Life skills learned from sports skills

So, there's this magical land, hidden deep in the forest, where you can play all day and try new activities that you probably cannot do in the "real world." Paddling a whitewater canoe down a Class III rapid, scrambling up a rock face, shooting arrows and cantering over jumps are normal occurrences. Sounds like fun, right?

Welcome to summer camp! Millions of children head into the wilderness for weeks at a time each summer to try new sports and activities that are not readily available at home, while also developing community living skills, fostering friendships and working as a team. For me, there was no better way to spend my summer: playing outside all day, doing sports that were not at my disposal in suburbia and hanging out with friends?

Sign me up.

When I decided back in May that I needed to work a 9-to-5 J-O-B, you know - to gain relevant experience and beef up that resume - I was slightly less than devastated when that meant no camp for me. See, I grew up attending the same all-girls summer camp in western North Carolina that my mom and aunts went to when they were kids. I'm what you could call a "lifer" - going for more than 10 years. A summer without camp seemed incomplete to me: How was I going to get my daily fix of canoeing and kayaking while I'm cooped up in a cubicle shuffling papers at my internship?

I wasn't disappointed about being a "big girl, real lady" - I loved working at a magazine, going to press conferences and writing articles that were published. Rather, I was scared that this internship was the first step to leaving the fun, carefree world of camp forever.

Without the constantly scheduled activities that my summer self had grown so accustomed to for the past 10 summers, I felt extremely restless and deficient in my recreation. That may seem silly, especially since I am a Richmond native with the James River right at my fingertips, but the shift from the camp bubble to the working world caused me to overlook the simplicity of the James' rapids right in my backyard.

And camp is not just about intensely hardcore outdoor activities. One perennial highlight at many camps across the country is a "Color War." Color Wars generally consist of various races and games that incorporate all members of each team at camp. The races and games include virtually all activities taught at camp, as well as other contests, like counselor Tug-of-War, cheer competition and a personal favorite of mine that may not be standard at other camps: the table cleaning competition. Color Wars are the culminations of all of the life skills kids learn at camp, with teamwork being one of the most important.

I needed my dose of outdoor fun and structured competition. Cubicle life did not satiate my hunger for good, old-fashioned fun in the great outdoors.

Children benefit from summer camp, plain and simple. As a young camper, I learned to become independent and self-sufficient. Yet that is not to say that I did not make friends in my cabin and activities and learn to live in a community and work as a team. To challenge yourself as a 10-year-old to make it to the top of the rock climbing wall stays with you when you challenge yourself to pursue that internship or study abroad opportunity: It is a little scary the first time around, and maybe even intimidating, but when you conquer that obstacle, you gain confidence to go out and adventure even more.

The skills I learned at summer camp help me on a daily basis, and I especially realized the importance of them when working at a magazine this past summer. Communication and teamwork are essential to a successful organization, and I first learned the importance of them while at summer camp.

Camp is much more than winning Color War year after year, or being the best archer. It is about trying something new, even if it requires you to step out of your comfort zone.

Luckily for me though, I had the opportunity to go back to camp for my twelfth consecutive summer, even if it was only for a two-week session. For two weeks, I got my outdoors adventure fix, but I'm like a junkie and I need more. While the weather is still summery, take advantage of the James and Richmond's proximity to the Appalachian Trail. That two-week session was just enough time for me to feel whole again, as well as let my inner kid out to play.

Contact sports editor Amelia Vogler at amelia.vogler@richmond.edu