Sports: Building Skills and Making it Fun!

At Camp Ramah New England, the sports program is in full swing, with a wide variety of sports being offered as chuggim (electives) throughout the day. The madrichim who teach in our sports program – usually working as instructors two hours each day – are dedicated to building up the skills of the chanichim, while ensuring that everyone has a great time. With the many offerings, there is a sports experience for every chanich.

Several madrichim shared their perspectives on their roles as sports instructors:

• Many chanichim come to the Hockey chug with an interest in the sport, and I build on this. Some come in as beginners who need to learn how to hold and use the hockey stick. We play games that incorporate hockey skills, such as foosball. We also invented “tennis hockey,” a new game that uses hockey skills. I always emphasize the team work required to play hockey. The chanichim in Magshimim and Bogrim are especially enthusiastic about building their hockey skills. – Jordan Kramer

• In the Tennis chug, the majority of the chanichim know the basics, but a few need to learn how to hold the racket and basic forehand and backhand techniques. They picked up the skills quickly. We use games to make tennis very fun. If we do play sets, we usually don’t keep score. When the combined Solelim/Shoafim group had a voluntary tournament, they “got really into it!” – Kayla Traiger

• Many of our Tzad Bet (B-side) chanichim are already familiar with Ultimate Frisbee, and some of them already know me from our time together on the Roo varsity and JV teams in past summers. I change it up with different drills to build their skills. My goal is for everyone to have a good time. They seem to especially enjoy when I join them for the drills. – Ben Kane

• During Machzor Rishon (first session), I taught Fitness to our Tzad Aleph (A-side) chanichim. Because most of them haven’t yet developed a sense of “personal fitness,” we focused instead on fitness games, such as “Simon Says Fitness Edition.” Sometimes we would go around the circle of chanichim, with each one making up an exercise move to be performed by the group. We also did some yoga and played a variety of games that required significant movement and exercise. We also played music, which made the fitness environment very fun! – Sophie Fogel

• In Krav Maga, we focus on martial arts skills. We emphasize getting consent from the other person before doing certain moves, and I model for the chanichim how to ask for consent. They left Machzor Rishon with much more confidence about how to defend themselves. – Yoav Magen