Walking off the field, high-fiving your teammates, and grabbing a snack after a close victory is one of the greatest feelings in sports. Players and coaches work hard all year to win. When they walk off the field after earning “the dub,” the whole team can take solace in a finite result.
The other team. The losing team. That is where real character is shown. Winning is easy, taking a loss with good sportsmanship, and learning from it is significantly harder.
At Camp Starlight, we offer top-quality instruction in all our activities to prepare campers for inter-camp competitions and for their lives at home. However, no matter how gifted our campers and staff are, we are not always the best at every activity. We lose sometimes.
Losing at camp, though, is not a permanent result. Losing is a learning opportunity and a chance to grow. It is also a chance to build resilience and perseverance to win the next game or competition. Our mature staff leads by example and loses with grace and sportsmanship. We always shake hands after games and work with campers not to be negative with ourselves or our teammates.
One of our coaches used to say “You have to learn to lose before you can love to win.” If you can’t learn to lose, which means using it as a tool to move forward and progress, then you will never get better to win. We cherish every win with humility and learn from every loss.
Win, lose, or draw, the true winners are the competitors who gave it their all, had fun and demonstrated sportsmanship. That’s what camp and competition are all about.
A rainy day at camp is better than a sunny day stuck at home!
In a world where third graders have cell phones and middle school students are striving to be “Insta-famous,” it’s no wonder teachers, and parents are noticing that students lack basic interpersonal skills needed to be successful in the real world. This is why more and more adults are actively looking for ways for young people in their lives to connect with others and improve their communication skills. Camp Starlight is a great option for students not only to spend the summer having fun and trying new things but also provides a safe space for them to work on their interpersonal skills, meet new people and build relationships organically.
When was the last time you wrote a handwritten letter? When was the last time you went out to the mailbox to find a handwritten letter addressed to you? If you are like most people, receiving a letter in the mailbox instead of an inbox is a special treat to be treasured. The idea that someone took the time to sit down and put their thoughts to you on paper, find an envelope, a stamp and get it out into the mailbox is something to be admired in this fast-paced world, which is what makes receiving mail so special.
Thanksgiving is a time to reflect and think about all the amazing opportunities and qualities in your life you are grateful for and appreciate. A time spent with family, Thanksgiving reminds everyone to say what they are thankful for and to thank others for positively impacting their life. To celebrate this holiday, here are a few reasons campers are thankful for Camp Starlight.
7 years ago, I started attending Camp Starlight. Coming from Florida, I didn’t know anyone here, and I was definitely scared and nervous about making friends. I remember my first day so vividly. I was on the last bus to get to camp, and when I stepped foot on the clinic field, I was surrounded by the group of girls in my bunk who all already knew each other. They had been here lower junior, and I was a new camper in their bunk. I wondered how I would ever get close to these 7 girls who didn’t know how to even pronounce my name correctly, and were already the best of friends. Looking back on this now, I should have noticed that if the rest of my bunk were so close from only spending 7 weeks together, there had to be something truly magical about Camp Starlight.
There is something about spending the summer at a sleepaway camp that allows kids and teens to connect in a way they just can’t at school. Maybe it’s the extended time they spend together or the fact that selfies and Instagram and the social media comparison epidemic is taken out of the equation at camp. Whatever the reason, campers are able to interact and build relationships on a deeper level at camp than they can at school or on sports teams at home.
Spending a summer at a sleepaway camp is a fun way for campers to gain a new sense of responsibility and independence. For many campers, their first summer camp experience is their first experience away from home. As they learn to navigate a new place, adhere to a new schedule and new rules, and adapt to many new personalities, they gain a sense of independence that will help them mature and grow in new ways. However, the kids aren’t the only ones who do some growing over the summer. When parents say goodbye to their kids for the summer, they get to see the result of all of their hard work, modeling, and teaching as their children go off without them. Although it’s a bittersweet moment, it’s a milestone for both parents and kids.