Both the All Sports & IXTC Programs emphasize outdoor sports and adventure activities. With options like jet skiing and mountain biking, campers are disconnecting from technology to take on various experiences. While these activities lead to awesome memories, there are also several benefits tied to exploring adventure sports.
Removing Competitive Pressure
Many campers attend ISTC with extensive sports backgrounds; they play on competitive travel teams that focus on winning results and college exposure. Adventure sports at ISTC, like rock climbing and bouldering, remove this intensity and focus on individual progression. Instead of timing how fast campers can climb the routes, campers are encouraged to choose paths that challenge them. Effort is celebrated, even if campers aren’t able to finish a route, because it shows resilience and progress towards a new goal. Encouraging campers to explore, without fear of losing or getting benched, is an important step in creating positive mindsets.
Making Friends
Removing competitive pressure also builds friendships. Rather than seeing teammates as those who can steal their starting spot, ISTC’s activities are built on working together to achieve a goal. Cabin-of-the-week events use whole cabin participation to earn points. By rewarding inclusion, campers learn that success happens when everyone comes together. By rewarding good sportsmanship behaviors like cheering others on, campers learn to be supportive of one another. ISTC becomes a place for campers to build positive habits to take back to life at home.
Individual Accomplishment
There is also depth to taking on activities solo; jet skiing, golf, and archery are perfect examples within the ISTC schedule. By navigating our jet ski course (with the supervision of our lifeguard staff), campers prove to themselves that are capable of success without teammates’ help. They’ll also refine skills without the pressure of comparing to others. ISTC balances team sports with solo challenges to build a holistic camper.
Conclusion
Even though ‘training’ is in our name, our programs ‘train’ campers to be more well-rounded through diverse activities in a supportive, inclusive, co-ed environment. Games are run so that everyone can play, have fun, and become better.
