A Day in the Life of…Robin Hood Sports Academy

I’m Jessica, a newbie to Camp Robin Hood. This summer I will be shadowing units, cabins, staff, and various activities, and giving you an inside look at what it’s like to spend summers at CRH. I hope you have as much fun as I’m having!

Age Group: All ages
Program Directors: Sam, Mitch and Jeff
Cabin: A-5 (Completed grades 5-7)
Coaches: Oriel & Shayne

This week I headed to the camp north of the road, aka Robin Hood Sports Academy. I had heard lots about Sports Academy, and had even gone to visit them a few times, but it was usually just a quick visit and then I’d head back to Main Camp. Although I was told this several times, it never really occurred to me how separate they actually were. Other than swim (which they do alone) and Friday-morning Flagpole, Main Camp only really sees RHSA from a distance. But when you’re over on their turf, you enter a place that has just as much spirit, just as many traditions, and definitely, just as much fun.

The day started with the kids dropping their stuff off in the Locker Room (their version of a cabin) and getting right into playing their sport of choice: tennis, basketball, soccer or baseball. I felt a little out of sorts when I first got there, so I stayed close T.B.S, which is essentially a sort of Flagpole where the AM and PM Press Conferences take place. This did not stop me from making a friend, almost immediately, with a boy who wanted to talk about how he had ‘vintage’ LEGO and how awesome and funny the new Gaurdians of the Galaxy film was, all in great detail. It’s amazing how intense kids are at that age when it comes to LEGO and superheroes, or just everything really.

Once all the campers had arrived, the AM Press Conference began. Let me tell you, your kids are not only experiencing the best summer you could possibly imagine, they are also attending daily comedy shows. On any given day the Program Directors mingle with the Coaches on the TBS “stage” and tell jokes, engage in witty banter and even play games of “Ryan Minster” with the kids. (Ryan Minster is a game where the only answer is Ryan Minster, which I imagine some of your kids have tried to play with you at home. Want to play now? ….you’re out. You forgot to say Ryan Minster!) The kids would play that all day, every day if they had the choice. But they don’t, so we moved on to our first activity of the day.

I followed along with A-5, the oldest group at RHSA, which includes 12 boys and 1 very brave girl. Our first activity was soccer. At RHSA, activities last for an entire hour, with the first half hour dedicated to skill building and the second half to various games.

Now I’m not an overly athletic person. When I was really little I played soccer, but that only lasted a few years, then when I was a senior in elementary school I was on the basketball team (and absolutely loved it), but for various reasons didn’t continue in high school. And from the age of three to 18, I took ballet, jazz, modern and pointe, all of which were low contact while still getting the appropriate amount of exercise. So I had quite a few reservations about hanging out at RHSA, mostly because I was afraid of embarrassment. A ball to the face, tripping while I ran, swinging and missing over and over –all of these thoughts were replaying in my mind.

So when we got to soccer, I watched the kids practice their skills with a game called Knockout, and a relay race where they had to show off moves that they had learned the previous day. Then it was time for a scrimmage. I continued to sit out until one of the Program Directors pushed me into the game. Before I was really able to play with the kids, we moved on to Lightning. I had never heard of this game, so while I was lined up for my turn I came to the conclusion that it was just an exercise of shooting on the goalie. I was mostly wrong. Yes, you had to shoot on the goalie, but when I got up to the front of the line to do just that, everyone was yelling at me to get in the net. I was so confused that apparently I scored on myself. Embarrassment, check! I was given a second chance, so I got back in line and was given a brief low down on the rules (they went right over my head) and asked if during my next turn someone could just tell me exactly what to do. When my turn came I was told to run into the net, rather than shoot, and without even having time to think, I surprisingly saved the ball coming towards me! (And have a war-wound to show for it.)

Just as I was getting a hang of the game, it was time to head to the baseball diamond where the kids practiced cutoff drills a few times and then split into two groups. One group headed to the batting cage and the others stayed at the diamond to do a more complex cutoff drill where they actually had to practice running the bases and getting someone out. Watching them run the bases gave me a new appreciation for the kind of work out that baseball players get. You forget that there’s actually a lot of running involved when you’re sitting in the nosebleeds or on your couch watching a game. These kids seemed pooped, but that didn’t stop them from heading over to the pools for their free swim!

