9 Things You MUST DO at Your Youth Ministry Camps This Year

The time to grow a healthy, thriving youth ministry is NOW...let's work together! Make sure to check out GrowYourYouthMinistry.com *** What if youth ministry camp didn’t feel like chaos management, but like a well-led, deeply spiritual retreat where students feel seen, leaders feel supported, and emergencies stay small? We just pulled off one of our our smoothest youth ministry camps yet, and we’re opening the playbook to 9 things that made it work!  Whether you are planning for a summer camp, winter camp, weekend retreat, DNOW or similar, this episode will give you some practical tips to walk away with and implement into your next student ministry camp!

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You may also enjoy these episodes:

(#098) Get More Sign Ups for Your Youth Ministry Camp!

(#264) How to Plan a Youth Ministry Winter Camp from Start to Finish!

(#048) Surviving Youth Ministry Summer Camp: Youth Pastor's Guide

(#043) DIY Church Camp Planning - Youth Ministry Summer Camp Checklist!

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Transcript

Why This Camp Worked So Well

SPEAKER_01 0:00

I just got back from camp and today I have nine things for you, whether you're planning winter or summer camp that are absolute must-dos.

SPEAKER_00 0:19

Welcome to the Ministry Coach Podcast, where every week we give you actionable and practical tips to help you grow the size and health of your youth ministry. My name is Jeff Lascola. This is Kristen Lastcola, and yes, we're twinning.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

You never introduced me. I always introduced myself.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

I know it's Jeff Lascola, and this is Kristen Lascola.

SPEAKER_01 0:38

And today we're twinning. Okay, I just got back from winter camp, yet you are the one with the weird voice.

SPEAKER_00 0:44

Yeah, I lost, not lost, but my voice has become very hoarse. I think it's because of all like the fires we've had at our in our in our uh fire pit. That's what I'm attributing it to.

SPEAKER_01 0:55

Okay, because normally when we do this episode, I have a squeaky or hoarse voice, but I am perfect this year. Voice, like honey, you know. I did eat a big spoonful of honey last night. Yeah. Because I thought maybe it would help.

SPEAKER_00 1:09

I should have done that before this podcast.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

Maybe it did. Who knows? Speaking of, I just got back from winter camp today, this afternoon, and it was a blast. And I would say one of my best years yet, if not the best year yet, because everything was smooth. How did it happen? Oh, we're gonna talk about nine things. Just nine, not ten. I couldn't get to ten. I just go where the numbers take me. Like I said, nine things.

SPEAKER_00 1:40

Number 10. Have a spoonful of honey when you're done with camp.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

There you go.

SPEAKER_00 1:44

There you go.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

We complete each other. I go 90%, you go 10.

SPEAKER_00 1:50

Something like that.

SPEAKER_01 1:52

Um, like I was reflecting on camp today. I was texting some of my leaders and my staff, and I was thinking, we always do event debriefs, we always do camp debriefs. Like, what did we learn? What do we want to do better? Whatever. I haven't met with them totally yet because we were all hungry and ready to go home. We'll do it this week. But I was just reflecting with myself, and um, I came up with nine things I'm really glad I did. And as I reflect on years past, things maybe I haven't always done, and just things that make your life easier go smoother. You know, on this podcast, we're all about practicality. So, number one, this one shouldn't take us long to talk about, but it was a game changer for

Label Every Bag Before Loading

SPEAKER_01 2:37

us. We do not load anyone's luggage or sleeping stuff until it's labeled. So we ask parents to come with it labeled. Of course, you never get a hundred percent success rate on that. So we have a table with all this different color duct tape. I have to thank Caleb, my associate pastor, guys director, for this. He bought like all these fun colors and Sharpies, had a table, and they can label their sleeping stuff and their luggage, and we double check it before we load it into our trailer or truck, whatever we're loading luggage into. Here's a couple of reasons why. Number one, our winter camp is with we're a multi-site church, and we are one of five campuses that are at that camp. Every single year, it is a law of winter camp that someone will take home our luggage and we will take home someone else's luggage from a different campus. If you're not a multi-site church, you might be thinking, well, it's just us. What does it matter? Ah, reason number two is because why? I don't know. Ask God when you get to heaven, they do not recognize their own luggage. So you'll be standing in the parking lot at nine at night, it's 30 degrees, and you're like, whose sleeping bag is this? And nobody, nobody, nobody. It's like, then what are you going to sleep with tonight? But if it says Sam White, you know, then seventh grade, you can go take that to Sam White's cabin, and it's perfect. Sam White, if you're listening, you're the first name that came to my mind.

