Coach and Counselor at Woodward Camp  

The summer of 2019 was my last year of being a junior counselor at Woodward Camp. Most of my friends were already on staff as counselors and coaches by that year. I was so excited to be a counselor and coach during the summer of 2020. I would finally be able to do all the staff activities I heard so much about. I was most excited to coach and learn how to spot when I was on staff. Best of all, I would get paid to go to my favorite place on earth! 

I applied to coach and counsel at Woodward in January of 2020. Two months later everything was shut down by COVID-19. I was so sad. COVID took my senior prom, graduation, my senior gymnastics state meet, and now it was going to take Woodward too. Woodward cancelled their first six weeks of camp. I was sure camp was going to get cancelled. As the date approached, I was shocked Woodward said nothing. Finally, a week before camp starts, they officially announce camp will still happen! I was so excited! Of course, I was nervous to go. We were in the middle of a pandemic! 

Woodward put in place extreme safety precautions that made me feel better. They cut down camp to 30% capacity. I only had five kids in my cabin. Masks were required everywhere except in the cabin and while the campers were working out.There is still always a chance of getting COVID so I got tested before I went to camp and right before I went home. Thankfully I did not get COVID.  

2020 was definitely not the staff experience I expected. Most of my friends did not come to camp that year because of COVID. I met almost a whole new group of people. Even though it was my first year on staff I was treated like veteran staff because I have been going to the camp since I was 10 years old and I knew how everything worked.  

Each week I was at camp I was assigned a mandatory group to coach. I would get a different level to coach each week. I loved it! I loved being able to push kids and motivate them to be the best they could be. Gymnastics can be a very toxic spot. I was so happy to create a happy, heathy, and fun environment for these kids to train in like my camp coaches did for me in the past.  

On staff we are required to do weekly spotting clinics. I have had some previous spotting experience from working at my home gym so I was ahead. I did learn how to spot a lot of know skills. I ended the summer of 2020 with the ability to spot level 9 and I ended the summer of 2021 with the ability to spot level 10! Not only did I learn how to spot but I was also the person people learned how to spot on. I did all sorts of flips so my fellow coaches could learn. 

Counseling was one of the highlights of my Woodward staff experience. I was in-charge of a cabin full of kids. I made sure they woke up in the morning, fell asleep at night, and most importantly, were having fun! It could get exhausting being with kids 24/7, but it was definitely worth it.  

Whenever my friends and I were off from work we would leave camp and do fun activities. We went to a rope swing, went floating on a natural lazy river, went camping, and went out to eat.  

Woodward has been such an amazing experience and I hope my experience gave you more insight to what the camp really is. Everyone on staff is happy to be there and wants to make sure campers are having the best time they can.