2nd Friday

Gooooood Morning Bridgtooooon!!! Everybody out of bed! Up up up up up up up! The sound of Koop’s voice woke up the camp as it does every single morning. We made our way up to the dining hall for breakfast where fluffy blueberry pancakes and scrambled eggs were waiting for us. Baseball & Wimbledon highlights were all over Sportscenter. Our waterfront director is loved by everyone in camp and almost every meal, the campers start chanting his name. This morning was no different.

Intercamp

We had 2 big intercamp tournaments today. 15’s street hockey at Camp Micah and 13’s basketball at Indian Acres. Both are very popular tournaments. There are about 6-8 camps that attend. The structure is usually a round robin style and then the top 4 teams advance to the playoffs. Our basketball team performed well in the round robin stage. We lost the first game but won our second. Because of point differential and other scores, our record was good enough to advance to the playoffs. It was a hard fought battle, but in the end, we unfortunately lost in the semi-final game. Our sportsmanship was on point and we are proud of our boys!

Now on to the street hockey tournament. We went undefeated in the round robin stage, winning 2-1 in our first game, and 4-0 in our second game. Our record and point differential was good enough to land us the top seed going into the playoffs. We defeated our semi-final opponent pretty easily and it was on to the finals, where we would play the hosts, Camp Micah. This was a wild game. There was music playing and they probably had their entire camp in the stands watching the game. It was a hostile environment for the away team! It was a hard game to play. With 5 minutes to go, we were down 1-0. We didn’t have much going for us on the offensive end. Out of nowhere, one of our oldest senior captains comes running down the rink and take a wicked slap shot the zipped past the goalie into the top left corner of the net. It was now 1-1. With 70 seconds to go, one of our campers whips around the back of the opposing goal and finds one of his teammates right in front of the net who puts it home! 2-1 Bridgton. 15 seconds later, we catch a nice bounce and go on the break to put one more in to make it 3-1. As one of our coaches said at lineup, it was the cherry on top. We came home with the trophy!

Casino Night

Every summer, we host a casino night for our campers. We bring in poker tables, blackjack tables and many other fun games for the kids to play. Cotton candy and popcorn machines are always a must. We hand out fake money and we have an awesome time. Everyone gets dressed up for it too. Campers and staff looked GOOD. Hair was gelled and combed to perfection. Button downs were crisp. And sunglasses were definitely worn. Each age group gets an hour at the casino, starting with the rookies. Koop always makes a guest appearance and deals a little blackjack. I for one, manned the rock papers scissors station for a little bit. I was tough to beat, but kids liked to wager a lot of their money against me! Oh, and our lovable waterfront director was in charge of music for the night. It was a funny and incredible night.

We only have one more week of first session. The summer is flying by and we don’t want it to end! We have an amazing last week ahead of us filled with trips, intercamp, color war and more. Stay tuned for more daily recaps! Until then…..

Goodnight!

Sun Sun Sun!! Another incredible day up in Maine. We love these type of days. Normal schedule was in full effect. The day started off as we usually do. Koop walked by the dorms at 7:45 and blew his whistle to wake up our campers & counselors. Everyone made their way up to breakfast. As always, the younger rookie campers sprinted up the hill to be first in line at the dining hall. A few minutes later, the professionals trotted along, not really caring where they ended up in line. Lastly, as a single unit, the seniors came strolling up, some of them barely awake. Cheesy eggs, hash browns, sausage, blueberry muffins lined the buffet line. Off to the side, our usual yogurt & bagel bar stood proudly! As campers sat down, Sportscenter was turned on so that they can see some of the results from the previous night’s sporting events.

From breakfast, everyone made their way back to the dorms for our 15 minute daily cleanup. Remember, the dorm rooms with the best room scores gets to go into town for ice cream at the end of the week on our brand new pontoon boat. Yes, I guess we have to bribe our campers to clean up, but hey, it makes them feel responsible for the tidiness of their room and the need to be organized & clean!

At 9am, the activity whistle blew and the day was fully underway. Some campers made their way to the gym for a basketball period. Others headed up to the fields for baseball, field games, volleyball, soccer or lacrosse. Archery was going and so was arts & crafts. The waterfront was busy, with pontoon boat fishing, canoeing, and waterskiing periods all taking place. It was a really fun morning and there was tremendous energy around camp.