SPEAKER_00 4:15

I know too, Sam White. Student from like 15 years ago. It's a simple name. It's also when they get back, and then you're like, whose sleeping bag is this? And you're like, you've been sleeping in this for the weekend or for the full week. Yeah. Whose is this? I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 4:30

In the past, I have collected a cornucopia of sleeping bags, pillows, bags, backpacks, socks. Socks I don't even keep anymore. They go right in the trash. Boxers. It's always boxers. I throw them away, of course. So if it's labeled, then it's so much easier to track down. So do not load your luggage until it's labeled. We had to do it on the way home, too. So it's not just the way up because that tape falls off, you know, whatever, their bag is ripped, the trash bag that they put their sleeping stuff in. So keep the tape up with you at camp, relabel luggage before it's loaded in the trailer. And then when you unload stuff and parents are grabbing luggage in the parking lot or however you do it,

Bring A Dedicated Camp Medic

SPEAKER_01 5:16

it is so much simpler. And I have to credit Caleb with that. Way to go. Awesome. Number two, this one used to fall to me, and I never realized how stressful it was until I didn't do it anymore. And I'm like, why am I not extra stressed? Always bring a camp medic with you. Always. Now, if you're going to a camp that is like run by professionals and you're not putting on your own, likely they have their own medic. However, you might also still want to designate one of your leaders or bring along your own medic who can deal with medications and stuff like that, if you're at the size where you feel it's necessary. I don't feel comfortable letting kids be in charge of their own prescription medication because I mean, heaven forbid it get into the wrong hands, but less dramatic than that, them just forgetting to take it. And so then if something medically were to happen or they miss a dose or whatever, I have no idea, did you take it or not? What time did you take it? If something happens to you, you know, like it's just so much better administered by a capable adult. So I bring a medic with us, he's in charge, he has a log, JP. He's awesome of who's taking medication in the AM and PM, what the dosage is, and then he checks off on like an Excel sheet. Did they take it? Yes or no? And he will find them at breakfast or dinner or whatever their medication is. He also carries a medic bag with him at all times with basic first aid stuff. We had an injury with Kajabi Can Can this weekend. I'm sure you're not shocked. She is fine. She hit her head on someone's shin. It wasn't even the ground. Like they just dog piled and her head hit a shin and she was just shaken up. And he was able to assess immediately do you have a concussion? Are you okay? Like, are you just shaken up? And he knows the questions to ask, what to look for, was looking at her eyes, asking her lots of questions. And then I can be doing crowd control. Hey, everyone, let's take a knee, let's be quiet. You know, the refs did that, but it's like we can, I can be focused on the group, so he can focus on her. It's just very helpful to have someone who always has a bag of band-aids, some Tylenol, cough drops, cough medicine, you know, stuff like that. So having a camp medic dramatically changed my life at camp because all of those little needs used to come to me. And while they are fairly simple needs, when there's so many kids, they do really add up. And then you have someone else to help you make a decision. Is this a kid that needs to go home or is this a kid who needs some water? You know, um, because he's so good at assessing that. We'll have a kid in full panic crash out, and he's like, Kristen, he's dehydrated. It's 107 degrees, and we're camping, and he's had half a cup of orange juice. I'm like, cool. So he he knows how to get his temperature down. He's just so wonderful. So never I would I told JP, he's my medic and my head of security. If you ever leave, that's the day I quit. Like, I I don't know how I ever functioned without him. It's like, what was I? Those were some days. Yeah. What was I doing?

SPEAKER_00 8:54

You know, you have a team full of that type though, where if they're done, you're like, I'm done.

