Dates: July 29-August 3, 2012
Located at 8877 South Township Road 131 McCutchenville, Ohio 44844 (419) 981-2662
The Team Camp of Champs provides an excellent foundation for high school programs cross country season. They offer an overnight camp for high school programs. Student-athletes will train with their high school coaches, learn from different speakers, and run on miles of scenic, wooded trails. The camps feature specific training, conditioning, motivational activities and fun! The camp is staffed by certified coaches, NCAA All-Americans and collegiate athletes, giving individual and small group instruction. Certified lifeguards are also on at the camp site. Interactive seminars include training, physiology, aqua running, plyometrics, strength and flexibility, nutrition, videotaped gait analysis, goal setting, racing tactics and mental preparation!
The organization Team Camp of Champs rents the camp site from Northwestern Ohio Christian Youth Camp (NWOCYC) wonderful facility for four weeks; each week hosting different high schools cross country programs in Ohio. The campers are able to enjoyed the magnificent beech trees, the awesome gorge, the spacious pool, the swinging bridge and the abundant facilities. Currently, the NWOCYC property contains the following: 14 sleeping cabins, a chapel, an amphitheatre, an Olympic sized swimming pool, basketball courts, a fire circle, a recreation field, Sandusky River, a dining hall, a recreation room, a nurses station, a canteen, an arts and crafts building, and housing for directors and cooks. The campers get feed breakfast, lunch, dinner, and an evening snack.
Coach Martin has been attending camps at Northwestern Ohio Christian Youth Camp since 1969. But he’s Coach Martin has been hosting the Team Camp of Champs since 1975. He runs this camp every summer during the entire month of August as a way of giving back to the sport of Cross Country, a sport that has been good to him for 37 going on 38 years. He is the overall Camp Director and Program Director. I was surprised to find out how Coach Martin was heavily involved in the day-to-day running of camp. It takes an energetic and passionate person to ensure that camp runs successfully each summer, and he's the perfect man for the job. I often found Coach Martin sweeping or or putting his hand down a clogged toilet. He leads from the front, because he loves the camp and wants to see it looking and running at its best. It's hard not to respect someone who has chosen to spend so much of their life counseling and creating memories for others.
I honestly didn’t have any expectations when I had my initial meetings with Coach Martin regarding me working his camps. I had heard through the great vile that there were going to be a lot of campers and I was going to be a great time. The organization culture was very low key. Coach Martin is not a dress up kind of guy. He likes to be comfortable so that was the attitude at the camp. Because I was working in the kitchen all day, I wore my crocs, tee-shirt, and some lose pants or tights. After the first day, I realized that I shouldn’t wear a favorite piece of clothing because it was going to get dirty, very quickly.
My role within the organization was the trouble shooter and I was in charge of the entire breakfast every morning. I was also the supervisor of the volunteer staff and the kitchen patrol campers on duty each day. Originally, my duties and responsibilities were inside the kitchen but as the days went on my responsibilities grew out to managing the dining hall as well.
He gave me a list of my duties and responsibilities written down with his girly handwriting :o)
MORNING CAMP DUTIES:
1) Turn on Dishwasher
a) Add cup of detergent before each meal. One cup per meal.
b) Flip on blue breaker and power button.
c) chose door and washer will fill up.
2) Check Chocolate Milk and unlock dispenser.
3) Put out cereal, bagels, bread, fruit, peanut butter, jelly, butter, and cream cheese.
4) Make sure toasters are plugged in.
5) Make sure all breakers are on.
6) Bowls and silverware should be out.
7) Check out the pool! Turn off water to fill the pool to the skimmers.
***Reminder that all pots and pan should be washed by hand***
***Conserve water-it fills the tanks quickly***
***Reminder that white milk should be in green pitchers***
***Dry towels in washing machine***
EVENING CAMP DUTIES:
1) Make sure that breakfast food is ready for the next morning. Fruit Cut, Cereal is restocked, bagels are on trays, milk is restocked (both chocolate and white) in the green pitchers.
