Yale Sports Camp aka Camp of Doom

The boys went to Yale sports camp for the first time last week. It sounded so promising - variety of choices, exposure to lots of sports, including things like squash and golf and ping pong and things they might actually enjoy.

Day 1
The nurse called an hour into camp on the first day. Evan had gotten hit in the face with a ping pong ball. Not while he was playing, while he was waiting his turn. Some kid had come along and whacked the ball into the line of waiting kids. The nurse said Evan was fine and was heading back to camp.  The day, the report from the kids was pretty good. They both had friends there, and they had a reasonable amount of fun in the fancy, air-conditioned gym.

Day 2
Another call from the nurse. The kids were at the fields. Evan refused to take part in any of the activities. Said his legs hurt, which I think meant that they were sore from the day before. He just wanted to sit in the shade, which the nurse felt was too far from the rest of the kids and was dangerously close to cars.  I tried to be patient, but what I really wanted to know was - why was I hearing about this? Apparently the counselors had warned him that they would call me if he didn't listen, and he basically told them to go for it. I spoke to Evan.  I told him about the cars. He said, "I'm not going to run in front of cars!" I told him to sit near the kids. He said, "No." The nurse took the phone back and I told her to try again. Evan said they broke for lunch after the call, and then he hid behind the tree, in the shade, until it was time to go back. Noah had good day, because he had fun beating kids at tennis, which was the one activity I was hoping he wouldn't do.

Day 3
Kids were bused to a lake. They played in the water. Didn't fish. No boating. Ran out of pickles and corn. Evan fell off a bench. The nurse said he wasn't having a good week.

Day 4
Back to the fields. Evan was happy because he beat kids at tennis. Noah was unhappy because he was hit in the face with a soccer ball by a counselor in training.

Day 5
In the air conditioned gym. Good last day - pizza truck, ice cream, no injuries

So this camp was a bust. Next week is chess, which I suspect will be more their speed.