SPEAKER_01 9:01

Yeah, yeah. Amen. Okay. So number three, radios will make your life a thousand times easier. So we carry what do you call those? Like walkie-talkie talkie type radios. It felt so juvenile to call them a walkie-talkie. Yeah. So walkie-talkie. It's like, that's what I want for Christmas when I'm six. Uh that's how it felt. So we bring like a big charging dock and then, you know, about eight to ten radios, and not every single person needs them. I give one obviously to the medic, to all of my key staff, all my directors, admin, interns, anyone who is helping you set up things, run things. If you had a cook or, you know, somebody, a rec uh point person, a ref, whatever. It's so helpful because I used to waste so much time running around like, oh my gosh, did anyone grab the cones out of the trailer? Well, I could do two things. I could go all the way up to the parking lot and look and see if they're in the trailer, or I could go all the way down to the field and see if they're there. Or, ta-da, magic, I could radio say, Hey, Caleb, are the cones unloaded from the car? Where are they? Are they set up yet? It has just made everything so much smoother. Another case would be emergencies, like we just talked about. So, what I do and all my key staff, we sleep with our radios on all night long.

Radios For Safety And Flow

SPEAKER_01 10:30

So, if anything were to happen in the middle of the night, like last night, I got a call. It wasn't my campus, but I was apparently the only pastor with my radio turned on next to my bed. And one of our guise directors said a kid just threw up. It's all over the toilet. Nice. Uh, does anyone know how to clean this up? Or like, do we have cleaning supplies? Because we were at a camp. So I'm like, well, I didn't pack a mop, you know? So I'm like racking my brain. I'm telling him, well, check here, check here. That's locked. This is locked. I mean, it's like after midnight. So how are we gonna? So I said, just shut the door. Is there another usable toilet? Like, accommodation's gonna have to deal with it in the morning. So it's just so nice. Like, okay, what if a kid passed out in the middle of the night? What if somebody got really badly hurt? Or when we were down at the field and that girl hit her head, you know, I can radio our medic right away, like, hey, because he might be with another student somewhere. I need you down the field right now. So radios for safety and convenience. I don't know how I ever did life without them. They are just such a game changer.

SPEAKER_00 11:40

What kind do you have?

SPEAKER_01 11:41

What do you mean, what kind?

SPEAKER_00 11:43

Brand. Where'd you buy them?

SPEAKER_01 11:45

What Jeff, you do this the last two episodes.

SPEAKER_00 11:50

You're gonna help people out.

SPEAKER_01 11:51

Okay, I don't know. Our campus owns them. I borrow them from the campus.

SPEAKER_00 11:56

I was gonna link something, but if you don't even know what they do.

SPEAKER_01 11:58

Okay, okay. I'm sorry. Okay. I'm sorry, I'm a little touchy. I just got back from Winter Camp.

SPEAKER_00 12:03

Weird of a nerd, like what brand of walkie-talkie?

SPEAKER_01 12:06

Because you know what you really want are the Sony SSR uh two-way radios.

SPEAKER_00 12:11

Well, SSR two. They came out with a second version, it's much better. What? The distance is you know, discount code Sony Phony. Uh so obviously you have no idea.

SPEAKER_01 12:23

No, Trevor, if you're listening, can you put it in the comments? Trevor would know. And he listens to our podcast.

SPEAKER_00 12:30

He's my hey Trevor.

SPEAKER_01 12:31

What is Trevor? He is my guy. Yeah. I was just texting him. I'm like, you're just good at so many things. So thank you for camp this week. He sets stuff up, he tears stuff down, he can play worship, he can run wreck, he can be. I mean, he's just all over the place.

SPEAKER_00 12:47

Text Trevor right now.

SPEAKER_01 12:48

Wow, live on the air. Trevor.

SPEAKER_00 12:51

Okay, well you keep yapping away.