2) When done using, make sure dishwasher is turned off and emptied.
a) Turn power button off.
b) Turn off blue breaker.
c) Empty water by pulling up handle inside dishwasher.
d) Empty and clean drainer inside dishwasher.
3) Dirty towels in washing machine.
4) Lights off in lodge, kitchen, and recreation room before going to bed.
5) P.A. system should also be turned off.
Coach Martin communication skills were great. He would call me everymorning on the kitchen phone to make sure that I had enough milk (chololate and white), bagels, peanut butter, etc. for breakfast the next morning. After a few day of the phone calls, I started to keep an inventory list of what I had in the refrigerator and what I needed for the next morning.
I will be honest, working the camp the first week was rough. Before camp, I was on the road for over a month officiating track meet plus taking 3 summer classes at the same time. I came back to Ohio, I had to move from the apartment I was living in, to another space all on no sleep. The first couple of day of camp I was working 12 hour days. Then that moved up to 16 hour days. My typically day the first week would start off by being at the camp no later than 8:00am to have breakfast ready by 8:30am. Breakfast would end at 10:00am and as soon as that was over I was getting the kitchen and dining hall ready for lunch, which was at noon. I would help the cooks with lunch and as soon as every camper had eaten I would instruct the kitchen patrol on their cleaning duties. Each high school program was responsible for helping me with the kitchen clean up. Everyday a new team had that responsibility. Some days I would have a couple hours to burn after lunch and I would go and see a talent show or listen to one of the guest speakers. A hot dinner would be served by 5:30pm. During the entire day I'm washing and folding the towels and wash rages because that what we use to dry dishes, table, silverware, etc. After dinner is over, I had to make sure that all food was put stored and put away, the kitchen cleaned and moped, and the dinner hall cleaned and sweep. At 9:00pm, we would serve the campers a snack of some sort. Coach Martin's wife Ms. Bev would come to the camp to help out with serving the snacks. After snack time, I would make sure the kitchen is good and cleans and ready to go for the next morning. Most nights I didn't leave the camp until after 11pm at night.
Located at 8877 South Township Road 131 McCutchenville, Ohio 44844 (419) 981-2662
The Team Camp of Champs provides an excellent foundation for high school programs cross country season. They offer an overnight camp for high school programs. Student-athletes will train with their high school coaches, learn from different speakers, and run on miles of scenic, wooded trails. The camps feature specific training, conditioning, motivational activities and fun! The camp is staffed by certified coaches, NCAA All-Americans and collegiate athletes, giving individual and small group instruction. Certified lifeguards are also on at the camp site. Interactive seminars include training, physiology, aqua running, plyometrics, strength and flexibility, nutrition, videotaped gait analysis, goal setting, racing tactics and mental preparation!
The organization Team Camp of Champs rents the camp site from Northwestern Ohio Christian Youth Camp (NWOCYC) wonderful facility for four weeks; each week hosting different high schools cross country programs in Ohio. The campers are able to enjoyed the magnificent beech trees, the awesome gorge, the spacious pool, the swinging bridge and the abundant facilities. Currently, the NWOCYC property contains the following: 14 sleeping cabins, a chapel, an amphitheatre, an Olympic sized swimming pool, basketball courts, a fire circle, a recreation field, Sandusky River, a dining hall, a recreation room, a nurses station, a canteen, an arts and crafts building, and housing for directors and cooks. The campers get feed breakfast, lunch, dinner, and an evening snack.
Coach Martin has been attending camps at Northwestern Ohio Christian Youth Camp since 1969. But he’s Coach Martin has been hosting the Team Camp of Champs since 1975. He runs this camp every summer during the entire month of August as a way of giving back to the sport of Cross Country, a sport that has been good to him for 37 going on 38 years. He is the overall Camp Director and Program Director. I was surprised to find out how Coach Martin was heavily involved in the day-to-day running of camp. It takes an energetic and passionate person to ensure that camp runs successfully each summer, and he's the perfect man for the job. I often found Coach Martin sweeping or or putting his hand down a clogged toilet. He leads from the front, because he loves the camp and wants to see it looking and running at its best. It's hard not to respect someone who has chosen to spend so much of their life counseling and creating memories for others.
