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Playing with Attitude Over Aptitude at TEC!

Think back to your favorite summer camp memories. Now, how many of those memories take place on the fields and courts of TEC? Playing an intense game of European Handball during Olympics, competing in an out-of-camp tournament, or even laughing with your friends during a wacky relay; there’s just no denying it, sharing these moments with camp friends is a huge part of the Trail’s End Camp experience!Trail’s End is an all-around camp with a strong sports program. For us, sports take on a number of different forms, from team sports, including basketball, soccer, hockey and baseball, to individual sports, like gymnastics, golf, tennis, outdoor adventure, water skiing and more. We want our campers active, and through our combined structured and elective-based program everyone gets the chance to take part in a wide variety of athletic activities.

To celebrate this, and in honor of May being National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, we’ve decided to have a chat with some of our returning athletic directors: Mo, Baseball Director; Dani, Gymnastics Director; Becci, Movement Director; and Carson, former Hockey Director!

Attitude Over Aptitude

We can’t talk about sports at TEC without bringing up our motto: “attitude over aptitude.” We asked our returning directors what this means to them. Simply put, Dani describes attitude over aptitude as “enjoying a sport even if you’re not a sporty person.” You might not consider yourself the most athletic person outside of camp, but at TEC you’re encouraged to “try something new and be proud of yourself for taking the next step at your own pace.” Trail’s End offers an incredibly supportive environment as you try something you never had the courage to do before.

Even avid athletes can find something in this motto! Carson sees it as “putting your best out there, no matter the circumstances.” Becci adds, “this vision is transferable into everyday life, not just in sports. Striving to achieve a present, positive and willing attitude to reach success for both yourself and others around you!”

Mo believes “having the right attitude will help you and those around you to be better, work harder, and have a goal in mind.” Our sports program allows even the most skilled player to be challenged and encourages them, during both electives and our specialty camps, to bring their game to the next level.

The Best Part of Coaching at TEC

It’s obvious campers have tons of fun while playing at camp, but who knew our athletic staff were having just as much fun coaching them?! We asked Becci, Carson, Dani and Mo about the best part of coaching their sports at TEC.

“My favorite part of being Movement Director at TEC is observing the campers letting go and being themselves. Viewing the campers relax into meditation in yoga, to being creative and working as a team in dance, to calling imaginative cheers in the pavilion or “Zumba-ing” their hearts away in aerobics. They manage to put aside all outside issues and focus on having a good time!” – Becci

“My favorite part of coaching hockey was the people and relationships you could build through the sport.” – Carson

“For me, it’s getting to see all the campers, from Lower Rangers to Girls Varsity, coming to gymnastics, having fun and trying something new each period!” – Dani

“It’s getting to know each group and each kid individually. Every group and every kid is different, with different abilities. Baseball is supposed to be fun, and I try to bring that to camp. When I coach in other places it is more serious with a winning goal in mind. At camp, I want the kids to improve and have fun at the same time. Seeing kids that couldn’t hit the ball actually hitting in a game and seeing their faces is priceless. That’s what I love about camp.” – Mo

A Summer Full of Sports Moments

Remember those memories from previous summers we discussed? Well, our returning directors have their own favorite sports memories they’d love to share!

“My favorite moment as Movement Director is when the Buddies performed at a dance competition last summer. They were given a very fun but difficult dance, with limited time to rehearse. The girls used every spare minute they had to practice their movement together, and when they performed they blew me away. They came to the stage with energy, smiles and complete unity. Although they didn’t win, for me they won the whole competition!” – Becci

“My favorite memory from coaching was in a Lower Cavaliers game when we traveled to another camp. They shined and played great together, cheered one another on and pushed each other to do their best. Every boy scored in that game. One boy actually refused to get off the court, begging ‘I just want to be able to get him (the last boy to score) a goal.’ They cheered for every one of our goals, and even for the other team’s goals. Days like that made me proud to be at TEC.” – Carson

“My favorite moment was taking campers that have never performed in front of anyone before to a meet and seeing how excited they were when they placed in the Top 5 as a team!” – Dani

“I remember once after practice a camper came up to me and said ‘I never used to like baseball, but now I do. Thank you, Coach Mo.’ That really made my summer! Another moment was when a camper struck out and we lost the game. The camper was crying and the rest of the team came and gave him a hug, telling him that it was ok and lifting his spirits. That was awesome to be a part of.” – Mo

 

In this coming summer, there are many more memories to be made as we run around camp, trying new things, keeping it moving, and having fun with our camp friends. Who knows how many new favorite sports moments we’ll be making this summer?

