There are many reasons why people love playing field hockey.  Revolution Field Hockey Camps reviews 5 specific health benefits that can be attributed to playing the sport:

1. Improved breathing –  Running up and down the field constantly during practice and games requires regular energy use and muscular strength.  All this exercise will develop your cardiovascular system and improve your breathing.
2. Better Coordination and Balance – Field hockey players are often multi-tasking on the go as they have to pass and receive the ball while running with speed and agility.  Performing these tasks will improve your coordination and balance and will probably enhance your hand-eye coordination.
3. Good Cardio workout –  Running up and down the field with short breaks is a workout.  “This is a form of high intensity interval training (HIIT), which is an even better cardio workout that burns more calories.”
4. Builds Your Strength -Your legs and core will be stregthened from all the physical activity requirements.
5. Beyond Physical Activity – Physical stamina is important but mental strategies are just as important to conquer the game.

Field hockey players while running in the field are also making split second decisions and creating strategies to win the game.  These quick thinking skills while on the fly are valuable, not just in the moment but for their personal and future professional lives.

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For more details:  5 Health Benefits From Playing Field Hockey

Image Credit:  Deposit Photos

Stack.com shares five top reasons why college coaches prefer recruiting multi-sports athletes:

• Multi-sports athletes suffer from fewer injuries.  Part of the reasoning could be the findings of a 2017 study presented at the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine’s annual meeting.  The study found that high school athletes with a “high specialization classification” had an 85-percent higher incidence of lower extremity injuries than high school athletes with a “low specialization classification.” Essentially, athletes who specialized were found to be at a much higher risk of lower extremity injury than athletes who play and train in multiple sports.
• Multi-sports players are more coachable.  The assumption is that if an athlete has experienced varying coaching styles, they have stronger listening and observational skills that they may have acquired from working with different coaches.   “Adapting how you recognize and receive feedback is critical to continuous athlete development. Every coach is like a book: We’ll like some more than others, but all offer something they can teach us.”
• Coaches love athletes that are always competing whether or not they are the top athlete in that sport.  Coaches like to see an athlete have the ability to place value on their competitive spirit over their personal statistics.
• Multi-sports athletes tend to be more flexible about transitioning into different positions.  Their multi-sport experience makes them more skilled at picking up new skills.
• Multi-sports athletes have a higher ceiling to maximize their potential.  “If you develop yourself as an athlete during middle school and high school, coaches at the college level can refine your technique, improve your performance and raise your level of play. But if you focus on mastering the technique of a single sport during your formative years at the sacrifice of building overall athleticism, developing that versatile athleticism later in life is much tougher.”

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For more details:  5 Reasons College Coaches Love to Recruit Multi-Sport Athletes

Image Credit:  Future Stars Camps

This summer, we featured “Camper Moments” every Wednesday from our different camps.  Though, Future Stars Camps 2018 has come to a close, we will continue to share our campers’ and counselors’ experiences.  Please contact us with any requests to know more about Future Stars Camps at: purchase@fscamps.com

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Meet Ben! He was attending Multi-Sports camp when I met with him but he is a Future Stars pro! He has been around this summer and last, and is such a genuinely sweet kid.

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Megan:  Hi Ben! How are you?

Ben:  “I’m good!”

Megan: So, I see you are in Multi-Sports the week, haven’t I seen you in Horseback Riding camp?

Ben: “Yeah, I usually do one week of Horseback riding camp, one week of Multi-Sports camp, and then sometimes Tennis camp, and sometimes Soccer camp.”

Megan:  Wow, awesome!  Any one you like the most?

Ben: “Do I have to pick one?”

Megan:  No!

Ben:  “I like horseback,  multi-sport, soccer, and tennis”

Megan:  So all of them?

Ben: “Yeah!”

Megan:  Awesome.  So, how old are you?

Ben:   “I am 10, and I am going into 6th grade.”

Megan:  Cool! So, what do you like to do during the school year?

Ben:   “I play a lot of sports.  I play tennis, swimming, skiing, lacrosse, baseball, and other stuff I can’t think of right now.”

Megan:  Woah, you really are active! Maybe multi-sports is the perfect fit then! So what is your favorite part about multi-sports?

Ben:   “I like playing gaga,capture the flag, and swimming.  I also like meeting new friends.”

Megan:  So, what does your day usually consist of?

