By Staff Writer Tyler Riley
Every year between 2009 and 2017, a child sat in a classroom conversing to his pals while they waited for the bell to ring on a mid-May day. They all looked forward to this sound every day, but on this specific day of the year, it marked the beginning of summer vacation, which was an exciting occasion.
Yes, I eagerly anticipated summer like many children do. It meant having time for enjoyable family vacations, socializing with friends outside of school, relaxing, and—most significantly for me—playing sports.
My entire life has been around sports, and as a child, I was always active, whether as a player or a spectator. In order to recover and fulfill every child’s lifelong dream of playing in the major leagues, I attended summer camps during the offseason when I wasn’t playing baseball.
My primary motivation for participating in these annual weeks of physical activity was to get better at what I did. But in retrospect, what did those camps accomplish for me, particularly since I never pursued my goal of being a professional athlete?
The majority of my camp experiences took place on the basketball court, even though baseball was my primary sport. One of my favorite professors, Allen McGowan, used to hold a basketball camp at Asbury United Methodist Church for a week every summer.
I was in my element when I stepped onto the hardwood, especially with my buddies around. We gained knowledge on how to get better at dribbling, passing, and shooting in preparation for our final performance display.
However, competing in a Hot Shot tournament was one of my favorite parts. During the week, we had to shoot from several key locations that were worth varying amounts of points in an attempt to beat the score set by the master, who was an older child serving as a coach.
Since I was good at it and won the Hot Shot competition out of all the campers every year I was there, I can’t say that it was my favorite. But seriously, it taught me important life skills, just like every other sports camp I’ve attended.
I was never raised to be an athlete in high school or college, as I previously stated, but that didn’t stop me from continuing my love of sports, which is why I’m writing this column today.
Above all, summer sports camps taught me to appreciate myself and my environment. The summer was nice because of the memories I created with my buddies at those camps. They taught me how to value the games I knew and liked, even when they didn’t always feed my competitive nature, which I have always valued.
I really benefit from the lesson they taught me about working under pressure now. I learned how to feel a time constraint from playing that Hot Shot game. In life, you will frequently need to complete a task in a short period of time, which is something I definitely experience at work.
Failure is another thing you learn. I realize that’s a difficult sentence to read, but learning involves a lot of failures, and everyone must experience failure at some point in order to succeed. Even though I didn’t always master the abilities the first, second, or third time, I improved with each attempt and persisted.
Lastly, they showed me how to get coaching. You will need to listen to and accept what adults have to say if you want to leave your mark. You will have to hear from someone higher up every day. Those in positions of authority have succeeded and have come that far by letting themselves be students of their trade. My eyes were opened to a new world of life after reaching that realization.
Therefore, parents—or even children, if you are reading this—should consider these aspects of the week-long journey they are embarking on if they choose to attend or send their child to a summer camp. The iconic quote from Allen Iverson reads, “We talkin’ about practice!” No game! No game! No game! We are discussing practice! To clarify, I’m not suggesting that we attend these camps merely to practice for the sports we enjoy; rather, we also go to practice for a far longer game—and an enjoyable one at that—called life.