Left My Heart in Beach Lake

It’s only been 6 weeks since the buses pulled away, but it feels like forever since the sun set on Summer 2017. It was an amazing 7 weeks of friendship, spirit and fun, making it even harder to say goodbye to our summer home. But if you close your eyes and listen closely, you can still hear the sounds of summer that instantly transport you back to Trail’s End. You can hear the crackle of the campfire at the Axelrod site, the opening notes of “Waving Through A Window” and the splash of lake water as you jump off the Aqua Park. If you concentrate hard enough, you can even smell the cookout cookies, feel the wind in your hair as you speed down the zipline, and see the smiling faces of your bunkmates and counselors. 

As your school year kicks off, and the sounds of reveille are replaced by the buzz of your alarm clock, we hope the memories of this incredible two months don’t fade. And when you miss Trail’s End, put on this playlist, turn up the volume and dance like no one’s watching you in the dining room.

As we patiently wait for Summer 2018, we hope you keep the TEC spirit alive throughout the year: Write a snail mail letter to your bunkmate. Schedule a family line up after dinner. Wear a tutu to school. Plan a lip sync battle for your friends. Insist on s’mores for dessert (even if you make them in the microwave).

Only 36 Saturdays until Opening Camp Fire!

Sports-A-Thon 2016

 

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As Marc Honigfeld once stated, “ What’s better than kids helping kids?” For the 11th year in a row, Trail’s End campers took their athletic skills to the fields and the courts to make a difference and to give back to the Pediatric Cancer Foundation, as well as Sunrise Day Camp at their annual overnight Sports-A-Thon. During visiting day, the LT’s had a booth where many TEC families made donations to sponsor the members of the Sports –A- Thon.

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Each leadership trainee is a captain to a different colored team comprised of campers in 8th grade and above. The campers’ energy and excitement was reflected in their decked out outfits that were colorful and vibrant from head to toe. The teams are on the go, playing different sports against other teams, including soccer, mini tennis tournaments, euro, egg toss and much, much more. Each team has a schedule, and different events happen every half hour to keep the night going and the energy alive and vibrant.

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The spirit of every camper was truly shown through out his or her involvement in every hour of the sports-a-thon. Each camper played an important role in this special event and they were able to show how vital their participation was in supporting cancer research as well as Sunrise Day Camp.

Our campers live ten months for two and being part of the Sports-a-thon enables them to give back to their communities and children with cancer by enabling these children to also participate in the wonderful experience of summer camp.

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After hours of competition and seeing a smile on all the participants’ faces, it was amazing to experience the sense of accomplishment and teamwork felt throughout the camp.  This event has already raised over 100,000 dollars to date, and we will continue to participate in this rewarding event in the coming years, with the hope to find a cure to childhood cancer.

 

Cooking with Paula!

Gordon Ramsey needs to step aside as our own campers are learning the fine art of cooking. Campers are now able to become chefs at Trail’s End Camp, from Cooking with Paula. Paula, a chef during the year at a sorority house, works in cooking at the creativity center, to teach our campers how to cook, in a fun way!

Campers  have many options to make something special, whether it is as simple as chocolate chip cookies, or as complex as a triple layer cake. Campers are taught how to prepare their food, cook their food and of course clean up the kitchen.

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Our older campers get the privilege of doing something special. 14 times over the summer, our varsity campers get to cook their own dinner. Chef Paula will be teaching the campers about many different options they can prepare at meal time. This week, our First Year Varsity boys cooked omelettes for dinner, which looked delicious! We are certain that campers will be excited to share their culinary skills with their families when they return home.

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College Day 2016

College Day or what some call a “mini” Olympics, broke out Tuesday around 4:00 pm. The teams for the 2-day competition were the South Dakota State Jack Rabbits, University of North Texas Green Horns, and lastly, the San Diego State Aztects. These last two days gave our Second Year Varsity campers a chance to come together as a group, and lead camp through a sports-filled friendly competition.

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The Second Year girls, matching with their French braided hair, as well as matching shirts, and the boys matching in their button downs, showed the rest of TEC how they’ve been ready for this moment the day they walked through the gates. A boy and girl, who have been overall great leaders and campers, are chosen and rewarded to be in charge of one of the three teams. However, each Second Year camper gets a role, whether being a rope burn captain, an athletic captain or a cheer captain.

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College Day started off with the traditional running of the bases, which was filled with spirit and sportsmanship. The next day was followed by a morning and afternoon filled with competitive sports such as soccer, softball, flag football, relay races and more. Of course the Varsity European hand ball game was the all time favorite. New talents were found, and new relationships between different ages were built as each Second Year put their best foot forward to make sure all of the campers and staff’s College Day experience was the best one yet.

College Day ended with the famous rope burn. Four Second Year campers, who have been looking forward to this since their first College Day, work together to build that fire higher, higher hoping to burn the 8 ft. tall rope.

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The lucky winners were the Yellow Jack Rabbits who swept Rope Burn and Overall Cheer, making them the Overall College Day winners.