July 11 is Shirley Day at Camp Skylemar! Shirley was Lee’s wife, who truly lived by the Cool2Care motto. She loved people, Skylemar and ice cream. Each year we celebrate her life with a spectacular spread of make-your-own-sundaes, and today was the day. We’re grateful to have her watching over us from above.
It was exciting to welcome our Special Guest Coach today to the Skylemar gridiron. Greg Pyke is a second team All-SEC lineman from the University of Georgia, who then signed to play with the Buffalo Bills and Arizona Cardinals. He finished his NFL career in 2018, and now is a teacher and coach at Boys’ Latin School in Baltimore. Best of all, he’s a super great person who ran an outstanding program today at Skylemar called “NFL Prep”. The guys really focused on practicing Greg’s unique set of drills, despite the high heat and humidity. They had lots of questions for him and were thrilled to get autographs.
Bunks 8-10 and 16-17 cooled down at the ice rink that’s located just 10 miles from camp. It’s especially fun to have the whole rink to ourselves. Some have skated before, but for others, it's a whole new sport.
Meanwhile, the Stars Division went to Portland for a community service project. They spent the morning cleaning up a beach. They definitely made a positive difference, and many were grateful for their help.
The Cubs went to the Ossipee Valley Fair. They learned a lot about cows, but most important to them was that they got to spend $10 on food. Somehow the chicken nuggets taste better when you use your own money. Most important to us was the compliments Blake got about the manners our little guys have.
Lots of Intercamp activity today too. Sky Tennis in three age groups headed out for an all-day tourney with several other camps. Outstanding matches all around with several players moving on to the latter stages in each group. Oscar, Coop (14U) and Asher (12U) advanced through their draws, and our youngest group produced an all-Skylemar final in singles with Diego LP capturing the title. In the 10U doubles, Max R and Federico came close in a hard fought final but still proved to be a formidable pairing.
Our 12U Hoopsters also hit the road as well with mixed results. However, more than any individual performances of note, Coach Myke was most impressed by the improvement shown by this team in just a few short weeks. This game was their best effort of the season.
Hockey tournaments both home (15U) and away (13U) brought more Championship hardware to our mantle. We hosted the 15U event where our most dominant group showed why they’re the best amongst all camps -- ready to take on all comers with a resounding 10-4 title game victory. Shout-outs to each member of this team from Coach LJ. He couldn’t help but get a bit emotional (like a Proud Papa) as he remembered them as little ones when they first walked into our rink.
The 13U squad used their 6-1 semi-final win as a springboard for a great performance in a very hotly contested final. Ignacio completed the hat trick, scoring the lone 3rd period goal to break a 2-2 tie. Netminder Thomas L, the defensive MVP, shut the door to win the Cup, 3-2.
Dinner tonight was by Band of Brothers. It’s really fun to change it up every so often and be with our Band. We even stuck together during 7th period. The Loons and Wolves had Free Swim at the Waterfront, the Bald Eagles, Bats and Deer had Country Club Special (Tennis, Golf & Pickleball), The Bears and Cubs had Bunkline Bonanza (Lacrosse and Soccer), the Owls and Foxes had Court Sport Special, while the Moose, Dock Spiders and Lobsters had Yard Games.
We got the low down from World of Change today. Our combined contributions came to $1,187.54! This will provide more than 1,200 meals for those who don’t have enough to eat, 4 backpacks filled with essentials, three beds and pillows for kids sleeping on the floor, plus partial support for a pet therapy program. That’s a lot to be proud of!
Two Jack Ms were coincidentally awarded the Cool2Care Chain (Bunk 11 & 20) at Spirit Night. Both are two of the nicest people we know, who never have an unkind word to say about anyone. Congrats!
