michelle who is running the program:
My name is Michelle Sturgeon I am from a small northern town in Maine called Old Town Maine. I earned a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Maine, Orono in 1997 and a Master of Education, with a concentration in Strength and Conditioning from Springfield College in 2002.
While at Springfield College, I was responsible for the design and implementation of the strength and conditioning programs for the baseball, track, cross-country and tennis teams at Springfield College. I also had the privilege of training the softball team at American International College.
In 2002 after receiving my Master degree, I was given the amazing opportunity to work for Mike Boyle, my mentor and an icon in the strength and conditioning world. There, I coached athletes from the NHL, NFL, NLL, WUSA and USA Women’s Olympic Ice Hockey Team. I was able to acquire the knowledge and skills from the best in the field and take those skills with me to Bridgton Academy.
I joined Bridgton Academy in June 2010 and have enjoyed teaching classes in the science department as well as working with the Soccer and Lacrosse teams. I am excited for the Bridgton Sports Camp this summer and look forward implementing strength and conditioning, as well as speed and agility programs into the athletes class schedules.
Message For Our Soccer Players
My name is Dillon Clark and I am currently in my final semester of college at the University of Maine at Farmington. I am studying elementary and middle school education. I am very excited to run the soccer program this summer and look forward to teaching and learning from all the boys who take part! I was an all conference high school player at Old Town, and continued my career at UMF. At UMF I was a 4 year starter and captain my senior year. I made the All-Conference team both my junior and senior year, playing the outside wing and forward. I have coached and been involved in soccer programs my entire life and truly cannot wait to help players this summer develop their skills in all aspects of the sport. We will work on offensive skills, defensive skills, team play, game strategies and of course, the ever so loved, conditioning aspect of soccer! This is going to be a fun summer full of improvement, hard work and tons of fun! I hope everyone is getting excited and ready to lace up those cleats and get on the pitch!
