This summer, we will feature “Camper Moments” every Wednesday from our different camps and locations.  Let us know what camps you are interested in learning more about at: purchase@fscamps.com.

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Meet Ethan.  Ethan is enrolled in basketball camp and is a star kid on and off the court.  He has been a camper here for 6 years and LOVES basketball and all of the friends that he makes while playing.  Ethan comfortably chats with Meg Griffin and shares his Future Stars experience.

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Hi Ethan! So, what is your favorite part about camp?

Ethan:  “The games are my favorite part.  I also love the cafeteria.”

That’s funny so many kids here love the cafeteria, so I’m not surprised you said that.  So how did you hear about future stars?

Ethan:  “Well, both my brother and sister came here.  My sister was a counselor in Circus Camp last year, and my brother came here when he was younger.”

How old were you when you started here?

Ethan:  “I was 6, and now I’m 11.”

Do you usually play with other kids that are 11?

Ethan:  “Yeah, I either play with kids that are 11 or a little older”

(Jess Lindsay, Assistant Director of Future Stars Basketball Camps, overhears our conversation and shares.)

Jess Lindsay:  “Kids are typically placed in same age groups, but Ethan has been coming here for a number of years and we have recognized that he usually works best when he is challenged by playing with kids who are a little older.  So here he plays with kids from ages 11 all the way to 15”

Do you play basketball year-round?

Ethan:  “Yeah I play for my middle school team and I play travel basketball during the year”

What is your favorite team?

Ethan:  “NBA or college? NBA, I like the Nicks, but for college basketball, I root for Duke”

Do you want to go to Duke when you’re older?

Ethan:  “Yes, I really want to go there and play basketball”

So you want to keep up basketball all through Middle School, High School, and College?!

Ethan:  “Yes!”

That’s awesome.  So who is your best friend at camp?

Ethan:  “Probably Devin (Eliana’s brother).”

Well, thank you for talking to me, have fun at camp!

Practical Golf shares a video and a book to help you control your putting speed.  Undoubtedly, managing your putting speed is key to doing better on the greens.  If you control the speed on the first putt and keep the ball within 10 feet you will have increased the probability that the second putt could get you in. Unfortunately, putting is a skill that is often overlooked when golfers practice, yet this is often where multiple shots are made.

So what can you do to improve this essential skill:

• practice, practice, practice
• play games that challenge you to lag putts to certain distances around the hole
• improve your putting stroke

Aim for 2 putts per hole and you will see a big difference in your final score.  If this is one area that you have failed to practice, you will see a change in your score.

For more details:  Putting Distance Control – The Key To Success on the Greens

Image Credit: Deposit Photos

Steam Craft Edu shares, “Robotics is one of the fastest growing industries in the 21st century.  With the robotics market more than doubling in the last few years, at an almost exponential increase in the number of applications, robotics offers exciting and varied career opportunities.”

Kids are often drawn to robots, either as toys to play with or movies to watch, and the truth is so are adults.  Building your own robot used to be a herculean task requiring specialized skills, hard to find components, and a huge financial investment.  But not so these days.  STEAM educators encourage kids and parents to explore the field of robotics by starting off with simple small projects and as they develop their skills and understanding to work up to more complex ideas and designs.  Confidence building comes with accomplishing smaller goals and moving up to larger goals as their skills’ mastery improves.  Here are some homekit suggestions from Steam Craft Edu:

• DIY Art Bot: A STEAM powered robot
• Homemade Wobble Bot
• Mini Homemade Brush Bot
• Model Robotic Hand with rubbers and straws

And if budget is not a consideration, you may want to try this Droid Inventor Kit from littleBits. Whichever activity kit you start with enjoy the time you have together working with your child to enhance their future.  Robots like drones and self-driving cars are part of our present and will be proliferating in the years to come.  Give your child a head start.

For more information:  Learning with STEAM Powered Robotics

Image Credit:  Future Stars Camps

This summer, we will feature “Camper Moments” every Wednesday from our different camps and locations.  Let us know what camps you are interested in learning more about at: purchase@fscamps.com.

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Meet Collin.  He’s at tennis camp this week, and you can usually find him on the courts.  Collin is 12 years old and has been playing tennis for about 6 years.  His parents played tennis and they encouraged him to learn tennis, and he has been playing here at camp ever since.  Collin shares his day with Meg Griffin.

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Hi Collin, what grade are you going into?

Collin:  “I’m going into 8th grade”

How do you like tennis camp?

Collin:  “I love it, I’ve been coming to Futures Stars Camps for 3 years now.”

Do you have other family that comes to Future Stars?

Collin: “Yes, my brother, Aidan, who is 10 also attends tennis camp.”

Who is your favorite counselor?

Collin:  “Manuela and Javier are my favorite counselors this summer.” 

What sports do you play?

Collin:   “I play tennis and baseball.”

Do you play year round?

Collin:   “Yeah, I play indoor tennis during the year.”

What is your strongest shot?

Collin: “Probably, my forehand.”

What are your favorite games to play at tennis camp?

Collin: “I enjoy playing King of the Court and Stratigo.”

Have you been playing in the tournament?

Collin:  “Yeah, I really want to win this week.”

Who is your best friend at camp?

“Collin:  “Dahminik”

What are you up to when you’re not at camp?

Collin:  “I’m usually playing Fortnite at home or with friends.”

What’s your favorite song?

