Pressure to Play

When young people participate in school sports there are a myriad of benefits, but too much of a good thing can have its downsides.

Times have changed. As sports competition has increased dramatically, sports’ seasons have become longer, and they often overlap. With more specialization in sports at younger ages, kids are facing higher rates of injury, pressure, and burnout. This kind of dedicated structure and required commitment can become too much for young athletes, especially when pre-season practices encroach on summer break.

An unstructured alternative is summer camp, which allows kids to stay plenty active, gain a variety of new skills, and prepare for the upcoming sports season. With a variety of athletics to choose from, new sports and activities to try, and time spent outdoors all day, summer camp can provide both the needed break and the ideal preparation between sport seasons.

Matt Eastwick was a camper at Falling Creek in the 1983 and 1984 six-week camp sessions. He went on to play college basketball as a forward for Princeton from the 1988-89 to 1991-92 seasons and remembers his time at camp fondly.

“At camp, everything was outdoors. You had to learn how to be a pretty accurate shooter and I ended up practicing my shooting a lot,” said Matt, who credits the outdoor environment of camp with helping him perfect his shooting skills. Practicing against the wind, in bright sunlight, and on an outdoor court with wet spots from previous rains helped Matt sharpen his skills. Matt says his shooting skills were honed in part at camp, “tracing back to the conditions of playing tough games against tough competition outdoors.”

When Matt played for Princeton, his team won its league championship four years in a row. During that time, they also played in four NCAA tournament games and famously gave the number one seed, Georgetown, a run for its money as the 16th seed in 1989. In that contest, Princeton was winning most of the game, but ended up losing by just one point in a nail-biter.

In addition to nurturing his love for the game of basketball at camp, Matt also discovered new sports and activities he enjoyed. “The first year I kept to the things I knew,” Matt recalled. “I was doing a lot of basketball and sports. But my second year I really got the bug to do more wilderness and adventurous trips. One of the things I loved was canoeing and kayaking trips, so I was going on one every week. It was such an amazing experience. I grew up in the city of Baltimore, so all the wilderness stuff was just a great way to learn about myself, get out there in nature, and challenge myself.” Experiencing a variety in athletic activities can keep burnout and overuse injuries at bay, resulting in not only more well-rounded young athletes, but young adults with more well-rounded life experiences.

Missing Out?

What, if anything, are young athletes missing out on when they choose summer camp over pre-season sports practices at home?

At camp, boys are away from their teammates and coaches, so some feel they might miss the chance for their talent to be “spotted,” or they may appear to be uncommitted to the team. Especially in middle school, most pre-season practices and “open gym” sessions are not mandatory, but many families still feel pressure to attend during the summer to gain favor with coaches.

These are valid concerns, but what about the benefits of choosing summer camp instead? In an outdoor setting, campers stay active all day long, not just during set practice times. At camp, they don’t just return to the couch with their screens after an hour or two of exercise. All day they are exposed to a variety of sports, new friends, and activities they couldn’t do at home. The break from structured training can rejuvenate and boost mental health by ensuring the young person that his self-worth is not solely wrapped up in his sports performance. Camp can also introduce kids to new activities they may not have realized they would enjoy. Some find out they love alternative sports like rock climbing, mountain biking, or playing pickleball, and return home with a new activity to enjoy for the rest of their lives.

Lessons That Last

Besides the fitness benefits and skill building learned at camp, there are many additional lessons that can’t be learned through school sports practice sessions alone. Being away from home, choosing a personalized schedule, and independently going to activities helps foster confidence, leadership, self-motivation, discipline, organization, and initiative. These are qualities that any coach would look for in a team player, not to mention how important these soft skills are in life, beyond sports.

Matt recalled, “One of the great things about Falling Creek was the good balance and mix between things like competitive activities and personal growth or advancement opportunities.”

Matt remembered times for competition at camp, but also plenty of times focused purely on personal development. This included learning soft skills like resilience and communication, challenging himself to try something new, and other experiences individual in nature. “I think there are some places that are much more one or the other, but Falling Creek is a great mix of both,” Matt said.

Addressing The Coach

How can a student athlete bring up the topic of summer camp with a coach who expects players to be at all non-mandatory practices and pre-season events? Falling Creek Program Director Mike Nuckles, who served as Athletic Director at Charlotte Country Day for several years, said open communication is the key. “When you think about ideal values in a student athlete, self-advocacy and self-motivation are huge,” said Nuckles, who encourages campers to talk with their coaches to create a training plan ahead of the summer.

“Coaches look for work ethic, not just skill,” Nuckles said. “Just going to the sports practices doesn’t necessarily show motivation to a coach, especially if it’s just to do something for the summer in order not to be bored, or to just show up. Taking the initiative to prepare and execute a summer workout plan while at camp would be much more impressive to me.”

At camp, some boys wake up early to workout. Others spend their free time getting in their miles running the trails or lifting weights at the lodge for conditioning training. Initiatives like this not only show communication skills, commitment, and personal dedication to the team, but also support self-motivation and leadership skills that a coach will be looking for when it comes time to build a team.