Testing the waters
Wayne, a 13 year old from Kingston, Ontario, enthused about his first year at Olympia Sports Camp.
I'm a pretty good athlete — runner, swimmer and I play soccer. I wanted to try something different. Water sports other than swimming. Canoeing is tough at first; you’re using new muscles and the technique’s not as easy as it looks. And for balance, they make you stand up in the canoe and sing the whole national anthem and not fall in the water. But then you have to learn what to do when the canoe does go over and tips you out.
I love windsurfing. I’m not good at it yet, but it’s fun. I think it’ll be exciting when I get better at it.
This is my first time here. I didn’t know what to expect. My mom and dad said, "Try it."
I definitely want to come back and try something else, maybe not a sport. Maybe the movie and TV class. You could sign up every week for the whole summer and never do the same thing twice.
There are girls but it’s not a big deal. They’re doing sports like everyone else; the same as the guys. Yeah, there are some cute ones . . . but I’m kinda shy.
Revving up for extreme adventure
Kyle, 13, of Burlington, Ontario, loved the way summer camp forced him to stretch himself.
I came for the extreme program. I don’t know any other camps that do this kind of thing. If you’re in the extreme group, you do stuff like this Navy SEAL thing where they drove us out in a boat and we jumped out and swam to an island and then swam back. It was tough; it was a long way. You do mountain-biking, wakeboarding, waterskiing and tubing. And then they have this skateboard park where you practice all the stunts and things. It’s awesome. I’ve been riding a BMX-style bike since last summer and I’ve learned a lot here. Some of the guys are really good on their skateboards and I’m getting good on my bike; I think I’m better at this than they are!
I didn’t know what to expect when I came, but it’s really good. You bet I’m coming back. (Circle Square Ranch)
Parents love sports camps as much as kids
It's not just kids who love sports camps. Parents also chime in with their appreciation of the benefits offered by summer camps offering soccer and various other sports curricula.
The sky's the limit
Toronto mother Ronit Holtzman appreciates the way sports camp teaches children many things beyond mere athletics. Last summer, her son, Joshua, 9, finished his fifth year Centre Camp.
When I think about how much my kids learn at camp in a summer, it blows me away.
My son Josh loves sports. So he does the sports program. He doesn’t know this, but what he gets out of it is learning to be part of a team, good sportsmanship and, even in the individual sports, every year there’s something new there. He learned archery this year, and he loved it.
Everyone is encouraging each kid to achieve the next level. So it's not all about competition; it's about being the best you can be. It's a really warm feeling—my kids come home from camp every day happy.
A perfect kickstart to summer
Lori LaPlante from Newmarket, Ontario, is the mother of 12 year old Tamara says RCSC Super Summer Soccer Camps deepened her daughter's appreciation of the sport.
My daughter Tamara likes soccer, so her camp—being a specialized soccer camp — helps out with her skills. She plays in a house league, as well as on an all-star team. Camp just helps keep her skills up. And the counsellors that run it are very good; they're very friendly and they know her. A lot of them come back year after year. So it's really worked well for us. She's met a lot of people, and then there are some kids that she plays soccer with, that actually go to the camp too.
