Soccer Fever!

Soccer fever has gripped Doublecreek this week.  Well, that’s not exactly true – soccer fever is always gripping Doublecreek.  But this week the fever has taken the form of the DC Cup.  I’m sure some of you are thinking, “Wait a minute, the World Cup is still two years away.”  The World Cup happens every four years, but at Doublecreek the DC Cup happens every summer.

This summer, the countries represented by the teams in the DC Cup are:  Chile, France, Germany, Iceland, Mexico, and the USA.  Players are selected at random.  It’s not a totally blind draw, we try to have an equal number of boys and girls on each team. We also have an equal number of counselors on each team.  The tournament is run as professionally as possible.  There is a referee (Austin W.), linesmen with red flags and a set time to play.  We even have brackets to fill out.

For one week out of the summer, Doublecreek has an international flavor.  Campers become identified with a country they may not know existed until they became members of the pseudo-national team.  For some campers the DC Cup is also a quick geography lesson.

I don’t get to watch as much of the DC Cup as I would like, but the snipits I have seen are very entertaining!  The skill level of the players is as wide as the age range found on the field.  There are players who are very adept, while others are still learning.  But, it’s hard for the skilled players to dominate since we’re playing on a field (pitch) that’s one-third the size of a regular soccer field (pitch), with the same number of players going at each other.  But that doesn’t matter.  The campers are playing for the pride of Chile, France, Germany, Iceland, Mexico and the USA!

What makes the matches compelling is that the campers really care.  Now it’s not a “do or die” atmosphere that you find in the real World Cup where losing coaches are fired or exiled if they lose.  Of course with the DC Cup that’s a moot point since we don’t have coaches.  We don’t have television or radio.  We don’t play with millions of fans hanging on every play or with announcers who lose their minds when their team scores a goal.  Now we do have announcers, usually a camper with a mike channeling their inner Chris Berman, in front of dozens of campers (some playing 4-Square, some dancing to music and some actually watching the game).

Let’s stress the word “game.”  The DC Cup is fun!  The team that wins has fun, but the losing team also has a great time.  I’m not sure what the winning DC Cup teams get for their efforts.  It isn’t fame or endorsements.  I think they get a free Sonic drink.  That may not sound like much in the professional soccer world, but let’s keep this in perspective.  Have a good time, win a Sonic drink – that’s a pretty good deal!  And you don’t have to have an agent negotiate it for you!

 -- Joe Ray

Here's the link to this week's video:  https://vimeo.com/174813250

Red, White and Blue

With the 4th of July being celebrated on Monday of this week, the phrase “Red, White, and Blue” takes on a special meaning.  I’m talking about our flag, our country, and the freedoms we enjoy.  All families have special ways of celebrating July 4th:  picnics, family reunions, trips to the lake, cookouts, and fireworks.

Doublecreek spends the entire week celebrating July 4th.  In the past, we celebrated in a style unique to Doublecreek.  Early on we had cookouts.  The day before the 4th, Uncle Carter would fire up the grill and he would grill hot dogs for the entire camp.  When you have less than 100 campers, that’s an option we do not have now with 300+ campers.

Later we had 4th of July parades.  We would decorate everything that moved.  Golf carts, wagons, trucks, tractors, horses, goats, and campers were all decked out with every combination of red, white and blue you could imagine.  One year, we had a marching band made up entirely of kazoo players.  Hearing “You’re a Grand Old Flag” played by kazoos was truly a memorable experience.  The only problem we had with our parades was the audience or lack thereof.  With the exception of Uncle Carter, Aunt Trudy and the camp nurse, everybody else was in the parade.

For the bi-centennial celebration in 1976, we were very ambitious.  We tried to re-enact Washington crossing the Delaware in the pool.  We used wading pools as boats.  It was spectacular – except for all the boats capsizing and the entire company swimming to the side, it went very well!

Recently we’ve had groups singing an assigned song – usually a military song.  Every summer, Uncle Carter would lead a stirring rendition of “The Army Air Corp” song.

Uncle Carter served this country with pride during World War II along with millions of men and women of the “greatest generation.”  Except for going AWOL (away without leave) once (I’m not sure it was even noticed), he served with distinction.  I should mention that when he went AWOL, it was for a very good reason – to attend my parents’ wedding, where he gave away the bride.  It’s a pretty good story, but that’s another article.

However you celebrate the 4th, remember to either thank or honor those who have served our country.  I’ll remember Uncle Carter for the way he served his country, for the way he led his life, and the wonderful influence he had on me and thousands of Doublecreek campers and counselors.  

I will be sure to thank my father for his service and for being a wonderful father to me.  I will thank my nephew, Griffin Reeder, for serving his country now and for being a nephew I am truly proud of.
I apologize for hijacking this article to show my love and appreciation to members of my family.  Hopefully, you get to do the same.

If you have memories of Uncle Carter or if you would like to thank members of your family for their service, please post on our Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/CampDoublecreek
If I can do it, you can do it.  Hey, it’s a free country.


 -- Joe Ray

Here's the link to our Red, White and Blue Week video:  https://vimeo.com/173894066

A Pirate's LIfe for Me!

A Pirate's Life for Me

This week was Pirates’ Week.   Pirates are possibly the most romanticized and misunderstood genres in history.    We often view pirates as a band of scalawags operating outside the law under the command of an iron-fisted dictator with the title of captain.  Actually, pirates usually operated only halfway outside the law.  They had the blessing of one of two countries who happened to be at war and pirate ships operated under a fairly democratic process.

But, since perception is reality, I’m not going to take up your time with the History Channel version of pirates.  The pop culture version is more fun.  What could be better than guys and some girls sailing in warships wearing eye patches, scarves, black hats, and sporting skull and cross bones with an occasional parrot on the shoulder.

What do Doublecreek and pirates have in common?  Both are synonymous with adventure and fun.  Now at Doublecreek we don’t engage in boarding ships and hunting for buried treasure, but we do play “Capture the Flag” and go on scavenger hunts.  Now you can play “Capture the Flag” two ways.  One way is to play in a confined area, the second way is to play in an area which requires orientation skills.  Guess which one we use at Doublecreek?  If you guessed the confined area, then try again.  We call it “Camp Capture the Flag.” When we say, “Camp Capture the Flag,” we mean that only the riding arena, pool, archery and gun safety are off limits.  The flag could be anywhere.  You have campers running and hiding everywhere, employing tactics of stealth and deception which would make Long John Silver proud.  We have all kinds of tag and hide-and-go-seek games like Dynamite and Lava Lake which require stealth and speed.  Dynamite is a game I’ve watched but still haven’t figured out. Lava Lake is a game where campers try to negotiate a field strewn with hula hoops with crazed counselors balancing bean bags on top of swimming noodles. Sounds confusing?  It is.  But campers understand it.

You don’t have to be a pirate on the high seas to find fun and adventure. You just have to be at Doublecreek.

-- Joe Ray

Here's the link to the Pirate Week Video:  https://vimeo.com/173119827