NYSP 2011

This is postdated from June 29:

I am currently participating in the National Youth Sports Camp Program. Before the start of camp, the other nursing students and I came early to get acquainted with the program as well as plan for our lesson plans that we would be teaching to the children involved in the NYSP camp. Once the camp started it was nothing i ever experienced. I was very nervous at the beginning of camp and did not know what to expect. I went in with an open mind and took every day to the fullest. I soon found myself to be very overwhelmed with how hectic the camp day went. There were hundreds upon hundreds of children inside the gymnasium anxiously waiting to begin their first day of the NYSP camp. As the day went on I became more comfortable interacting with staff members and the campers. I feel extremely fortunate to have already known my clinical capstone site of Case Western Reserve's campus. Other staff members and campers asked me where buildings were and I felt useful because I could direct them where to go. I soon felt even more comfortable interacting with the staff members and campers from walking back and forth from campus.

The first part of camp I had the opportunity to facilitate sports with the campers. I was in charge of softball. I have played softball since I was little so I felt that I could teach the campers many useful skills that would benefit them in playing the sport of softball. One difficulty with playing sports is that many of the campers wanted to do whatever they wanted; therefore it was difficult to grab every child's attention to listen and watch various softball drills. Soon once the campers got confident with practicing and performing different softball drill, we were able to play a game with them. This is when I truly saw the campers come out of their shell. They were running around and playing together as a team in their game of softball. They were once individual campers but once they started playing the game with each other they worked together and I must say I was very proud of the cohesiveness that they displayed on the softball field. Throughout this NYSP camp, I always want to bring out the best in these children and show them that anything is possible. I interacted with specific female camper who did not even know what the sport of softball was. She was very hesitant to try the sport. By the end of the first week she came out of her shell and absolutely fell in love with the sport. She was shy and timid at first to try to throw and catch the ball. I knew this camper had great potential to succeed in an activity that she was not confident in. I was very patient with her, working everyday one on one with her, encouraging her to keep trying even if she did not master the skills the first time she tried it. By the end of the week she was a star softball player. I could not wait to see her the following day. She told me she went home and played catch with her brother and stated how impressed her brother was with her at how well she threw the ball. That touched my heart wen she told me that story. It made me feel as though I made a difference in her life. She was confidence in a sport that she did not even know what it was. From that day on, every time I saw her she had a bright smile on her face because she challenger herself to something that she did not feel as though she could do. Something as small as taking the time to explain to her how to throw a softball gave her confidence to get on the field and play with her fellow campers. So far my experience has been absolutely wonderful with the NYSP Camp.