The BLC Blog

Dear Brant Lake Families,

  Spring is here, and that means camp is getting closer by the day. We couldn’t be more excited! Since this is your son’s first summer at BLC, you’re probably starting to think: what do I need to pack? We’re here to help and wanted to give you a few tips as you start to shop and pack for your son’s first summer!  

Less is more (really)
One of the most common first-timer mistakes is overpacking what we commonly refer to as “bunk junk.” This is the extra stuff, games and toys that sit in drawers and never get touched. The reality is, our boys spend almost no time in their bunks. He’ll be too busy having the time of his life and playing outside to play with all the extra games and toys. A streamlined duffel means less to manage, less to lose, and more room for the things that actually matter.  

What he will go through: socks and underwear
If there’s one place to over-pack, it’s here. We know it sounds funny, but trust us on this one — pack more socks and underwear than you think is reasonable, then add a few more pairs. One of the great mysteries of camp is how these items disappear the fastest. You’ll thank yourself later. And be sure to label even the socks!

  Label everything
We mean everything. If it can be labeled, label it. This is the single best thing you can do to help us help him keep track of his stuff. Things get left around camp all the time and laundry is done by bunk (the whole bunk gets mixed and washed together). It is really common for campers to have similar looking items and labels help us get items back to your son if misplaced.  

Get the bed set-up right 
Lots of parents are tempted to send giant pillows and rugs for the bedside. In our experience, we find these things get gross fast. Camp provides sheets and pillows, so no need to send these (although you are welcome to if you prefer your own). Please only send blankets and extra bedding that can fit in a standard washing machine and avoid sending any rugs (they get gross enough to throw out almost immediately). Our camp beds have underbed drawers already and your son will have plenty of cubbies and dresser drawers for his clothes. What we do suggest: a few things to personalize the area around his bed. One of our personal favorites is a collage-style poster (you can print at Shutterfly, CVS, or any photo store) with his favorite photos from home. His counselors will hang it up for him and it will make his bed feel like his.  

Send items ready to go
We ask that you please send things pre-assembled and ready to go. Put batteries in the flashlight. Attach the clip to the water bottle. Assemble the mini basketball hoop. The less your son (and his counselors) have to figure out on day one, the better. Small things like this make a big difference when he’s settling in.  

We also suggest sending his envelopes pre-addressed and stamped. While we check letters before they go out, this step means he can spend more time writing details for you instead of on the envelope.  

His teddy bear can come to camp too!
Be sure to pack his favorite stuffed animal or blanket. It’s completely normal, and plenty of campers (of all ages!) have something from home that makes bedtime feel a little cozier.  

As always, don’t hesitate to reach out if you’re standing in Target wondering whether to grab the 12-pack or the 24-pack of socks. (Get the 24-pack.) We are genuinely always happy to hear from you.  

Stay tuned for our next email, where we’ll be talking about creating space for independence and how you can help set him up for an amazing summer. June 27th is coming fast!  

Warmly,
The BLC Directors

• Dear Brant Lake Families,
  
  We are so excited for your sons to join us at BLC this summer. Our entire team is counting down the days to June and busy making plans for what we know will be an incredible summer.
  
  If you’re a first-time camp parent, we also know this milestone can come with a few nerves. That’s completely normal. To help you feel prepared and confident, we’ll be sending a series of emails this spring to guide you through everything you need to know as your son heads off to his summer home for the first time.
  
  Handling Pre-Camp Nerves – for Kids and Parents
  
  Leaving home for the first time can bring up some jitters for campers, but often even more so for parents. While it’s natural to feel nervous, we’ve found that projecting positivity and excitement goes a long way. Your son will take his cues from you. If you’re excited about this new adventure, he will be too!
  
  

  Here are a few ways to help build that excitement:

  • Talk about the fun stuff. Camp is a huge, exciting milestone! Chat about the activities he’ll try, the friends he’ll make, the counselors who will become his coolest big brothers/sisters, and all the new experiences ahead.
  • Bring up camp casually in everyday conversation:
    • “I wonder if they’ll serve insert favorite food at Brant Lake?”
    • “I bet your baseball skills are going to get really good at camp this summer”
    • “Do you think you’ll try waterskiing?”
    • “What color sneakers should we get for camp?”
  • Order some BLC gear early and let him start wearing it this spring. It’s a fun, tangible way to build excitement and make him feel like he is already a Brant Laker (which he is!).
  • Try not to focus on how much you’ll miss him (even though we know you will!).