First period is a shorter period, so it’s always minors. Majors happen 2nd & 3rd periods. Once 10am rolled around, some campers were off to major periods (Basketball, Ice Hockey, Soccer, Lacrosse & Baseball), while others had more minors. As with every single period, the waterfront was running! Majors continued into 3rd period and then it was time fro lunch.

What might be my all time favorite camp lunch was today. Grilled cheese & tomato soup!! Not much better than dipping that crispy golden brown melted cheese sandwich into a nice bowl of warm tomato soup. And what better to wash it all down with than a glass of our famous chocolate milk. Don’t worry though, our daily salad bar & fruit bar were around also! Rest hour was definitely needed today. Even I took a solid 15 minute nap.

Every year, Indian Acres Camp hosts a few intercamp tournaments throughout the year. Today was the 16 and under soccer tournament. We sent a team. We have been to the finals for the past 4 years and have even won a few times. Today was our 5th straight finals appearance. Unfortunately, we were beaten by the host team. Our boys played an amazing tournament and had standout sportsmanship. We are super proud of them for playing their best, but are even more impressed with how they handled their loss. They lost with grace and after the game, accepted defeat and shook the other teams hands.

The rest of the afternoon was great. All activities were well attended and everyone was playing hard. Every Thursday night we have a BBQ for dinner. The chefs grill hamburgers & hotdogs outside. We allow everyone to eat wherever they want outside and hang with one another. I love the bbq because it gives everyone a chance to hangout with other people and walk around and mingle.

The night went on with free play after dinner. Campers were playing gaga, basketball, soccer and much more. Some were even just hanging out playing cards, fooseball and ping-pong in the Wolverine Den. In there they were also able to watch a baseball game on the big scream and munch on an evening snack. As it became later it was time for bed. It got quieter around campus and everyone started going to sleep. It was another awesome day at BSC, and per usual, we cannot wait for what tomorrow has in store for us.

Until then…

Goodnight!

The 4th of July

Happy 4th of July BSC Families and readers!! I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday weekend filled with water activities, hamburgers, hot dogs, fireworks, and time spent with their families. To me, spending July 4th in Bridgton is the best. For the third day in a row, we had some perfect Maine weather. I apologize for not writing yesterday, but we were crazy busy all day and didn’t return to camp until late last night. Below is a recap of how we celebrated the holiday here at camp.

4 on the Fourth (of July)

Every year, the town of Bridgton hosts a 4 miles run around town called 4 on the Fourth. And every year, we send a handful of campers & staff members to participate. At 630am, these brave BSC-ers woke up, laced up their sneakers and made their way up to the dining hall for a nice yogurt & fruit buffet breakfast. Everyone was a little sleepy, but excited to begin the run. After eating and a brief stretch, we made our way into the center of town. Once there, we joined 10 other camps and local Bridgton runners. After some kind words from the organizers and a heartfelt rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner, the starter gun went off and the race was underway.

We had a wide range of campers running, and they all finished strongly. One of our oldest 16 year old campers finished in the top 5 for the 16-20 age group. Quite an accomplishment! He finished the race in 26 minutes. Equally as amazing, one of our 12 year olds finished in the top 10 in the 11-13 age group. He completed the race in just under 29 minutes. After everyone was finished, we hung out by the finish line eating watermelon and drinking water & Powerade while listening to the race results.

Morning & Early Afternoon

Those of us who ran the race got back to camp, had something to eat and joined everyone else in the morning activities. All of our majors were underway and the day was moving. Ice Hockey was going full force, Basketball was running hard, and Soccer, Baseball and Lax were doing the same. The day’s schedule was a little different, because after rest hour, the whole camp was heading to Portland for the SeaDogs minor league baseball game.

SeaDogs

At around 3 in the afternoon, dressed in our Bridgton Sports Camp Carolina Blue, we boarded the busses to make our way to Portland. After a decently long bus ride due to holiday traffic, we arrived at a park close by the stadium. While there, we separated into groups and handed out pizza for an early dinner. Like the rest of the day, the weather was perfect and our campers had a really nice time hanging out amongst friends and eating.

We pulled up to the game at exactly 530 and made our way into the stadium. As a surprise to our campers, we were all escorted onto the field! We got to watch players warm up, shake some hands, and even got a few autographs and baseballs. As a camp, we got to hold a giant American Flag while Boston Legend, Rene Rancourt sang all four versus of the National Anthem. It was a really cool moment for all of us!

