Final Night Cookout and Inflatables!

Inflatables and cookouts are a blast but we're so sad that it's the last night of camp! When we arrived back from our bike ride there was a bouncy house set up that campers couldn't wait to get into. We had a DJ that played all of our favorite songs including some Michael Jackson and Imagine Dragons. The DJ stated a hula-hoop contest which all the campers participated in. Erin, Grace and JP were the champions of each round which culminated in a final contest which Grace championed. After that campers ate ice cream brownie sundaes and sang their hearts out. Everyone is sad that camp is over but we are looking forward to resting some tired legs and of course, family. Please join us at the Round Hearth for our camp award ceremony at 11:00am. We ask that you don't come early so we can fully wrap up camp and hand the campers off to you all safely - Thank You!

Cady Hill Mountain Bike Adventure 2.0

This afternoon camp spun down the rec path for another adventure in the Cady Hill mountain bike trail system. This time we took a slightly different route, ending on a trail called Bear's after doing a loop on the famous Florence trail. Although the trails were a little dusty after little rain recently, it was fun to see everyone push themselves one final time and enjoy winding down twisty trails through the trees.

All the teams got to jump in the river one more time, while the younger groups got to get some ice cream downtown in Stowe. We made one final trek back up the rec path and returned to a grill with sizzing burgers and hot dogs! Well deserved and a great way to end a fun ride.

Instructional Session - Explosion with Justin Sperry

This morning we welcomed Justin Sperry to SDSC to run our final B-A-S-E session on Explosion. Justin is the head coach at Colby-Sawyer College in NH after being the head coach at Clarkson University for the last 2 years. A former Division 1 skier himself at Colby College, Justin returned to camp after serving as a counselor here over four years ago. Since working at SDSC, he has also coached at Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club and Bates College.

Justin compared explosion to coiling a spring, pushing us to absorb any landing and then getting as tall as possible in the top of our jump. He brought us through exercises with boxes, hurdles, parachutes, and medicine balls, and ended with a fun game of Quebec ball. Although it was our last instructional session of camp and everyone was feeling their legs, campers rallied to give a great final effort.

This afternoon we head back to Cady Hill for some more mountain biking, and then we celebrate tonight with a cookout and inflatables!

Rec Path Scavenger Hunt

It wouldn't be SDSC Week 2 without a scavenger hunt! Tonight campers hit the rec path for our famous yearly adventure! Staying in teams, campers have to complete a number of tasks and work together to get the most number of points! There are ten tasks, some of which are easy and others that are very challenging. 

Samples include: 

- Locate the gazebo on the path and have everyone sing a song together there

- Find a heart shaped rock

- Build some sort of small craft to send down the river

- Take a video of your team flossing in Thompson's park

- Choose your favorite B-A-S-E exercise and complete in in a cool location
- Spell out SDSC in some creative way (like Switzerland STEALING the pinnies from Sweden) ... and many more!

After teams completed all of the challenges, we headed to one of our favorite swimming holes on the rec path then back to the Round Hearth for s'mores. Looking forward to our featured coach tomorrow. Stay tuned to find out who it will be!

Summit Push for Mount Mansfield

Did you know Mt. Mansfield is the tallest mountain in Vermont? Well, today after lunch all SDSC campers summited the chin on Mt. Mansfield! We split up into multiple groups based on hiking ability and age. The oldest group of campers made it all the way to the summit and back down, only stopping for a few quick water breaks and a snack at the top. The second group made it less than five minutes from the top but had to turn around to make the bus. The third group made it to the top of nosedive which is a famous ski racing trail and crosses about 80% of the way to the top. The youngest group, Switzerland, usually doesn't get to hike Mt. Mansfield and instead they go on a more manageable hike for their size. This time, however, we bussed them partway up so they were able to hike all the way to the "chin" which is the highest point in the state of Vermont. We even picked up some quartz rocks to share with the camp on our hike down. We got a great photo of almost all of camp up at the summit, Lots of tired faces and legs but we're looking forward to whatever Eric has planned for us with the scavenger hunt!

Final Instructional Session - Speed with Danny Noyes

This morning we had our last skate session of the camp! Today was the final phase of our skate progression which ultimately ended in multiple courses that really resembled actually being on snow. Some groups that were still mastering skills continued to do so and everyone was encouraged to try something they hadn't done before. It's always amazing how far these campers come each year with their skating. Many that come to camp have never even skated, and by the end almost everyone is jumping over hurdles and going through courses that mimic being on skis. 

Danny watched video with campers last night so they could see exactly what they were doing well and what they needed to work on. The session was productive and every camper had a chance to ask Danny questions and also watch and learn from one another. One of the key tactical elements we discussed was elevation both in video and on skates, which is the act of moving the turn shape vertically up the hill so that they can pressure their skis (skates) in the fall line and generate the most speed. We use a lot of ski lingo when we're skating so campers can translate our discussions into their skiing easily. For those that were ready, we moved the start of our GS course up the hill a bit so they could get more speed, resembling real life GS. Everyone improved massively and campers can't wait to test out their newfound skills on skis this winter!

Relaxing Evening at the (home) Theater

Tonight we enjoyed our weekly evening in with showings of The Greatest Showman and Zootopia.  The camp was split almost in half with their choice, so we gave them both! 

The quiet night will hopefully lead to a little recovery and stored energy for tomorrow as we enter our final TWO FULL DAYS at SDSC... and they are huge days!  Tomorrow morning we have our final skate session of the week followed by our hike up Mount Mansfield (highest peak in VT), and Friday we have our box tests during our explosion session followed by our final bike into the Cady Hill trail system. 


What a week!

Johnson SK8 Park

This afternoon we escaped the threat of rain showers as we bused over to Johnson for our weekly trip to the Johnson SK8 Park.  The multitude of challenges we find there makes this session a camper favorite and may be one of the main reasons kids come back to SDSC.  While the quarter pipe, ramps, rolls, and bowl elicit mountainous courage from our young athletes, the foundation each of them build with our progression through Basic Athletic Stance and our BASE curriculum places each one in a prime position to find success. 

A huge thank you to our coaches and counselors for their endless support and encouragement as they guide each child through each obstacle and previously unsurmountable challenge.  They are making a HUGE difference!

Agility with Micaela Holland

SDSC returned to the Stowe Polo Fields this morning for our usual instructional session on Agility. That said, the session itself was anything but ordinary. Micaela Holland, head alpine ski coach at Bates College in Lewiston, ME, is incredible at creating activities that incorporate technical elements of agility, engage campers minds, and are simply very exciting. Today's session was a perfect example.

As much as we saw great focused work while everyone was in ladders or hurdles, we also challenged each other in mirror agility boxes and even had a Tic Tac Toe race. We finished with agility squares where campers had to memorize a path through 5 cones by "inspecting the course" and then run through as fast as possible like at a ski race. Micaela emphasized through all these elements that we needed to focus on accuracy and quickness rather than power or balance, and we thought constantly about positioning our bodies so that we stayed on the balls of our feet or even our toes.

Thanks Micaela for a great session and this afternoon we head up to Johnson, VT to visit the 

skate park and try our luck at some ramps, bowls, and boxes!