  And please, reach out with questions, big or small. We genuinely love hearing from you. Whether it’s “What happens if he loses a tooth?” or “How does laundry work?” we’re here for you every step of the way.

  And please, reach out with questions, big or small. We genuinely love hearing from you. Whether it’s “What happens if he loses a tooth?” or “How does laundry work?” we’re here for you every step of the way.

  Keep an eye out for more emails this spring about getting physically and mentally ready for camp. We feel so lucky to partner with you during this exciting milestone and can’t wait for June 27th.
  
  Warmly,
  The BLC Directors  

Dear Brant Lake Families,

Another great week in the books! Camp is now flying and every day there is action in and out of camp! Great instruction, fun games, full camp events, silly moments, hobbies, shows, and perfect lake days have become normal. (Somehow it still has not rained?!)



Sophs have been out on hikes (followed by ice cream, of course); Juniors and Inters As go to Six Flags this week; and Inters Bs through Senior Cs have all had special trips staying out of camp, returning with great memories and stories for you. Most importantly, we are a camp full of very happy, comfortable campers!

The most exciting events this week somehow are already Visiting Day followed by Song Contest on Sunday night! Please see below for a few important reminders and rules to help make this weekend fun and fair for everyone, followed by Richie G’s Musings.

Looking forward to seeing you all soon!

Max

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RICHIE G’S MUSINGS: Marketing or Performance: Which is more important?
Political figures, products, and public figures have all gained huge notoriety and “success” in recent years due to their social media acumen. Is this a good thing? Bad thing? Probably a bit of both, but I worry that experience, quality, depth and qualifications are being minimized.

In today’s world, both performance (or quality) and marketing are important, but I believe that in many aspects of our lives — including, but surely not solely, CAMP — marketing has become too important and the actual performance (or product) less so. To me, that is a shame.

In many (most?) cases, social media is the prime mover. Do we – be honest – care more about taking a hike or taking/sharing a picture of ourselves from the top? (Insert a million other examples.)

At BLC, we’ve long believed, “Be Great and They Will Come.” In recent years, we’ve come to realize that being great (or working hard to be great) is not enough if you don’t take pictures of it, talk about it, use social media to amplify it, etc.

I think there is some correlation when we talk with our BLC leadership team and Key Staff about the difference between being honest and having integrity. Of course, there is a great overlap — but to me, honesty speaks to intent (did you genuinely mean what you said at the time you said it?), whereas integrity is more about the action of doing what you said you would do (did you then follow-through on what you said and finish the job or succeed at the mission?).

In the camp world, the importance of websites, the catchy videos, taglines, and professional photography, amplified by various social media outlets (seemingly expanding rapidly), has dimmed what the differences between camps actually are. Any camp can look good. Any camp (or ChatGPT) can write about powerful philosophies. I wish this wasn’t the case, but it is.

At BLC, we will continue to place most of our energy on “walking the walk,” while also making strides to improve our efforts at “talking the talk.”

Please feel free to share your thoughts.

Best,

Richie G.

Dear Brant Lake Families,

Feels like we saw all of you at camp just yesterday. Camp has really started flying by and the warmth, comfort, and joy that you saw on visiting day has only grown.



The Song Contest was among the best overall in recent memory, with all groups giving remarkable performances. The best rehearsals don’t always mean the best performances, and this summer the Sophs & Juniors dazzled when it counted most. I’m very proud to report we had about 50 invitees for our 10 Year Party this week, highlighted by our six new 10-year inductees and ‘Doc’ Brunt’s 40th summer. The week was packed with tournaments, trips (notably including our Senior Cs to Montreal and Senior Bs to Boston), show nights, and more. The temperature also cooled down a bit this week and we had some classic Adirondack nights.

We’ll see the last of our overnight trips in the next few days — Inter Bs to Cooperstown and Senior As to Springfield. We’ve welcomed back over 20 CITs for the remainder of the summer, and we can begin to feel the anticipation for the end of camp special events creeping in…

Check back in with you guys once more before the summer ends. Please continue reading below for “Richie’s Musings”.