Ben:   “A lot of different things.  In the morning, sometimes we play world cup(soccer), and maybe some two hand touch football, and maybe some gaga or capture the flag.  We also go swimming and eat lunch and then play other sports in the afternoon.”

Megan:  Do you have any siblings?

Ben:   “Yeah, they are both in tennis camp.”

Megan:  So, what has Future Stars Camps taught you?

Ben:   “I learned how to ride at horseback riding, I learned how to play better in tennis, and I learned new ball techniques in soccer.”

Megan:  Do you have any counselors that you like a lot?

Ben:   “Yeah, I like Izzy, Francis, Adia, Natlia, and Melissa”

Megan: It was great talking with you Ben and I will see you around.

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Image Credit:  Future Stars Camps

Mark Rerick, athletic director shared with the National Federation of State High School Associations his thoughts on:

Single sport specialization:

1. Sometimes a push towards single sport specialization comes from adults and not the athlete.  Keep in mind that “less than seven percent of high school athletes move on to college sports (and only three percent earn an athletic scholarship)”.
2. Often students that specialize can burn out sooner for varying reasons.  Specialization can also cause serious overuse injuries.  Over scheduling may also be a consequence and often impacts the quality of free time, if there is even time for other leisure activities.

Multi-sports participation:

1. For the majority of athletes playing multi-sports gives them opportunities to explore and even excel in multiple sports.
2. Playing multi-sports even for athletes interested in playing at the college level increases their cross-sports skill levels.

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Read more:  The Importance of Multi-sport Participation

Image Credit:  Future Stars Camps

This summer, we featured “Camper Moments” every Wednesday from our different camps.  Though, Future Stars Camps 2018 has come to a close, we will continue to share our campers’ and counselors’ experiences.  Please contact us with any requests to know more about Future Stars Camps at: purchase@fscamps.com

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Meet Grace! She had been in camp for 2 weeks, and has improved a great deal in diving since attending Diving camp.  I chatted with her at lunch and loved to hear about the fun that she was having at camp!

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Megan:  Hi Grace! How has camp been for you so far?

Grace:  “Its been great.  I was here last week too.”

Megan:  So you decided to come back because you liked camp last year?

Grace:  “Yeah, I liked diving so I came back this summer.”

Megan:  Do you dive during the year too?

Grace:  “No but I have been thinking about joining Mike’s team (the diving director) here at SUNY Purchase (High Dive Champions).”

Megan:  Oh awesome! So what is your favorite part about diving camp?

Grace:  “I think it’s really fun to learn new dives and make new friends at camp.  I also really like to go on the trampoline.”

Megan:  That does sound like fun!  So what types of dives have you learned while you have been at camp?

Grace:  “I learned how to do an inward, a backflip, and have been doing back dives off of the 3 meter with the help of one of our coaches, Alec.”

Megan:  That’s great! Is there any dive that you like the most?

Grace:  “Yeah, I love inwards.”

Megan:  Are there any dives that you specifically want to work on?

Grace:  “Yes, I want to improve on my front flip.  Back flips are kind of scary for me and I want to work on that fear.”

Megan:  Do you have any siblings that go to future stars?

Grace:  “Yes, my sister is in Swim camp now but she did diving last week and last year.  She is on Mike’s team during the year.”

Megan:  Ok, awesome! So have you ever done other camps here too?

Grace:  “Yeah I went to Horseback Riding camp last year but this year I am just doing diving.”

Megan:  Great talking with you Grace, see you around camp!

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Image Credit:  Future Stars Camps

Merriam Webster, defines resilience as “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change”.  Being resilient is an ability that every one should strive for, as life is often filled with change and at times also hardships.  Strong youth leaders need to be resilient to steer their team members through change and adapt to new circumstances.

The Center for Creative Leadership shares 8 steps to help build your resiliency:

1. Accept change
2. Learn continuously
3. Take charge
4. Define purpose
5. Create balance
6. Cultivate relationships
7. Reflect
8. Reframe skills

Working on this framework of steps will help you to cultivate your resiliency.  This is a lifetime journey, so don’t be too hard on yourself, if you don’t always meet your expectations.  Use the steps as a guide, refer to them when necessary, and keep in mind that resiliency also comes with time and life experience.

