Play Ball!
Two-Week Camp gets only one Saturday, and Falling Creek made the most of it yesterday. The regular activity schedule gave way to a full day of games, tournaments, special meals, and surprises built around the Great American Game.
The boys received their first clue before bed Friday night, when counselors told them to wear jerseys to Morning Watch. By Saturday morning, team names and numbers were scattered throughout the crowd.
Cort A. from Raleigh, North Carolina, proudly shared his New York Yankees jersey with a cabinmate while he wore his Savannah Bananas jersey. “Number 99, Aaron Judge! That is my favorite player,” he said, before adding, “He is injured right now.” Samson R. from Alexandria, Virginia, chose a Pittsburgh Pirates jersey for a simpler reason. “I just like pirates,” he explained. For Blake P. from the Outer Banks, North Carolina, the jersey connected him to home. “My dad is a New York Yankees fan, so I decided to bring this jersey and wear it today,” he said.
At breakfast, red, white, and blue headbands and armbands were waiting on the tables. Before long, twelve new baseball teams were preparing for the FCC World Series.
There were the Green River Growlers, DuPont Ducks, Pisgah Pirates, Asheville Astronauts, Bob’s Creek Ballers, and Hendersonville Hotdogs. The field also included the Tsali Swamp Monsters, Tuck Tuck Tigers, Flat Rock Firemen, Gilbert’s Gamers, Lake Summit Sailors, and Tuxedo Taco Cats. Some sounded like teams from an old mountain league. Others could only have been invented at summer camp.
Cort A. from Raleigh, North Carolina, proudly wore a New York Yankees jersey. “Number 99, Aaron Judge! That is my favorite player,” he said, before adding, “He is injured right now.” Samson R. from Alexandria, Virginia, chose a Pittsburgh Pirates jersey for a simpler reason. “I just like pirates,” he explained. For Blake P. from the Outer Banks, North Carolina, the jersey connected him to home. “My dad is a New York Yankees fan, so I decided to bring this jersey and wear it today,” he said.
At breakfast, red, white, and blue headbands and armbands were waiting on the tables, another clue that the Great American Game was about to take over camp. Before long, twelve new baseball teams were preparing for the FCC World Series.
There were the Green River Growlers, DuPont Ducks, Pisgah Pirates, Asheville Astronauts, Bob’s Creek Ballers, and Hendersonville Hotdogs. The field also included the Tsali Swamp Monsters, Tuck Tuck Tigers, Flat Rock Firemen, Gilbert’s Gamers, Lake Summit Sailors, and Tuxedo Taco Cats. Some sounded like teams from an old mountain league. Others could only have been invented at summer camp.
Building the Home Team
Before the games began, each team needed the things any proper ball club requires: a flag, a chant, and a mascot. The boys gathered with markers, fabric, costumes, and ideas, giving each team its own personality before the first rotation.
For the Hendersonville Hotdogs, counselor Jamie Malloy became General Frankenfurter, dressed in camouflage and sunglasses. He ran alongside his team all morning, keeping the boys together, on pace, and having fun from one round to the next.
“I gave it all for the boys out there,” he said.
By the time the teams assembled, flags were waving, chants had been practiced, and the mascots were ready. These teams had not existed at breakfast, but the boys were already cheering for them as though they had been lifelong fans.
Play Ball
The FCC World Series included six baseball-inspired games spread across camp. At Dodgeball Grand Slam, boys tried to make their way around the bases while dodgeballs flew across the field. Kickball came with giant bases, while the Slip N’ Slide Into Home race required speed, water, and a willingness to arrive at the plate thoroughly soaked. Teams also competed in Trashketball, a Team Base Race Relay, and a jumbo skee-ball competition.
After the fourth rotation, everyone paused near the Dining Hall for a snack break. Flags rested against the railings while boys caught their breath and prepared for the final two games. Then the teams headed back out, with mascots still moving among them and teammates cheering from the sidelines.
For Charles A. from Charleston, South Carolina, Saturday seemed determined to go his way. It was his birthday, so the morning began with doughnuts at breakfast. Later, his team won the FCC World Series.
“This day can’t get any better,” he said. “Things are going my way!”