Max

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Richie G’s Musings: “We know our campers”

We loved seeing so many happy parents last weekend. We consider Visiting Weekend the halfway mark of the summer and now that a good week has passed, we’re looking at the final stretch and at a full sprint.

I wish to share an observation from our Senior C Graduation Ceremony that was held last Saturday with Senior C campers and their parents, and some of the counselors who have been influential in the group’s BLC careers. I found it most interesting and very affirming of BLC’s unique philosophy when it comes to counselor utilization. Six counselors spoke — two played college basketball, one college lacrosse, one college hockey, one an excellent soccer player from Brazil, and one an excellent soccer player from Scotland. All six spoke from the heart about the relationships they’ve formed with these campers, the impact the campers have had on them personally, and vowing to always be there for them into the future (with a few tearing up). NONE of them mentioned sports; not once!

As you’ve undoubtedly heard us say, we proudly believe that at BLC, “Sports are Done Right” — and that with expertise and nuance, sports provide incomparable opportunities for learning and growth (when done right). Yet, more important than that in the BLC philosophy, is that we are a camp where “we know our campers.” We have few “specialists” at BLC — even if counselors are college athletes or school coaches, we believe that all of our counselors and key staff should spend at least two-thirds of their day as “general” counselors, spending time with the campers from their bunk, group, and divisions in all different types of activities. This system allows for our counselors and campers to really get to know each other and build relationships due to the amount of time they spend together.

Our goal is for our counselors to be positive role models and interested “big brothers/sisters”. As exemplified by the counselor speeches at our graduation ceremony, we are succeeding.

Richie G

Dear BLC Families,

It was a Green & Gray for the ages! From experience I can say that no one who was at camp this summer will forget how special this one was. The final score was 53-51, meaning if the last game (which came down to the final minute) went the other way, it would have been a tie. Maybe even more rare — not just in Green & Gray, but I think in the world of sports and competition — was that the JOY, the dancing, singing, and cheering was equally as passionate as the play. Campers gained invaluable experience competing their hardest, accepting defeat, building resilience, and feeling the reward for putting everything you have into something as part of a team. An incomparable sense of community, togetherness, and emotion among friends you treat like family.

 
As is tradition, the Sophomore show was the evening Green & Gray ended serving the unofficial purpose of “reuniting” us as one camp laughing and singing all together while celebrating our youngest campers. Last night, the Green & Gray Campfire marked the official conclusion of the special event (a day late due to thunderstorms). I tried to give our campers some BLC historical perspective of what they just experienced, while Richie G added some context to carry beyond camp.

The last few days of camp have been/are littered with special events — lazy morning, halloween carnival, faculty show, final campfires, banquet, awards ceremony … while the message to campers and counselors is to soak in all the little moments of time spent with each other, spreading kindness and calm.

It’s not long until you all get to hear the stories first-hand, and shortly after that the “campsickness” really sets in. Enjoy these last few days of camp knowing you’ve given your boys a truly meaningful experience and that those special first hugs off the buses and planes are coming very soon!

Please keep reading below for Richie’s Musings.
Warmly,
Max


  Richie G’s Musings: Key Staff and Atmosphere in the Dining Hall

As I mused on earlier this summer, it can be hard to discern differences between camps because marketing (especially with social media and AI) can make all camps seem beautiful and thoughtful.

If I were a parent (or member of a referral service) looking at camps today, I would pay particular attention to two things: (1) The quantity and quality of mature adults (we call them Key Staff); and (2) the atmosphere in the Dining Hall.

I would ask for bios of Key Staff (not just the Directors); find out how long they have been at camp. Counselors can be great — and are important — but they are not yet adults (studies indicate that the “judgment” portion of the brain does not fully develop until on average 24 years old). Good counselors will be GREAT if given expectations, supervision, and feedback from more experienced people.

As for dining rooms, in my 40+ years of being a camp director, I have always taken note of the pulse of camp by looking and listening during meals especially. There is a nice buzz that one can hear when campers are relaxed and content. Unscripted singing and dancing are good indicators of how camp is going. A lack of running and pushing are revealing, as well as healthy, joyful, carefree interactions between campers and counselors.

Best wishes,
Richie G