SPEAKER_01 12:53

I'm gonna text Trevor. Any excuse to get on your phone? Okay, number four. This one is so obvious, but man, I realized good leaders equal good camp. So my team, I'm sure there's a lot of great ministry teams out there. I cannot imagine doing this with a better team. Every time I look at my leaders, they're hanging out with kids, full engagement. They're sitting with them during worship, they're moshing with them during worship. They are cleaning up barf. Well, that was not our campus, but he did a great job. He's done it. Oh, yeah. So Caleb is our barf cleaner upper. Thank the Lord. Caleb, treasure, treasures in heaven, dude. I don't know. Um, you know, they're the I saw, I believe it was Liberty, one of my leaders last night, just like holding this student and praying with her. And it, I actually got a picture of it. I forgot to send it to her, but it was just like so beautiful. Arms around their kids during worship. They're just so engaged, they're so fun, and they are the kind of people that engage. Like, it's not like they just stand there, they are like at the ready, like, what needs to be done? I'll do it. Like, do the cones need to be set up? I got it. Does the trash need to be taken out? I got it. Does the snack track need to be run? I got it. Does like they're just like worker bees and they love to work and they're very good at it, and they're very good relationally, and it just takes such a load off of me. I am not a micromanager. I hate telling people what to do. Maybe some people, leaders out there, love it and they feel very important. I feel like the life is draining out of me if I have to tell people like what to do. I love working with a team that sees

The Power Of Fully Engaged Leaders

SPEAKER_01 14:48

it and does it and they can bypass me and go just be capable. Like, yes, I just feel like at that point I'm running with a team, not in front of a team. And on some things, obviously, I do in front of them, but a lot of times it just works like just so harmoniously. Good, good leaders. You can't underestimate that. So set this culture of like, hey, this isn't the youth pastor show. This is all hands on deck, everyone, full engagement. That's sort of been my team motto mission statement, like for the last year or so, like full engagement, full engagement, full engagement. And everyone's happier, actually. Like winter camp or any camp is a little slow if you're just like a bump on a log, chilling, have no purpose, you know, and they just like all do what they shine at. Like Sarah, shout out to her. She went up early and put up all of our decorations up. Well, some of the decorations I ordered, I did not realize were teeny tiny. Like I ordered.

SPEAKER_00 15:57

I saw that in our Amazon cart, and I'm like, I wonder if she knows these are I did not know they were teeny tiny.

SPEAKER_01 16:03

And it was for my team. We had four teams. I'm like, oh. So what did she do? Solved a problem. She printed out Pluto. Uh our we were team Pluto. We did the dog bowl. It was Scooby-Doo versus Clifford versus Pluto versus Bluey. So feel free to steal that. All the team captains dressed up and they won. We won Pluto won. Uh, this like decked out dog bowl and had all this bling on it. It was so fun. It was really, really cute. Pluto won, and the Pluto decorations were like, look like confetti. I'm like, I think it was a panic buy because all of a sudden I'm like, oh my gosh, I forgot to order decorations. And I was just like, this, and hit send, and I we opened them, and she's like, oh my gosh, those are tiny. I'm like, oops. So she came to the rescue, printed out Pluto stuff, laminated it, cut it out, and then hung it from the ceiling, and it looked so professional. She did such a good job. So when everyone's kind of using their gifts, or you've empowered people to solve problems, or you've asked people to run with stuff. We're gonna talk about that a little bit more on number six. But just know good team equals good camp every time. Number five, this was so awesome. One of our high school leaders, this was his idea, Sam Grantham. Sam had this idea before he's a high school intern. And before they left for camp, he gathered up whatever leaders were available to come and they did a prayer and worship night over camp. And then my guys' director's like, let's do that for our camp. I was like, Yes. So the last youth group night before camp. So we have youth group on Tuesday. We were leaving on a Friday. So that Tuesday after youth group, we were already there. So it wasn't like needing to be this extra, all right, everyone, come on your day off when you're not here. And he wrote all these prompts on a piece of paper. So it would be like transportation, sleep was one of them, illness, injury, spiritual breakthrough, worship, food, food sickness, you know, that happens sometimes, homesickness, a bunch of different things that uh did I say transportation already? Because that one's a really important thing. That was your first one, weather, all kinds of things. And there was a lot of us. There was like 18 of us. So instead of praying all together, we got into little groups of like three or four, and you would grab a paper, and then we would huddle up and we would pray over whatever paper topic we chose. And then when we were done, we all came back together as a big group and we did like a song and a half of worship. And it was so cool. Like, I mean, we all agreed we're gonna do this every single time now. I don't know if that's why

Pre-Camp Prayer And Worship Night

SPEAKER_01 18:55

camp went so smooth.

