I already miss the camp boys so much. It’s so quiet once they leave. I keep expecting someone to start singing or ask me for sunflower seeds. Once the week is over, it almost feels like it didn’t even happen. Everything goes back to normal so quickly.
The campers were so ready for the official red versus blue game this morning. They packed up their stuff in record time. No one argued when we put sunscreen on them; they even formed a line instead of running all around like they usually do. They were raring to go.
The final game on Friday is one of the only games of baseball with all of the rules intact that the boys play all week, and it’s official. Starting lineups are announced, the anthem is sung, umpires call balls and strikes, and the kids stay at the same position for the whole game. There are always a few hiccups as we begin – a new camper not knowing that foul balls can be strikes, for example. The campers got into the swing of things pretty quickly. Both teams scored in the first inning.
They played five innings in total, full of great hits and plays on the field. A home run fence was set up about halfway out into left field this year, and there were a handful of boys that were determined to get one. They got really close; there were multiple doubles where the ball bounced over the fence. It looked like the game was going to end in a tie or blue was going to win when one camper hit a line drive into left field, but another boy made a fantastic play at second to end the game, breaking the camp conspiracy that the blue team always wins.
I was so impressed by how quickly most of the boys moved on from the results of the game. Blue team was disappointed for a second, red team cheered “we won” once, and that was basically it. The camper with the last hit of the game was upset that he didn’t score for his team, and I saw many other kids from both teams go over to him and remind him that it was about having fun and playing their best, both of which he did.
Unlike a little league game, Run Home Camp really isn’t about winning. It’s about growing. At the awards ceremony after lunch, almost every coach talked about how their campers have improved their baseball skills over the past week or over their years at camp. Each boy received a photo album of pictures of themselves and staff throughout the week, a hardball signed by their coach, and a soft-toss baseball like the ones we use during camp so they can keep practicing at home.
What I always love about awards is when the coaches talk about how their kids act off the field. They share that the boys are kind and generous and think about the needs of others. It’s amazing to think about how far the kids have come in this aspect throughout their week of camp as well. They’ve made new friends, learned about things like honesty and integrity, and grown as people. One boy’s note to his coach sums it up: “Thanks for helping me be a better baseball player and a better kid.” With fifteen of the campers eligible to return next year, I can’t wait to see how much they’ve grown – in height, as athletes, and as people.
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