Life Lessons from Summer Sports Camp for @littlesteemitph

After the busy first week of our Stay in Davao, and having completed both the Homesteading Brigade in Island Garden City of Samal, and the Davao Meet Up in Café Demitasse, we are finally able to start doing something to kick-off our summer vacation. @littlesteemitph have always wanted to learn how to swim knowing the her sister @dandalioncub and I are swimmers. We were pleased to learn that @dandalion’s sister actually enrolled her and her cousin to the Ateneo De Davao Summer Sports Camp.

Background Information

Being born with Lactose Intolerance I was not given milk as an infant. It was only much later when lacto-free preparations of milk was introduced. Because of this my bones were brittle and I have in fact been fractured a couple of times, and it was deemed hazardous for me to engage in any form of contact sports. My parents and I were convinced however, that I need some form of sport to develop my muscles to compensate for my weak bones and help my lungs cope with Asthma.

Sam (@littlesteemitph), our youngest daughter sadly inherited some of my bad genes and got both lactose intolerance, and asthma. Both @dandalion and I did not stop researching about both conditions searching for solutions to make Sam healthier. We are in luck that lacto-free preparations are already available and we started Sam with that. We have been unable to find any material pointing to side-effects of drinking lacto-free milk in comparison to regular milk. The only real difference is a slightly sweeter taste because the lactose double-sugar is broken into two easily-digested single sugars, thereby already doing what lactose intolerant individuals are challenged with; breaking lactase even before milk is digested.

In her toddler years, we have started exposing Sam to regular milk and cheese in moderation. This Article from HealtyLife spoke about ways to avoid calcium deficiency for those with lactose intolerance.

_{"Traditionally, lactose intolerant individuals have tried to avoid dairy entirely. Interestingly there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that many individuals can safely enjoy a calcium-rich glass of milk so long as it is consumed in moderation and with food. It appears that the increased digestion that occurs shortly after a meal helps to avoid the standard side effects."}

While there are no sufficient evidence that swimming reduces asthma symptoms, based on my recollection as a child, I felt better at dealing with attacks having learned about breathing exercises needed for swimming.

The Ateneo Summer Sports Camp

I wrote a portion of this post while at the grounds of Ateneo de Davao University for the summer camp orientation. @dandalion attended all of her school days from pre-school to college in this institution, and being here feels like an inch closer to our journey of getting to know each other. We've been together for about twelve years and yet we still have so much to learn about each other. Her formative years were spent in this institution. Each moment I spend here, each speaker I hear, and each student and summer camp participant I observe; make me imagine how she was like in her earlier days before we met.

I've not been able to find any published material that says exactly when the Summer Sports Camp started. It sounded like they've been doing it for several years now though, the banner at the left was for the 2014 summer sports camp. According to Ateneo Summer Sports Camp 2018 article from Sun Star Davao, there are a couple of batches for this year's summer camp. Sam's batch started on the 9th of April and will end on the 20th, while the second batch will be between April 30 to May 11.

The camp features basketball, volleyball, football, swimming, badminton, chess, table tennis, track and field, rugby football and martial arts. It is available for Ateneo de Davao University students for a discounted 3,000.00 PHP fee, and 3,500.00 for Non-ADDU students.

The Orientation

There were at least 100 participants, and over 150 parents/guardians who attended the orientation. We were also introduced to a group of coaches and junior coaches during the orientation. One of the things the coaching director highlighted are the positions of the attendees of the orientation.

• The summer camp participants (the young athletes) in front.
• The parents and guardians at the back.
• The coaches and junior coaches by the sides.

He spoke to us about how these are the ideal positions in sports as well. I feel these are the positions ideal for real life too to be honest. The youth, our students, our apprentices, and our staff up in front; allowed to explore, learn, and self-develop. The elders, the teachers, the mentors, and managers by the sides occasionally stepping up front to guide and re-direct as needed; then quickly coming back to sidelines after. The parents, the school administrators, the business owners at the back observing and cheering on; creating an environment where experimentation is allowed, and influencing policy changes and guidelines based on what makes sense to support the future of our world, of learning, and of our organizations.

Cheer Don't Jeer!

A cheer is what you shout at a sporting event when you cheer your team on, showing your enthusiasm and support.

As a noun, jeer is the act of scoffing, taunting, or mocking. Think of it as an anti-cheer.

~ Vocabulary.com

Hashtag CheerNoJeer is something that the ADDU Athletics department promotes. I've written a few articles saying that our world have more than enough critics, and what we really need are more encouragers.

This hashtag is absolutely aligned with our beliefs and is one of the things we were glad to hear during the orientation.

Values Over Skills

_{"In the morning, we will start with general assembly where we will introduce the value of the day, then we proceed to their respective disciplines and then we will have an assessment at the end of the day to know what have they learned, the camp also aims to give the athletes a "beyond sports" experience." ~ Athletics Coach Airnel Abarra}

Similar to the statement about having more than enough critics, our world have seen a lot of great minds in many disciplines. What we need more of are people with lasting desirable belief and ideals necessary for humanity to move forward. This actually led me to read one of my earlier post I titled Kindness is as Important as Greatness. I started that post with these two paragraphs:

_{We always tell our kids that being kind is as Important as being great. We hope that we are setting good examples to them in our daily dealings with humanity. I wouldn't dare say that we are perfect, we are far from it. We also do not have some unrealistic expectations that our kids will be all good. We believe after all that humans are not born naturally good, and because of that belief we try our hardest to try and keep a conscious effort do good.}

_{We always try to make acts of kindness a big deal around the kids. We do this in such a way that helping an elderly, or being nice to another kid will be celebrated no less than being a top student in a grading period. Winning a declamation contest for example is just as big as a deal as being courteous in day to day conversations.}

We are both absolutely glad that the summer camp will be reinforcing what we've always tried hard to tell our kids.

Discipline and Perseverance

I've always believed that everyone is gifted with some innate talents, self-discipline on the other hand is not something anyone is born with. It is an attribute developed over a long period of time choosing to do what is right, rather than what is easy or convenient.

There are tons of articles written about how sports help in developing self-discipline. At a personal level, learning how to swim, rigorous varsity training, and competing in a few events during my high school days helped me in always pushing myself to the limits in and outside the pool. I thought Sam will give up after her first day, to be honest. She's the less sporty of our two daughters, she's thin, would rather read than play outside, and often complains about how chores are such a drag.

It is surprising how she excitedly tells us about new things she learned post the last couple of sessions, how easy it is wake her up in the morning, and how excited she is overall about developing her swimming skills further. I thought @dandalion and I will have to exert tons of efforts to encourage her, but it turns out our child is much better than we thought, and it pleases us both.

Image Credits:

Milk & Cheese - Pixabay
2014 Summer Sports Camp Material
Cheer Don't Jeer Logo
Football Game Cheer Dancers - Pixabay

Sources:

What Causes Lactose Intolerance?
Avoiding Calcium Deficiencies on a Lactose Intolerant Diet
What are the side effects of drinking lactose-free organic milk?
Ateneo Summer Sports Camp 2018