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What camp does best: Building real leaders
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Parents want kids who can lead. Handle pressure. Make good decisions. Advocate for themselves. But the word “Leadership” gets thrown around so much that it barely means anything anymore. Youth sports programs promise leadership development. So do academic programs. Even some video games claim to build leadership skills. The thing is though, that leadership isn’t vague. The steps to build it are crystal clear. And camp delivers those steps better than almost any other youth environment. This is the first in a four-part series on what camp does better than the alternatives, eating up family time and budgets. Not at all because other activities are bad, but because camp offers something increasingly rare → environments where kids practice real-life skills through real experiences. Starting with leadership, because it’s both the most talked about and sometimes the least understood. Leadership Is Vague, The Steps Are NotLeadership sounds abstract. The path to developing it is concrete: Face adversity in doses. Learn to advocate for yourself. Take initiative even when uncomfortable. Practice communication through conflict. Build responsibility, including choosing what not to do. Experience failure safely with support. Camp creates these moments constantly, built into the fabric of daily camp life. Why Adversity MattersAngela Duckworth’s research on adversity makes this clear: you cannot simulate adversity. You can only overcome it. Camp provides the right dose of adversity for every kid. For younger campers, that might be remembering to grab their towel from the swim area. For older campers, managing missing home or navigating social dynamics or trying something intimidating for the first time. Each moment becomes a leadership opportunity when supported by trained counselors who guide rather than remove the challenge. Real Leadership Moments at CampLeadership at camp isn’t reserved for “leader” titles or special activities. Two campers working through conflict with counselor guidance. A team-building activity where cooperation matters more than winning. A camper advocating for themselves by asking for what they need. A child choosing to take initiative in organizing peers or speaking up. These are daily occurrences, not occasional programs. Billie Jean King said “pressure is a privilege.” Camp introduces pressure in safe, controlled ways. Trying new things, being seen, risking failure. All create the kind of productive pressure that builds capability. The Counselor AdvantageCamp counselors are leadership multipliers because they are often guiding kids through difficulty rather than just outright removing it. Staff at camp (when they are well-trained) often outperform sport coaches in youth development because their role is about teaching kids life skills, not just optimizing performance. It’s the not-so-subtle difference between leadership development and performance training. The Subtle RealityYear-round competitive sports develop leadership for a small subset of high performers. When kids struggle, opportunities often decrease. Leadership becomes tied to rank and playing time. Camp distributes leadership opportunities to everyone. Struggle leads to guidance, not benching. The skills transfer to school, work, and relationships. A simple stat? 100% of kids will need to advocate for themselves, communicate through conflict, and handle adversity. Not all will need sport-specific leadership. Making It ExplicitCamps assume parents understand this value. They don’t always. Stop saying “camp magic” and start naming what actually happens: Kids practice self-advocacy, face manageable adversity, learn to communicate through conflict, and build responsibility through real choices. These aren’t soft skills. These are life capabilities. The steps to leadership aren’t mysterious and camp delivers them daily. Leadership is what camp does better than the alternatives, consuming family calendars. Sincerely, Senior Consultant at Immersive1st PS - This is a series. More on what else camp does best coming soon when we talk about a sense of purpose. Learn more about Immersive1st's Approach |
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What year-round sport are you playing? What academic track are you on? These kinds of specialization questions seem to come earlier and earlier for kids. And parents are 100% feeling the pressure to make it happen. Focus and expertise are great, but this narrowing is creating anxiety in all groups, with kids less and less willing to try new things or take risks. And that means self-exploration gets squeezed out. We already know (and have covered) leadership, purpose, and belonging as some...
Step into any summer camp in the country during the months of July and August and you’ll see something crazy. Groups of kids (gasp) walking, talking, running, laughing together. It shouldn’t feel like some outlier outcome. But it’s increasingly so. Kids are more connected digitally than ever. More group chats. More likes and reactions. More ways to reach each other instantly. And also, lonelier than they’ve ever been. Meeting someone has always taken a certain amount of courage. But screen...
Parents want confident kids. So they sign those same kids up for activities, praise effort, and celebrate small wins. But confidence isn’t built through praise. Confidence comes from knowing you matter. From feeling needed. From contributing something real. Kids are struggling with confidence because they’re missing purpose. This is part 2 in our series on what camp does better than the alternatives consuming family calendars and budgets. Part 1 covered leadership development [Link]....