We made our way to our seats (we all sat together) and the game began. The first inning was rough for the home team, walking in 3 consecutive runs! They never fought back 🙁 Campers were allowed to travel in groups (with their counselors) to the concourse and purchase food & souvenirs. 9 innings of baseball went quickly! Everyone had an absolute blast. When the game ended, we got to enjoy an awesome 20 minute firework display at the field.

Back onto the busses we went and traveled back to camp. Campers were a bit hyper in the beginning of the ride, but things changed quickly. As we rode along, a silence rolled in, and almost everyone was sleeping on each other’s shoulders. It was a peaceful ride and a nice ending to a perfect day.

Enjoy your shortened work week!

Yours Truly,

The Bridgton Sports Camp Staff

Lazy Bones Sunday

After some strange weather, today was a gorgeous day. From the second we woke up until we closed our eyes, the weather was perfect. The morning air was crisp with a nice breeze and there was not a cloud in the sky all afternoon. Tonight we were able to sit on the fields and see the stars.

The Morning

Lazy Bones Sunday is a bit different than every other day. Instead of our usual 7:45am wakeup, campers & staff are allowed to sleep in late. Breakfast is available to everyone from 9am-10am. Many of our younger campers typically get up before 9, so quietly (without waking their roommate!) they are able to head outside. They can play gaga, shoot hoops, have a catch, or even go for a run and then eat breakfast as they please. Sundays are always great days.

Lineup

At 10:30, the whistle blew and the whole camp met at the lineup area. We usually meet there right before dinner to go over the days events and give shoutouts to standout moments from the day. Lineup is always super fun. After recapping the day, we give campers a chance to take the stage and share stuff they want to talk about. The end of lineup always culminates with a camper coming to the center and giving a joke of the day. If it is funny and we get some laughter, a counselor gives a tip of the hat and the camper sits back down. BUT, if the joke is not funny at all and there is silence from the crowd, the counselor gives a wag of the finger and the camper ends up with a nice bucket of water on the head! Today’s morning lineup was fairly similar. We recapped some of yesterdays events (since yesterdays lineup got rained out), gave camper shoutouts, and did a joke of the day.

After lineup, we had some tryouts for intecamp games coming up. Flag Football, Kickball, and Soccer tryouts were going down. There was tremendous attendance in all 3 activities. Campers were focused really hard and performing extra well so that they can be on the teams. It was a fun few hours to watch.

The Afternoon & Carnival Day

It’s carnival day here at BSC. After rest hour (the hour after lunch) campers came up to the fields for our annual carnival day. Each age group had their time at the carnival while the other age groups participated in Gaga tournaments and Home Run Derby’s. It was a really crazy but really fun afternoon. Carnival activities included a 30 foot blow up water slide, a blow up boxing ring, a bungee race, an obstacle course, a pretty nifty photo booth (pictures coming soon!), and of course, a laser tag course! The music was blasting and the campers were having an awesome time.

The day went by quickly, and really soon, the carnival was over and it was almost time for dinner. There was a little free play before our evening lineup. We had a little rock, papers, scissors competition to see which age group would go to dinner first, and I swear, one of our youngest 8 year old campers beat our oldest 15 year old camper in a best 2 out of 3. The crowd went absolutely wild and it was great to see. The rookies got to make their way down to the dining hall first.

Tonight – Phone Calls Home

After a great dinner, the evening activity was phone calls home. At the beginning of camp, we collect everyone’s cell phones. On Sunday night, every camper who brings a cell phone with them, gets it back from 730pm – 9pm. They must call home first, but after that they can check out Snapchat & Instagram if they must 🙂 Come 9pm, we re-collect all phones and campers go about their typical nights. They are given a snack and then it is time to head back to their dorms to shower and go to sleep.

Week 1 of camp is in the books! We had an awesome week and are super excited to get going on week number 2. Tuesday is July 4th and we are going to a minor league baseball game that night. We have tons of intercamp and other exciting events this week.

Goodnight from Bridgton!

 

 

 

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

 

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!

 

 

As I sit at my desk with a few minutes to kill before our 5th day of orientation begins, I wanted to share a few thoughts on our staff. I am so impressed with the group of young men & women that we have on our team this year. Over the past few days we have had many sessions on various topics relating to your children and preparing for camp. We had organized group activities and team building exercises led by our experienced division leaders. All of these events allowed our staff to understand the basic values we live by at camp. I always say that a camp is only as good as its staff, and I know that we are excited & ready to go for our campers to arrive tomorrow!

As always, we will be posting daily photos, a few videos, and blog posts on CampMinder. Don’t ever hesitate to call/email anytime with questions or just to check in.

