TYME OUT Blogs!

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word “team” as a number of persons associated together in work or activity.  As a volleyball coach, I know what it takes to have a successful team.  You might be surprised to hear that it has nothing to do with wins and losses.  A successful season consists of players learning about respect, giving 100% in school, home, and on the court, gaining more confidence in their abilities, etc.  Each August, I run try-outs to select members for a team that I feel has possibilities for great success.

At camp, I would use similar criteria to define a successful camp season; camp is a success if campers and staff learn more about character, gain confidence, and learn to work and live as a community.  Each year, we (the Camp Planning team) have the task of interviewing possible members of our summer camp staff.  We look for a wide range of gifts and talents as we attempt to put together a team.

The Camp Staff may not be family according to ancestral lines, but they are now part of the TYME OUT family—which in my opinion is much stronger. Nick MaskeCamp Director

    That’s “Tex” belting out a song!

The summer months mean summer camp at TYME OUT. Rob Zilmer (a.k.a. “Tex”)  first came to TYME OUT as a camper in 1997 and returned year after year through 2004.  In 2005 Rob returned to TYME OUT as a Camp Staff and is spending his second summer with us in that role this year. The reflections below are his thoughts on seeing camp from multiple perspectives.

Twelve years ago camp was all about having fun with friends I saw about once a year. We would all show up at the TYME OUT Youth Center on a Sunday and be in paradise until Friday. Camp was our chance to be with the people we wanted to be with – people who understood us, had our same problems and our same joys.

And camp didn’t just happen in the summer. Camp would be whenever one of my friends from TYME OUT called me, or when I saw a friend at Summerfest or at school. Camp was a state of being, the feeling of contentment that I got whenever the idea of TYME OUT crossed my mind.

Now, when I’m older and – presumably – wiser, camp has taken on a deeper, more subtle meaning. For the kids I still want it to be what it was for me, but as a staff member, I have higher expectations and hopes for the experience. Camp is my time to be with kids who are like I used to be, or like I still am. Camp is my opportunity to provide the same safe environment that I enjoyed, and to make kids smile the same way I smiled – with abandon.

I don’t know what the future holds – for me or for camp. I hope that I find my calling and a way to be happy forever like I am now. For camp, I hope that it continues to improve as it has in recent years (by leaps and bounds). I’d like enrollment to get to the point where we have to turn away campers – not because I’d like to turn away campers, but because then we might be able to expand. I hope, very dearly, that the staff continues to be as excellent as it is now, full of people who genuinely care about the campers. And if any or all of these things come to pass, I’ll be a very happy camper!

“TEX”

I just have to say that I have so much fun exploring and playing around with our website.  Not to brag, but I feel that our website and what we are offering on the website is getting better and better.  Thanks to the contributions of many, including the staff at TYME OUT, Mike R. (one of our great volunteers and supporters), and the team at Ocreative Design Studio in Oconomowoc, our website is moving in a positive direction.

I actually bought a new book called HTML, XHTML, and CSS All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies.  I can’t wait to start reading it—it’s over 900 pages of information to web design.  

I wasn’t sure what to BLOG about this week, so I decided that I’ll blog about my two favorite things:  camp and volleyball.

Let’s start with the non-TYME OUT related topic—volleyball.  I just came back from coaching my club team—Lightning Boys 13s team—at the Gateway Boys Festival in the St. Louis area.  My team struggled a bit, but I’m still happy with their performance and their ability to play well against 14s teams.  The hardest part of the trip was the six hour ride.  Today and tomorrow, at TYME OUT, I get to see some of my former players who now go to Catholic Memorial.  It’s always fun to see them and talk to them about what they’re doing since I haven’t coached them now in three years.

Well that’s all for volleyball…now let’s move on to camp.  I’m very excited about our enrollment numbers, thus far.  As of today, we have ten campers enrolled for the summer of 2009.  Last year, we didn’t get our first enrolled camper until very late-February or early-March…and we didn’t have ten campers until April.  So, basically, we’re four months ahead of the past.  I hope this continues to be the direction that our enrollment will take, and that we won’t struggle to keep all nine of our camps in operation this summer.

If you read our BLOG and you know of middle school children who might want to come to camp, please refer them to us (or us to them).  We are especially looking to see large numbers of campers at both Camp PraiseTYME and Young Catholic Stewards Camp.

If you read our BLOG and you know of middle school children who might want to come to camp, please refer them to us (or us to them).  We are especially looking to see large numbers of campers at both Camp PraiseTYME and Young Catholic Stewards Camp.

Yesterday, Ben and I went to Madison for the ACA, Wisconsin Annual meeting.  (ACA stands for American Camp Association.)  The meeting reaffirmed much of the beliefs that we have had about camp and TYME OUT in particular.

The first affirmation came when Georgi, our section president, reviewed statistics of 2008 summer camp enrollment indicating that most camps are not reaching out to minorities.  WE DO!!!!  We are reaching out to a group of campers that aren’t being targeted for other camps.  We are giving children who wouldn’t have the opportunity to go to camp exactly what they need, that opportunity.

I don’t want this to get too long, even though I have a lot to say…we’ll save it for later.Nick MaskeCamp Director