Why focus camp on sports?
The quick answer is that sports are fun; however, the decision to build our programs around them goes beyond just enjoyment. Sports specifically, bring people together through shared experiences, promote healthy habits and emphasize helpful life skills.
Bringing People Together
All camps strive to help their campers make friends; fortunately, sports and adventure activities do this naturally. Our main programs, All Sports and IXTC, give campers the chance to jet ski, banana boat, rock climb, mountain bike, and play a variety of field sports – all of which are done in a team setting. Campers meet up with this same team, session after session, to tackle each sport together. Sports sessions become the main social opportunity at ISTC, the time where our campers connect and create core memories. Our hope is that after enough shared experiences, campers feel confident in continuing these bonds beyond their sports sessions.
Healthy Habits
Team sports and adventure activities keep our campers outside in the beautiful Pocono Mountains! There’s no denying that our camp schedule is busy. Campers partake in three 2-hour sports sessions and multiple recreation periods each day, meaning campers are running and swimming all week long! Physical exercise, sunshine, and fresh air help our campers feel their best so they can do their best. Not to mention, playing sports outside forces campers to disconnect from their phones and other technology. We do not allow phones onsite, so campers can prioritize the fun opportunities around them versus checking social media.
Life Skills
Sports place an emphasis on sportsmanship, communication, and open-mindedness. With international staff from all over the world, we expose your camper to a variety of sports they most likely have never tried before: cricket, rugby, Aussie rules football, Gaelic football, and more. Building confidence trying new things can hopefully translate to taking on more opportunities in school, clubs, and sports away from camp. Another component of our programs is the team-of-the-week competition, which rewards groups who treat program staff respectfully and cheer as a unified team. By making these things a habit at camp, campers are likely to emulate these positive behaviors at home too.