Can’t wait for Sunday,
Koop

As the end of the school year draws near, so does the beginning of summer camp experiences. Child development experts say that summer camps offer more than just fun; they present opportunities for emotional, social and psychological growth and development.

“Summer camps provide children with a sense of community where they can feel safe and learn through first-hand experiences, said Stacie Gottlieb, director, Bullis Summer Programs at Bullis School in Potomac, Md. “Within this setting, campers develop a sense of independence as they try new adventures in an environment different from the norm.”

Children benefit from the nurturing structure of a summer camp in a way that is different from the structure they get during a school year, says Jim Supple, associate dean of students and director of Summer Programs at St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School in Alexandria. “Summer camps allow children to be children,” he said. “They allow them to make new friends, try new things, and learn how to be part of a group. These are attributes of camps that will promote not only healthy interaction among peers, but also building a healthy image of what type of child they want to be.”

Opportunities to explore new interests and devote intense focus to activities of particular interest to them at camp help build a child’s self-confidence, says Gottlieb. “As children explore, caring adults serve as responsible role models who help to nurture the campers by providing a safe, supervised environment of inclusion,” she said. “Children gain self-confidence as they learn new things, develop social skills, expand their friendship circles and build character through planned activities. Summer camps give children a unique, fun environment to discover more about themselves and their passions.”

A summer camp where children engage in new and memorable activities will sow seeds for learning during the upcoming academic year, said Shannon Melideo, Ph. D. associate dean of the School of Education & Human Services and associate professor of education at Marymount University. “For example, if your child’s summer camp takes a field trip to a historical site that your son finds fascinating and then during the school year, the teacher introduces [the] same historical events and location, he has schema for the lessons. He is more likely to participate, learn more, be better prepared to read his social studies textbook, and even perform better on the exam.”

Summer camp experiences that combine academic challenges and physical activity can offer fun while preventing the loss of academic gains made throughout the school year, says Melideo. “Summer slide is the resultant learning loss students experience without educational activities outside of the academic school year,” she said. “Research shows such academic regressions can be quite significant and parents have the ability to help prevent the summer slide by providing educational experiences such as high quality summer camps.”

“Summer camp can be a terrific opportunity to grow your child’s sense of competence and mastery over something that they love,” added Carolyn Lorente, Ph.D., professor of psychology, Northern Virginia Community College. “By picking a camp where your child has an interest, they can be mentored in a passion in ways that a typical school day often can’t.”

WHEN SELECTING A CAMP, Melideo advises parents to consider a complete picture of their child. “For example, while your daughter, Sophia loves softball, find a summer camp where she can refine [her] batting and pitching skills and engage with books, perform in skits, play math games, and try something new,” she said.

A child’s social skills can be boosted at camps which provide children with opportunities to make new friends or nurture existing friendships, says Colleen K. Vesely, Ph. D., assistant professor of Early Childhood Education and Human Development at George Mason University. “Developing new social and cognitive skills outside the physical walls and social boundaries of school can help promote healthy self-esteem in children, while spending time in nature can boost children’s overall health and well-being.”

Camps offer an opportunity for children to gain skills that lead to independence. “For older children, over 8-plus years old, typically, sleep away camp offers opportunities to develop independence and self-reliance by providing children with space to navigate daily life away from the directing of parents but under the guidance of trusted adults,” said Vesely.

For some parents, there are mixed emotions around enrolling a child in camp. “Sometimes working parents feel guilty for enrolling their children in summer camps because of the need for child care during the work day,” said Ivy Beringer, Ed.D., professor of Early Childhood Education and Dean for Social and Professional Sciences at Northern Virginia Community College. “However, children are usually very excited to attend summer camps. This is especially true if the children have input into the camp selection.”

“Summer camps allow for continuous learning that extends beyond the regular school year [and] provide a relaxed atmosphere that stimulates their brains for creative learning without the assessment anxiety that often accompanies school classroom learning,” said Beringer. “[Summer camp] enhances self-esteem by offering special interest learning in small group situations and often with a lower adult-student ratio in school settings.”

“A mother recently called me with a concern that her son only wanted to attend soccer camps this summer and she felt this was too limited of an experience,” continued Beringer. “My response to her was that if he was interested in improving his soccer skills she should view this in a positive light. After all, he will be outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine everyday, exercising his body, and enhancing skills in a sport he loves. What’s not good about that choice?”

Marilyn Campbell