SPEAKER_00 18:56

Yeah, there you go.

SPEAKER_01 18:56

Could have been the power of the Holy Spirit, like unleashed. It could just, who knows? But it was either way, I'm like just having like a quiet moment with that group of us just worshiping together. We were just in a room, a smaller room. I just like dimly lit a lamp, and it was just cozy and so neat to just worship with them, you know, because we're always with students and I worship when I'm with students, but I'm also like one eye open, like, hey, what you know, like there's always something going on. So um, just to be able to like at the end of a youth group night and come together like that, we all were like, we're doing this every time. This is amazing. So take that idea and run with it. It was really cool. Number six, kind of going back to the leader thing, dividing and conquering. So find what leaders are good at and people that are willing to help you, whether that's interns, directors, just super leaders, people who have time. Like I sent a group up early and they set up all the decorations and all the equipment and put the cabin assignments on the door so that when we got there, it wasn't this scramble of like, ah, we have so much to do. It's like, nope, all we have to do is get kids in cabins, go eat, and then go to program. You know, there was a group, um, like three of our female leader pastors, they did all the ref stuff. So they're refing the whole thing. They're they've got it. And then one of them kept points all weekend long. So she was in charge of that, did a great job. So just finding like what are people capable, like who's who do you want to assign to be your point person of making sure your trailer gets loaded and then locked at the end of the night or whatever? Who do you want to make sure is in charge of your coolers and making sure if you're it's a summer camp or something like that, there's always ice. We ran, um well, that's another number. Hmm. Well, I'll just go for it. I was gonna say one of my numbers was snack shack. Having a snack shack, like who would be a good point person for that? So I guess the next number of what I was glad I did at camp was having a snack shack, like late night options for kids after small group. It wasn't just like, well, it's bedtime. Winter camp.

SPEAKER_00 21:20

It's well, let's get sugared up and then do bedtime.

SPEAKER_01 21:23

Yeah, way more fun that way. So we would release them from small groups and they were

Divide, Conquer, And Arrive Ready

SPEAKER_01 21:30

they came back into the auditorium and we had a snack shack set up. DJ, DJ can Caleb, Caleb can DJ. That's his like side hustle, part-time gig, whatever. Probably not a side hustle, probably makes way more money than he makes working for me. But he is also a DJ, so he brought all that equipment and we had like a dance party. We set up gaga ball inside, we did 36 square because we had four nine squares and We linked them all together and set them up and like put put on black lights. So it was like, okay, you get another 45 minutes to an hour of fun late night options. The day's not over. So that was really, really fun to have one last hurrah. We did that both nights, Friday night and Saturday night. Uh, you could sell camp merch those nights as well. We've done that in the past. But man, I don't know what it is. I thought, I thought junior hires were obsessed with Dr. Pepper. They are obsessed even more with Arizona iced teas. I cannot tell you, I had to give this kid a bag because I'm like, everything you can't carry all this. Like he comes to our Snack Shack, he orders like eight Arizona iced teas.

SPEAKER_00 22:45

And we have like his group or just yeah, it was for his group, which was really sweet.

SPEAKER_01 22:49

He's like, wait, how many people are in my small group? And he was just ordering candy, all this stuff. But the Arizona iced teas, we had like four or five flavors, they go like that. Like when a kid sees an Arizona junior hire, I don't know. Comment below. I need to know. But yeah, they're really good. But I will, I'm fascinated to know because when we talked about Dr. Pepper, a few of you commented, yes, I thought it was just my group, but junior hires are obsessed with Dr. Pepper. I need to know if your junior hires are obsessed with Arizona iced teas and then what flavor sells the fastest. For us, it was the green tea, was like gone. They also love the mucho mango. I'm like, okay, like you, I don't know. It's a phenomenon.

SPEAKER_00 23:33

Yeah, put in the comment section below what is the what is the drink choice of your group? Yeah. If they had if they had anything to choose from.

SPEAKER_01 23:40

My leaders non-alcoholic. Thanks for clarifying.

