Posts Tagged ‘camp program’

The Visiting Day Dust Has Settled

Tuesday, July 16th, 2013

Another great and truly pleasurable Visiting Day has come and gone.  Thank you, everyone!  Inevitably, some of your goodbyes were a little wet.  That always happens.  But something else that always happens is: camp begins again.  For one day, the action stops for families to be reunited for a fun afternoon.  Then, goodbyes (for a few more weeks) are said, parents and grandparents drive away, and activities start again.  In fact, since Visiting Day we’ve enjoyed a show, Upper Camp took on two evenings of amazing challenges, many of our girls competed in the Camp Starlight Dance Competition, several Wayne County games have been played, and—oh yeah, as part of the daily regular camp program, campers have been enjoying tennis, baseball, softball, boating, swimming, cooking, soccer, basketball, flag football, circus, magic, sports broadcasting, digital photography, fitness, dance, fishing, outdoor adventure, gymnastics, creative writing, arts & crafts, ceramics, woodworking, and the list seems nearly endless these days…In other words, what we’re trying to tell you is, don’t worry that the children are still crying.  They’re fine.  In fact, they’re better than fine because once the dust from Visiting Day settles, campers begin to focus what’s still ahead during the next few weeks—and for good reason.  Some of the best parts of camp happen over the next few weeks.

The Senior and All Camp shows, MTV Night, divisional trips, the Anniversary Party, Carnival, Olympics, Banquet, and did we mention Olympics?  Oh, how about just one more time: Olympics.  We have to mention a few times because the buzz starts early and the anticipation grows for several weeks before the big break.  In fact, one of the saddest aspects of the last few weeks of camp is that they pass every bit as quickly—sometimes it seems even more so—as the first few weeks leading up to Visiting Day, and we know that all too soon, we’ll all be saying goodbye for another ten months.  But…

Let’s not jump too far ahead ourselves.  For now, parents, we hope the Visiting Day dust has settled for you as well, and that you’re as focused on having a few more great weeks of summer as we are.  That you enjoy the photos, blogs, and Facebook posts.  And that you get the pleasure of enjoying lots of great camp stories in just a few weeks.

Thanks once again for a great Visiting Day 2013!

Checking in at the Camp Starlight Lacrosse Field

Sunday, July 14th, 2013

Few realize that lacrosse, which is finally hitting its stride among youth sports in America, is actually the oldest sport in America.  In fact, it’s believed to have been invented by Native Americans.  For the past decade, though, lacrosse has been number one on the list of fastest growing high school sports in America, and the lacrosse program at Camp Starlight has very much mirrored that trend.  Just a few short summers ago, lacrosse was a sport enjoyed primarily by Upper Camp boys at Starlight.  Within the past few years, however, it has exploded in popularity and is now very enthusiastically enjoyed by Upper and Lower Camp as well as boys and girls alike.  In fact, some of Camp Starlight’s most powerful teams are Girls Camp teams.  We talked to Starlight’s new Head of Lacrosse, Georgia State University Head Coach Billy McCullough, about the program, and he had some really positive things to say about his staff and the program.

Billy came into the summer hoping to improve the skills of his specialists as young coaches and turn campers onto a great sport.  So far things on right on track.  In fact, if he had to pick just one word to describe how things are going at lacrosse this summer, it’s “great”—as in “great games, great kids, and building some great friendships.”

In particular, Billy is proud of the amount of growth he is seeing in the skills of the younger campers, to which he credits the assistance of his great staff and instructors.  In fact, he can’t help but brag about them.  “Taylor is the best! A great instructor and learner with a positive attitude everyday.  And Jordan has done a wonderful job with the boys.  He’s a great young coach with a bright future.”

Billy himself is a very enthusiastic former football player.  In fact, he played four years of college football at his alma mater, Valdosta State University in Georgia.  After college, he coached youth, high school, and college football and lacrosse before transitioning full time into his current head coaching role at Georgia State.

As for looking ahead, Billy says he hopes to take away great memories from the summer and for each camper to take his or her experiences home and apply the skills they learned here at camp.