I honestly didn’t have any expectations when I had my initial meetings with Coach Martin regarding me working his camps. I had heard through the great vile that there were going to be a lot of campers and I was going to be a great time. The organization culture was very low key. Coach Martin is not a dress up kind of guy. He likes to be comfortable so that was the attitude at the camp. Because I was working in the kitchen all day, I wore my crocs, tee-shirt, and some lose pants or tights. After the first day, I realized that I shouldn’t wear a favorite piece of clothing because it was going to get dirty, very quickly.
My role within the organization was the trouble shooter and I was in charge of the entire breakfast every morning. I was also the supervisor of the volunteer staff and the kitchen patrol campers on duty each day. Originally, my duties and responsibilities were inside the kitchen but as the days went on my responsibilities grew out to managing the dining hall as well.
He gave me a list of my duties and responsibilities written down with his girly handwriting :o)
MORNING CAMP DUTIES:
1) Turn on Dishwasher
a) Add cup of detergent before each meal. One cup per meal.
b) Flip on blue breaker and power button.
c) chose door and washer will fill up.
2) Check Chocolate Milk and unlock dispenser.
3) Put out cereal, bagels, bread, fruit, peanut butter, jelly, butter, and cream cheese.
4) Make sure toasters are plugged in.
5) Make sure all breakers are on.
6) Bowls and silverware should be out.
7) Check out the pool! Turn off water to fill the pool to the skimmers.
***Reminder that all pots and pan should be washed by hand***
***Conserve water-it fills the tanks quickly***
***Reminder that white milk should be in green pitchers***
***Dry towels in washing machine***
EVENING CAMP DUTIES:
1) Make sure that breakfast food is ready for the next morning. Fruit Cut, Cereal is restocked, bagels are on trays, milk is restocked (both chocolate and white) in the green pitchers.
2) When done using, make sure dishwasher is turned off and emptied.
a) Turn power button off.
b) Turn off blue breaker.
c) Empty water by pulling up handle inside dishwasher.
d) Empty and clean drainer inside dishwasher.
3) Dirty towels in washing machine.
4) Lights off in lodge, kitchen, and recreation room before going to bed.
5) P.A. system should also be turned off.
Coach Martin communication skills were great. He would call me everymorning on the kitchen phone to make sure that I had enough milk (chololate and white), bagels, peanut butter, etc. for breakfast the next morning. After a few day of the phone calls, I started to keep an inventory list of what I had in the refrigerator and what I needed for the next morning.
I will be honest, working the camp the first week was rough. Before camp, I was on the road for over a month officiating track meet plus taking 3 summer classes at the same time. I came back to Ohio, I had to move from the apartment I was living in, to another space all on no sleep. The first couple of day of camp I was working 12 hour days. Then that moved up to 16 hour days. My typically day the first week would start off by being at the camp no later than 8:00am to have breakfast ready by 8:30am. Breakfast would end at 10:00am and as soon as that was over I was getting the kitchen and dining hall ready for lunch, which was at noon. I would help the cooks with lunch and as soon as every camper had eaten I would instruct the kitchen patrol on their cleaning duties. Each high school program was responsible for helping me with the kitchen clean up. Everyday a new team had that responsibility. Some days I would have a couple hours to burn after lunch and I would go and see a talent show or listen to one of the guest speakers. A hot dinner would be served by 5:30pm. During the entire day I'm washing and folding the towels and wash rages because that what we use to dry dishes, table, silverware, etc. After dinner is over, I had to make sure that all food was put stored and put away, the kitchen cleaned and moped, and the dinner hall cleaned and sweep. At 9:00pm, we would serve the campers a snack of some sort. Coach Martin's wife Ms. Bev would come to the camp to help out with serving the snacks. After snack time, I would make sure the kitchen is good and cleans and ready to go for the next morning. Most nights I didn't leave the camp until after 11pm at night.