The goal is always to further the enjoyment of a sport, improve one’s skills/understanding of the game and teach lifelong lessons among all who participate.
We realize that competitive sports can provide opportunities to teach positive lifelong lessons or conversely, they can provide a lifetime of fears and anxieties. Brant Lake Camp believes that trying one’s hardest, working as a team, playing fairly, treating the opposition with respect and accepting winning and losing in a gracious manner, are positive qualities that may be honed through appropriate sports competition. Factors that may influence appropriateness include the age, maturity, skills and experience of the participants, as well as the presence of spectators, the experience of the coaches, and the awarding of trophies or selection of special teams. We strive to be different.
To address this at Brant Lake Camp, we view competition quite differently within each of our Mini-Camps (Junior, Inter and Senior) and believe that our specialized approach to competition for each group sets us apart.
We have mandatory daily instructional clinics in our four ‘core’ sports (basketball, baseball, tennis and soccer), plus waterfront activities for the Junior Camp. The instruction is subtly ability-grouped to maximize learning and skill development. As the boys get older they have more choice of their instructional sports via Selectivity in the Inter Division and both Selectivity and Majors in our Senior Camp. Supplemental, small-sized group instruction is also available for sports including lacrosse, hockey and golf, as well as in our ‘core’ sports.
Competition by Division
Junior Division
(completed 1st through 4th grades)
- No games where anyone is excluded due to ability
- No “A” or “B” games
- Subtle, ability-grouped instructional clinics
- Few games versus other camps (more appropriately called ‘play days’) in which all participate and scores are not kept
- No spectators outside the Junior Division
Inter Division
(completed 5th and 6th grades)
- No games played in which anyone is excluded due to ability
- Fluid (teams change throughout the summer) “A” + “B” teams for both intramural and intercamp games
- Ability grouped instruction
- Many intercamp games versus other camps and tournaments for all boys who wish to participate
Senior Division
(completed 7th, 8th and 9th grades)
- No intramural or intercamp games in which anyone is excluded due to ability
- Fluid “A” and “B” games for intramural and intercamp
- Ability grouped instruction
- Tournaments in which boys may have to tryout to qualify (although we enter more than one team in most tournaments)