Just a Spoonful of Sugar - Friday, Day 6

As Mary Poppins coined . . .

In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun . . .

You find the fun and SNAP it's a GAME!

Indeed, this past Friday evening brought an end to the first week of training camp and ice cream and amusement park fun were the names of the game.

 To award a week of hard work and dedication to training, the group made the trip into Virginia Beach for ice cream at Coldstone Creamery.  

This celebration, marking the end of the first week of training, is a camp tradition. 

 And, as you can see in the pictures, this tradition brought some pretty big smiles to our camp participants . . . and there is clearly a reason as to why . . .



If my calculations are correct, these campers had run an average of six miles, per day, for six days straight by the time I (Courtney Dunbar) arrived for my shift of "camp mom duty" on Friday.  They had additionally spent nearly six hours total, during three separate practice sessions, jumping, stretching, lunging, lifting and racing.

Each morning, campers were out of bed by 6:15 a.m.  They had not watched television, eaten junk food, sat in pajamas until noon or lazily relaxed poolside like many of their counterparts are doing with their summer school breaks back home.  Most of our campers have lofty athletic goals and, even at a very young age, they are conditioned to understand that the reward of their labor will not come without hard work and determination. 



Behind every great athlete is a great parent and there were many assisting all week at camp.  From meal planning to endless laundry, to shopping to applying sunblock, our mom camp helpers were integral to training.

It was fabulous celebrating the successes of the past week as a team.

  A robin feathering his nest

Has very little time to rest
While gathering his bits of twine and twig
Though quite intent in his pursuit
He has a merry tune to toot
He knows a song will move the job along - for . . .A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
The medicine go down-wown
The medicine go down
Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
In a most delightful way.