For details: 8 Steps to Help You Become More Resilient

Image Credit:  Deposit Photos

This summer, we featured “Camper Moments” every Wednesday from our different camps.  Though, Future Stars Camps 2018 has come to a close, we will continue to share our campers’ and counselors’ experiences.  Please contact us with any requests to know more about Future Stars Camps at: purchase@fscamps.com

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Meet Peter! He has been a long-time friend of Future Stars and is a light to everyone he passes every summer.  You can find him giving just about anyone a big hug and smile. He has been a Multi-sports camper for 6 years, and now has moved on to our youth leadership program.  He has taken initiative and started camp-wide events such as Summer-ween, Peter has been a youth leader in over 4 camps this summer, and is overall a joy to have at camp.

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Megan:  Hi Peter!

Peter:  “Hi Meg!”

Megan:  So, I am here to interview you about your experience at Future Stars.  You have been here for a while so I know you will have a lot to say!

Peter:  “Yes I do!”

Megan:  Ok, great I thought so! So overall, what have you loved the most about Future Stars?

Peter:  “Probably the good friends that I have made every summer has been the best part, and also just the fact that we always have such great coaches who make camp so much more fun.  I honestly haven’t had any coaches here that I haven’t loved.”

Megan:  Aw that’s great.  I know that you and Anthony Bonsignore, Director of Multi Sports and Youth Leadership Program are close.  I understand that Anthony encouraged you to join the youth leadership program, is that right?

Peter:  “Yeah! So now that I am old enough and now that Anthony started the Youth Leadership Program, I am able to be a part of it.  And yeah, Anthony and I are close.”

Megan:  So, how have you and Anthony gotten so close?

Peter:  “Well, since I have been here for so long, we have just gotten close over time.  But Anthony has been such a great role model for me throughout the years. To be honest, if I have Anthony by my side I feel like I can do anything.”

Megan:  That is so sweet.  What types of things do you do in the Youth Leadership program that empower you like this?

Peter:  “Well the youth leadership program is meant to help give us life skills for the future.  We get these skills through weekly meetings with Anthony, and through helping out at other camps and acting as essentially additional helpful hands throughout the week.  His motto is ‘always stay positive no matter what’ and I really think that his repetition of this has not only helped me at camp, but in my life.”

Megan:  So, what types of things do you talk about at your meetings?

Peter:  “We talk about how to be better leaders, where we can improve, where we have been successful, and basically anything else that either we ask for advice on or Anthony brings up regarding life skills and leadership.”

Megan:  So what camps have you been a youth leader for?

Peter:  “I have been a youth leader for Multi-sports, Rising Stars, Horseback Riding, S.T.E.A.M. Education,  and Swim.”

Megan:  Wow that’s a lot!  What is your favorite part about it?

Peter:  “I love making kids feel happier if they are sad, helping them, and just overall making them feel better.  Being a counselor is one of the best jobs in the world. In the summer, I peak!”

Megan:  You are so sweet.  I know that you love the summers so much, and that makes me so happy, but what makes you happy during the other seasons?

Peter:  “I do Young Life and I really like that.  It’s kind of like camp!”

Megan:  Since you are going to be a sophomore in high school, do you have any sense of where you want your life to go in the future? No worries if not, I sure did not.

Peter:  “I want to work for the United Nations.  I want to help people not just in the US, but around the world.”

Megan:  You are amazing Peter.  I am so glad that I was able to talk to you. Hope you have a great rest of your day and I will see you around I am sure!

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Image Credit:  Future Stars Camps

Young people all over the world are making great strides in solving old problems, raising awareness and funds for great causes and taking on roles of responsibility in their communities.  Let us applaud these important contributions that youth are making.  The National Society for the Gifted and Talented share that “Effective leadership abilities are dependent on attitudes, interpersonal abilities, knowledge, and goal-attainment skills.”  Here are some ways to develop leadership skills and character:

1. Identify historical or current people that exemplify strong leadership skills and strength of character.  Discuss and think about what makes them good examples and examine yourself  and see if you share some of their characteristics.
2. Think about how obstacles and making mistakes can help fine-tune leadership abilities.
3. Understand the value of having short and long term goals.  Create goals and work on meeting them.
4. Work on inter-personal communication skills.  Practice these skills in one-on-one and group scenarios.

Developing these and other skills will help develop confidence in young people to be strong leaders.

For more details:  Eight Great Ways to Develop Youth Leaders

Image Credit:  Futures Stars Camps