Collin: “God’s Plan, by Drake”

If you had a million dollars, what would you buy?

Collin: “A big trampoline and drones.”

Where is your favorite place to eat?

Collin:  “Vega, it is Mexican Food”

What is your favorite subject in school?

Collin:  “Lunch.”

Do you have any pets?

Collin:   “No, but I want a pet piranha”

What else are you up to this summer?

Collin:   “I’m going to Kiawah Island in South Carolina with my family.”

Thank you for talking to me! Have a great week!

Photo Credit:  Future Stars Camps

Swim Swam’s, Olivier Poirier-Leroy shares that being the best swimmer that you can be may not just be about swimming practices and drills, dry land routines, coaching, nutrition, natural abilities or physical attributes but also about your mental preparedness.  Try developing these habits:

• Decide to bolster your mental fortitude – work on the attributes that will make you mentally tenacious
• Be humble – instead of coveting the abilities of others, concentrate on your own gifts and work hard to hone your own abilities
• Don’t stop exploring your outer limits – consistently seek out to try new things and put away the “can’t do” mentality
• Always be prepared to learn – always be willing to work on areas where you can improve, don’t confuse being stubborn with being mentally tough, always strive for improvement
• Redirect negativity – accept and work through your frustrations, but know how to harness that energy and use it for training and development
• Be patient with yourself – work through bad practices and days, take a step back, and work through the kinks till you are satisfied, and keep persevering
• Dive right in – stop waiting for the perfect, the time is now
• Create routines – design a sustainable schedule to meet your goals and most importanty stick with it

Read more:  Talent is Overrated: 8 Habits of Elite-Level Swimmers

Image Credit:  Future Stars Camps

Richard D Ginsburg Ph.D, with Psychology Today, questions whether playing high-level sports garners kids better opportunites to getting into colleges of their choice.  The truth is ” less than 5% in most cases as estimated by the NCAA and the National Alliance of Youth Sports” play college sports.  “Bill Pennington wrote in the New York Times, full scholarships are rarely given. In fact, most scholarships fail to match the years of annual youth sport bills that include membership fees and extensive travel bills. Is it really worth our time, energy and dollars to invest in such an unlikely outcome?”

So why then should kids plays sports, here are what studies reveal:

• sports improve cardiovascular health
• lowers the risk of obesity
• enahances social skills and overall mental health
• cultivates character and encourages versatililty
• incites thoughfulness and develops leadership skills
• being in good physical shape allows for comfortability and confidence in their own bodies

Parents have a lot of reasons as to why they want their kids to play sports, but it does seem more likely that sports will provide your child with life skills rather than a slam dunk into college.

For details:  Psychology of Sport – Will playing sports get our kids into college?

Image Credit:  Future Stars Camps

This summer, we will feature “Camper Moments” every Wednesday from our different camps and locations.  Let us know what camps you are interested in learning more about at: purchase@fscamps.com.

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Meet Eliana.  Eliana is 9 this summer and started at Rising Stars camp when she was 3.    Eliana is a rising 4th grader.  This conversation stems from a chat with her previous counselor, Meg Griffin, who notes that Eliana is “so much bigger and stronger” than when she started at Future Stars Camps.

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How long have you been coming to Future Stars?

Eliana:  “5 years!”

Have you always participated in the Multi-sports camp?

Eliana:  “Yes, I always do multi sports.”

Are you interested in trying other camps?

Eliana:  “Yes, I am joining basketball camp during the 3rd week this summer when more girls come”

Are you excited?

Eliana: “Yes!!”

Who is your favorite counselor?

Eliana:  “Anthony Bonsignore, Director of Multi Sports and Youth Leadership Program, and that is never going to change!”

Have you made a lot of friends here at camp?

Eliana:  “Yeah I make a lot a lot of friends at Future Stars like Zach (r) and Gabriel (l).

Who is your best friend here?

Eliana:  “My brother, Devin (he is in basetball camp).”

What is your favorite activity to do here?

Eliana:  “Dodgeball, we played this morning. I also like color wars. I want to be on the blue team again this year because we won last year.”

What are you looking forward to today?

Eliana:  “I am excited for gaga, capture the flag, and dodgeball”

Thank you Eliana!

Soccer America’s Randy Vogt has some good advice for young referees when confronted with angry adults when he gave a talk on reffing at intramural games.  Sadly, when aswering questions about soccer rules, Randy found that many of the young referees’ questions were about how to manage adults who were behaving inappropriately during a game, whether they were coaches or players’ parents.  These young refs were between the ages of  10 -14 and the players’ they reffed were age 6 – 12.  Here is some advice that Randy shared:

• If coaches yell at you – politely say to them, “Coach, we are trying our best as refs just as you are doing as a coach. The game will go smoother if you concentrate on coaching your team rather than commenting on the officiating.”
• After one reminder and if the coach or a parent continues to behave inappropriately, call on the field coordinator to intervene.
• If there are concerns about referees missing fouls or the like, work on having a pleasant conversation between periods with the coaches and the field coordinator.

The sad fact is that often times, adults can get out of control and create a lot of misery for young referees.  There are takeaways for both sides.  The referees can concentrate on the positives of their job, like the extra cash they make doing something that they enjoy.  The adults really need to manage their emotions and remember that everyone makes mistakes.

For more information:  Advice for young referees — and a plea to the adults who scream at them

Image Credit:  Future Stars Camps