Before any of the activities like jet skiing, banana boating, rock climbing, soccer, and golf take place, campers are first introduced to the ISTC staff that will be taking care of them.
Every camper has several counselors, who live in their cabin and assist with day-to-day happenings. They are also assigned a number of All Sports Coaches, who facilitate all of the team and adventure sports. Both sets of staff heavily influence the ISTC experience, so we’d like to provide even more information about them in this month’s blog.
With international in the camp name, we are fortunate to bring in counselors, coaches, and other staff from around the world each summer. In addition to the United States, many staff members are from England, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and Scotland. Further, most staff members are in university for sports management, physical education, and other teaching professions. Since our All Sports and IXTC programs are focused on building life skills through sports, coaching sports is intrinsic to most roles; however, we are most interested in candidates who are dedicated, responsible, charismatic, and kind.
Our international staff have opportunities to teach sports from their home countries, which we love. Giving campers the ability to play uncommon U.S. sports like rugby, cricket, and Aussie rules football aligns with our program goals; we want campers to try new things in hopes of discovering interests to pursue outside of camp.
For our international staff, we are partnered with several agencies to narrow down candidates. We then travel abroad in the winter months to personally interview and screen individuals. Just like U.S. staff, they are fully checked and vetted; safety is our top priority. All staff also attend a two-week long orientation before Week 1 begins. During this time, staff learn their jobs but more importantly, experience ISTC culture. Just like the campers, we disconnect from technology, get outside, and place a major emphasis on making friends. Getting them to see the value in what we do is the first step in creating ISTC’s welcoming and sporty atmosphere each season.
Year after year, our coaches and counselors make ISTC the place for playing new sports, building confidence, and making world-wide connections.