Unlike Main Camp, RHSA gets one free swim a day, rather than two periods of swimming lessons a day, which is exactly why they were excited and not tired when they got there. They got to practice their canon balls on the diving board, play with rings, floaty boards and balls, and most importantly, they got to go down the water slide as many times as they wanted!

Then it was time for lunch. And not just any lunch, it was a Cookout Day, so that meant hotdogs, watermelon and chips for everyone. Even if SA hadn’t worked up an appetite by this point in the day, they certainly were excited for this special treat. I grabbed a seat with some of the boys from A-5 in the Lunch Barn where they inhaled their lunch in between talking about various athletes from various sports (I had no clue what they were talking about). They then talked me into taking a selfie with them (something I definitely understood) before they got up for a second round of hotdogs. I grew up with one sister, so it wasn’t until my late teens/early twenties that I discovered the phenomenon that is a Hungry Young Adult Male. It really doesn’t matter how tall/skinny/active the HYAM is, they sure know how to clean out a fridge, or in this case, Mom’s supply of Cookout hotdogs!

Once we had cleaned up our area in the Lunch Barn, we headed over to MSG where a pretty sweet skateboard park had been set up for the kids that had signed up for it. CRH and RHSA are constantly thinking up cool activities to bring into camp to shake up the regular routine. Whether it’s the wheelchair basketball at Main Camp from a few weeks ago or the skateboarding equipment brought in at RHSA, there’s no chance for monotony when you’re kids are here. They certainly leave no room for boredom, and that goes for the staff as well! Oriel and Shayne were just as into this temporary activity as the kids were.

On a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday the kids would usually head to an Option next, but since it was a Thursday, it was time for Game Day Prep. This is when the kids sign up for their favourite activity, get into teams at that activity and make up team names, coordinate colours with their teammates so they can arrive in matching ‘uniforms’ on Fridays and then do various activities to practice.

I took this opportunity to go to my favourite activity as well, which is basketball. I joined a group of boys that were mostly from A-5 and a few Coaches. We got into a very intense game of Bump, trash-talking included, where the kids made it their mission to eliminate their Coaches, but more specifically the lead basketball coach, Cori. It’s amazing how much of a rapport the staff and campers have built with each other over the course of the summer. Whether you see it during the AM or PM Press Conferences, or at individual activities, or even during lunch, there is a bond being made here at camp that is unlike any bond your kids could get in a school setting. I’m certainly in awe of it everyday I come to work at Camp Robin Hood.

Speaking of the PM Press Conference, it was time for the kids to pack up and head to this last activity of the day. The kids picked up their special snack, freezies, and then sat down for another comedy show from their Coaches and Program Directors. And then the moment I had been waiting for all day was upon us: GAME DAY GROOVE!

In addition to RHSA taking part in Main Camp Flagpole and doing the Camp Dance every summer, for the past four years or so they have also created their own dance called the Game Day Groove. I had heard a lot about it throughout the summer but I had yet to actually watch the campers perform it until that afternoon. Yes, it was a bit longer than the Camp Dance, yes it had crazier (and possibly nerdier) moves, but when it came down to it, it was simply awesome! Which is fitting since the song they dance to is ‘Everything is Awesome’ from The LEGO Movie.

Not only did I love seeing the RHSA campers dancing that afternoon, but the next morning was Sports Academy’s Annual Camp-Wide Flagpole, where they performed it for all of CRH and had Main Camp talking about the Game Day Groove for the rest of the day. Luckily I caught your campers performing it for me on video so you can also enjoy all their awesome dance moves.

Despite it feeling like a whole other world over at Robin Hood Sports Academy, I certainly felt like I’d finally gotten the true Camp Robin Hood experience. Yes, Main Camp has so much to offer campers every single day, but I don’t think you can say you’re a part of the Robin Hood family until you’ve experienced what the camp north of the road has to offer. So thank you everyone at Sports Academy for ending my ‘Day in the Life’ series on such a high note!