SPEAKER_00 23:45

Well, some of those kids. Well, that's true.

SPEAKER_01 23:47

I haven't had one of those in a while, but my leaders, theirs is Red Bull and Baja Blast from Taco Bell.

SPEAKER_00 23:55

They just destroy my stomach.

SPEAKER_01 23:56

They are like, okay, side story. This is just too funny not to share. At our summer camp, Johnny, he was my

Late-Night Snack Shack And Games

SPEAKER_01 24:05

old worship pastor, obsessed with Red Bull, brings them to camp, obviously. Well, he ran out of Red Bull, and we were all like praying, and we were all close together, kind of like huddled, just leaders praying. And he could smell Red Bull on JP's breath. And then when they were done praying, he's like, JP, I was like leaning in because I was like, oh, I'm like, what is he like? Like trying to like the air. I can just taste this Red Bull. So Trevor brought up a cooler of Red Bull for the leaders this weekend. And they'll drink it at like 8 p.m. I'm like, I can't even have an iced tea at noon. Yeah. I'm like, wow, wow. So, anyways, okay. Next, uh, I guess it'd be number eight, teach kids about solo time. I think camp, if you don't do solo time practice or discipline at camp with your students, I think you're missing a really big opportunity because you don't typically have a setting to do that. Weekend service, no. Tuesday night, Wednesday night, midweek program, no. Camp, yes. And for a lot of students, they have never enacted that process, practice. That's what I was trying to say, practice into their life. So usually Saturday morning, like at winter camp, we'll do our morning chapel. And then instead of doing small groups, we'll send them to solo time. And in their booklet, it has questions like of how to do solo time, what to talk to God about, what is solo time, how to spend time alone with God. Here's some passages to read, here's a prayer you can pray. Um, here's some things you can journal and give them like 30 minutes. They have to spread out, go somewhere, can't just sit in their cabin eating talkies. Like they have to go out and be alone. And it's amazing to me. Students always say that was their favorite part of camp or one of their favorite parts of camp. And I think it's because they've never been, they have to kind of be forced into it because when you're at home, you're like, or I could play Zelda.

SPEAKER_00 26:18

You have all the distractions there.

SPEAKER_01 26:20

Yeah. And so it's just like, okay, you're forced to do this, and it's like for the first time, they're like, whoa, like just focused alone time with God just does something for the soul. And a lot of them then can carry that practice back home with them. Cause they've got a taste for the Red Bull, they can like, oh, I I want to keep doing this. So give them that opportunity. Uh at summer camp, we do it every single day. We're we're on the river, I think for four days. So every day we're there, we have them do at least 30 minutes of solo time. Does it turn into boys throwing rocks at each other? It does, but that is not enough reason for me not to do it. You just gotta rein them in sometimes because that's a while for someone to sit alone if they're not used to it. And then number nine, lastly, is photo, video, and Instagram. Having a point person for that who is constantly taking photos, videos, things you can use for promotional material. I always forget to take pictures because I'm like running around, I'm doing stuff. And I was driving home from camp and I said to Arden, my girl's director, admin, I'm like, I didn't take one picture. Like, I don't even have a picture of our daughter, and she's her small group leader. She's like, I got pictures, I'll send them to you. So just having someone who's thinking of that, like, so that it's so cool to be able to do a camp recap video, to use that, like I said, to promote it the following year, to have stuff to post on your Instagram, like we were talking about last week when you're away, and parents want to see what you're doing, or students that didn't go, you know, want to see what you're doing. But if there's someone in charge of that who's good at it,

Solo Time That Actually Sticks

SPEAKER_01 28:05

then that's just one thing, sort of like the medic thing that you just don't have to be dealing with or thinking about. And you don't have to have all the fancy equipment.

SPEAKER_00 28:14

I think a phone will do. Most phones now are rival a lot of cameras out there.

