Hey everyone!

Programming is a vital part of any summer camp and always keeping up with the latest trends is important to keep campers coming back each and every summer. I'm not saying give up any popular traditional programs but to offer some new programs throughout the summer.

A new phenomenon that is similar to tennis and badminton is Pickleball. Pickleball was invented in the 1960s as a backyard sport for kids, but it has grown quite popular as of late. The paddles are made of solid wood or a hard solid plastic. It can be modified to be played on a tennis court but the dimensions are  smaller than an actual tennis court. Kids love to play Pickleball and it can be a small programming adjustment from just tennis or badminton.

Team Building: Staff Training

Hello everyone!

Again, Happy New Years! May 2014 bring the best summer yet! 

In todays blog I would like to talk about staff training week. Although this mainly focuses on residential camps, many components and topics that I discuss can be used for day camp trainings as well. 

Staff training can be a very intimidating time for new staff members, especially if they don't know anyone else on staff. This is the beauty of staff training week. This week can make or break the summer for many staff. I have had new young staff decide that camp wasn't something for them and have left before the summer had even started. On the other hand, I have had staff flourish during this week and really engage in becoming a key asset to the team. 

To create the emotion and energy of staff is all in the hands of the central staff or lead staff. This staff consists of the Unit Directors, Program Director, Waterfront Director, Camp Director, etc... How staff training is presented can make or break the week. So how do central staff create this amazing atmosphere?

Simple! Make it fun but also make sure you are getting all your bases covered. For example, when going over rules and regulations make it into a game show or something similar like Jeopardy. I know some topics are straight forward and need to be lectured based, but break up the days with fun team building activities.

For more info on team building you can view some of my older blogs or stay tuned for new blogs soon to come!

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