Tournaments Around Camp
Saturday afternoon opened with camp-wide tournaments, and every camper chose one competition. Fishing, foosball, basketball, pickleball, four square, and Spikeball were among the choices, with matches unfolding across camp.
“It’s so fun to have a change from a regular camp day,” said John H. from Charlotte, North Carolina. “All the activities during the day can make you really tired, and these are super fun because we get to do something totally different.”
The Two-Week basketball tournament ended with one of the closest contests of the afternoon. The shots were not falling, the day was hot, and the boys had been running for quite some time when the dinner bell ended the championship game at 7–6. The Ballerz had won, while the boys from In Da Corner needed a minute after coming so close.
Friends gave them pats on the back and reminded them what they had accomplished. When one boy was having a particularly hard time, Holt S. from Birmingham, Alabama, told him, “You did so great! You made it all the way to the championship game.”
Similar moments of enthusiastic friendship could be found all over camp, especially when a boy needed someone beside him. James S. from Annandale, Virginia, was overheard encouraging a friend who was missing home. “Does your home have a rock-climbing wall? Does your home have a turf football field? Does your home have a Blob?” he asked. “This place is way better than home! Let’s have the best time here!”
A Few Staff Favorites
Next came Staff Shake-Ups, a collection of special activities led by staff members who wanted to share something beyond the regular camp schedule.
“This is totally different from the rest of the week,” said counselor Hannah Frazier. “Staff get to share what they are passionate about, and kids get to find a new activity that is not normally offered.”
Boys could choose reading, line dancing, magic, Ultimate Frisbee, disc golf, riflery, chess, speed climbing, and other one-time offerings shaped by the interests of the people leading them.
Counselor Jacob Breed, from Fort Payne, Alabama, who can usually be found at the climbing wall, offered speed climbing and turned the wall into something closer to a racecourse. “I like climbing, and kids like to challenge themselves to see how fast they can get up the wall,” Jacob said. “It’s kind of like a track meet.”
Elsewhere, Counselor Cooper Cowden, from Lexington, Kentucky organized a chess tournament for boys eager to test the strategies they had been learning. “A lot of Two-Week campers are just getting into chess, and this is a good chance to test their skills,” he said.
For one afternoon, camp made room for the extra things its people know and love, while giving the boys another chance to discover something new.
A Ballpark Supper
Dinner stayed with the baseball theme. The Dining Hall served a classic hot dog bar, with plenty of toppings for building the right ballpark meal. Churros followed for dessert.
Saturday night’s final competition began after dinner, when Whitt Flicksinger and Beans surprised the boys by appearing in the Dining Hall covered in Green and Gold body paint. Their entrance announced the evening’s matchup and quickly turned supper into a pep rally.
From there, everyone headed to the Gym for Minute to Win It: Stadium Games, where campers and staff competed in quick challenges while the rest of camp watched and cheered from the sidelines.
The competition began with the Cup Game, which required lightning-quick reflexes. As the caller moved players through “head, shoulders, knees, toes,” they followed each command while keeping an eye on the cup between them. The moment they heard “cup,” both reached for it, and the first hand there moved on.
Reverse charades followed, then a challenge that sent ping-pong balls flying toward shaving cream-covered counselor faces. Next came an all-camp rock-paper-scissors elimination contest, with winners continuing as the crowd grew smaller and the cheering grew louder. The evening finished with counselors taking the floor for a dance contest set to “Cotton-Eyed Joe.”
The games required only a few supplies and a minute on the clock, but each one produced plenty of suspense. By the final challenge, the Gym sounded much like a stadium with a close game underway.
Rooting for One Another
The FCC World Series lasted only one Saturday, but the boys embraced teams that had not existed before breakfast and cheered for them as though they always had. Years from now, they may remember the giant bases, cotton candy ice cream, a counselor with shaving cream on his face, or General Frankenfurter giving it all for the boys out there.
They may also remember a friend who met them with a pat on the back after a hard loss or reminded them there was still plenty of camp left to enjoy. Yesterday gave the boys all kinds of reasons to cheer, but some of the best moments came when they were rooting for one another.