SPEAKER_01 28:20

So not my phone, but a lot of people's phones. I know the picture I tried to get during worship of like Liberty, like praying with that girl. It I'm gonna have to like lighten it in like some kind of app because I'm like, my phone's horrible. I get made fun of all the time. I just need to bite the bullet and get a new phone. So, anyways, those are nine things. Ten if you count the honey. Yes, you know, speaking of the honey, actually, that would be a great 10. I packed so many vitamins, emergency tea, antioxidants, all kinds of things to just make sure my energy was up to without Red Bull, uh, but I did like matcha, I did mushroom powder, I did vitamins, all these things to keep my energy and my immune system up because I wanted to try to be my best. And one of the students, she's like, You guys are so patient with us. And that was so sweet of her to notice. And I try to keep myself healthy and good so that it's not like, well, I'm impatient with you because I have a headache, or I'm impatient with you because I have a sore throat, or I ate Cheetos all day long, or I, you know what I mean? Like when I'm at camp, I try so hard to eat healthy, sleep healthy, drink healthy, vitamin up, supplement up, so that I'm like a machine that can sustain my mood, sustain my, you know, because people are gonna exhaust you. They're gonna come to you with a lot of problems and decisions, behavior stuff. And if you're eating junk all week, you know, I just don't think you can handle it as well. Doesn't mean I don't have a treat, but I try really

Photos, Reels, And Recap Videos

SPEAKER_01 30:15

hard to treat my body like a machine at camp so that it can function for everyone's benefit because I don't want to be, I don't want to go down emotionally, I don't want to go down physically, you know, and I think food and all that can tie into your emotions as well as your physical. I just noticed that for myself. When I feel fantastic, I can be my best for my team, my students, and have the stamina of what it takes to do a camp, you know. It's been 23 years, like I've of doing camps. Right. And yeah, I I feel like I've learned those little tricks of like take care of yourself. It's not an excuse to like just go nuts. Well, vacation. Yeah. Well, because you feel like, oh, I've worked hard all day, I deserve it. Like, oh, you know, I'm just gonna have this because oh, whatever. And again, I'm not saying I never like have a treat at camp. Of course, I made cookies and I brought them, although they were healthy cookies. It was just like, you know, like it affects your mood and energy so much.

SPEAKER_00 31:28

Your students too, but your leaders are gonna be feeding off of that too. And if you're just down, it's gonna drag everybody else down too. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So strong. Great points. I love those. Shout out to Castle Sports, Nine Square. We've had ours, I don't know how many years now, four or five years, I feel like something like that, and still holding up strong. The other camps, you said four can't four, um, not other camps, other campuses, four different to for 90, no, 96, 36. I got it. Okay, four times nine square, 36. 36 square. That's nuts. So yeah, shout out to Castle Sports.

SPEAKER_01 32:03

We have a we had to put like arrows on the floor of like what direction to rotate. Yeah, you lost that. It was like a maze. It was cool though, because the lights were off and it was glowing. It was fine.

SPEAKER_00 32:14

Uh, we do have a video all about that. So if you were thinking about checking one of those out, it's awesome. And this is something that you can pack up, take with you wherever you go. So one of the many benefits.

SPEAKER_01 32:23

Oh my gosh, one time we said to one of my leaders, we'll not say his name, I said, Can you can you load the the nine square in the trailer? He went into the closet because it's in a case, just grab the black zipper case. We get to wherever we're going, and it's an easy up inside. It's not a nine square, it's a pop-up tent, and we like look at each other, me and Caleb, and we're like, This is not nine square. So the case, label it. I think it does say castle sports on the outside. Yeah, just didn't read. We didn't look, and yeah, we brought the easy up inside. That was a bummer. Yeah, we always laugh about that.

SPEAKER_00 33:04

Uh, we've

Fuel The Leaders, Protect The Mood

SPEAKER_00 33:05

also done other episodes on like how to survive camp. You want to check that one out, and then how to prepare for both winter and summer camp. So uh make sure you guys check those out when and if you have the time. This is a community comment of the day. This comes from Renee Severson who says, Thanks for a great video. Love your content. Well, we love comments. Thank you so much, Renee. We appreciate that. And thank you guys for watching and listening, and we'll see you next time.

SPEAKER_01 33:30

I just got back from camp and I'm reflecting on the nine things that I am so glad I did at the camp that I went to. I just got back from camp and I have nine things that are gonna help you be the best camp counselor, Yield Quebec. I just got back from camp, yeah?