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
____
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
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
____
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