Camp Day 1

Well Day 1 is in the books. What a day. We started our camps this week. We had morning camp for little kids starting at 8:30am, and then continued with the older kids at 12:45pm. The day finished with Habits from 4 to 6pm. It was a full day. I am tired, but it is a good tired. I love camp; it might be the highlight of my year. I love the feeling after the day is over; I really feel like I have poured myself out. I would think that all the coaches that worked would feel the same way.
The first day of camp to most might be the hardest day, because there is a lot of foundation work that takes place. It is my favorite day, I get to see smiling faces some new and some old. Several of the campers are return campers and that really makes me feel good. It is like catching up to old friends that you haven’t seen in awhile. You get updates on the past school year and witness all the changes that have taken place. I love the first day.
The excitement of the first day is great, most work camp as running a marathon; I want to work camp as running a sprint. I want to give my whole self every step of the way. I do not want to pace. Three weeks of camp sounds like a lot, but to me it is too short. I want camp to last all year. We really get to teach at camp and watch kids grow. I hate when the teaching stops and the kids go in separate directions.
Real joy for me comes when I watch my players teach younger kids. They teach with passion and commitment to improving other players. That is awesome. Wouldn’t it be great if we all had the same commitment to helping others as those kids have to the younger campers? We can’t let the teaching stop; we have to find ways to improve those around us. What a great world we would live in if we were more committed to seeing others succeed than trying to step over others for our own success? We have to be teachers and everyday has to be camp. Camp can’t end after three weeks.