Like any other camp, this one on the campus of SUNY Brockport has children, counselors, equipment, a spirit of fun and learning and a competitiveness driven by a desire to improve. Unlike most camps, this one is different; it has 56 children who are blind, 20 who are totally blind and eight who are also deaf. Does that change the activities? Not much. There is a sense of joy in this group, under the guidance of its founder, Lauren Lieberman. Lieberman, Professor of Physical Education and Sport at SUNY Brockport, founded Camp Abilities in 1996. Since then, Camp Abilities camps have been established across the nation in Alaska, Maryland, Vermont, Minnesota, Nova Scotia, Puerto Rico, Florida, Toronto and Arizona. The rewarding experiences gained at these outings encourage children to develop and maintain physical activities and, most importantly, to achieve their personal goals. "I've seen the kids be more confident and empowered and I've seen the counselors feel the confidence to be the specialist on visual impairment in their own school district," Lieberman said. "The parents see the children more as athletes and the children see themselves as athletes." This camp, the eleventh annual hosted by SUNY Brockport, June 25-July 1, is made possible by donations and support from the community and the motivated efforts and hard work of a staff of 80 counselors. They come from 17 different universities and 18 different states, coming from as far away as Ireland, Brazil, California and Rhode Island. Their work involves close proximity guidance for the campers with plenty of positive reinforcement, enthusiasm and obvious love for the participants. They are mainly undergraduates and graduate students pursuing degrees in adapted physical education. The campers (athletes) come from New York, Texas, Connecticut and Maryland and range in age from 9 to 19 years old. This year's program includes two additions, a high rope climb, on the same ropes used by ROTC students, and use of tokens to recognize individual daily performance. The participants are assigned to four different groups, (Blue, Green, Yellow and Purple) that rotate through the activities, and the activities encompass the usual canoeing, kayaking, rollerblading, basketball, swimming, gymnastics, archery, bowling, tandem bicycling, track and field, judo, horseback riding and two special sports, beep baseball and goal ball. Beep baseball has a first and third base, both plastic cylinders with beepers on them. Players have a regular bat and try to hit a ball with a beeper in it. If hit, the player must run to the base which is beeping and reach it before a blindfolded fielder catches the ball. If successful, the team receives a point, otherwise it's an out. There are three outs per inning and nine innings in a game. Goal ball is a game developed after World War II for blind veterans. It consists of two seven minute halves and is played on a basketball court with three persons on a side. The three persons have blindfolds on to equalize everyone's vision and are placed across the court near the end line, which has taped rope on the floor to guide them as to the zone they must play in. The object is to roll a basketball-sized rubber ball with balls in it, (the ball has holes in it to enable a player to hear the bells), through the opposite end line. Players stoop, bend, fall to the floor and extend their bodies, all in an effort to stop the ball when they hear it approaching. It is a difficult game to play but one that brings out a sense of accomplishment whenever the ball is stopped and, believe it, these players went all out in their efforts to do just that! There is a quiet time for all the children. It's known as FOB time (foot on bed time) and it is held every day from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Tokens are given out each day for individual performance and prizes are given out at the closing ceremony. Each participant is tracked on daily performance, with the intent to promote progress in form, ability, confidence and time required to accomplish an activity. It is remarkable and heartwarming to hear the children cheer and applaud their compatriots for every exercise attempted. There's no holding back, as every child is involved in every activity, with plenty of assistance provided by compassionate and capable counselors. The high number of counselors means that each child always has a helpful assist whenever it is needed. Florida native Wayne Jennings is here as a counselor for the first time. He is a Program Consultant for the Division of Blind Services for the Florida Department of Education in Tallahassee, Florida. His comments on the camp program: "The coordination and staff cohesion and planning is just awesome. I plan to borrow this program for use in the state of Florida." The success of this camp can perhaps be best summed up in the words of Buffalo, New York athlete Haley Schedlin: "The counselors always stick by your side and the coaches don't pressure you to do things; they just help you to do it better." This unique sports camp's success also owes much to outside benefactors including: the McCracken Farm for providing a horse-drawn wagon ride, the Lions Club in the 20-E1 section for picking up the tab for many meals, the NYS Commission for the Blind which is paying the $700 cost for each camper to attend this special camp, Damian Sugar, of Sugar's Bike Shop in Spencerport, for lending his services to make sure the tandem bicycles are road-worthy, Steve Alexander, who donated a tent to store the bikes in, Canalside Rental for providing kayaks, and numerous donations which made this camp special for these extraordinary children, according to organizers. Lauren Lieberman, a 2005 Chancellor's Award for Scholarship and Creative Abilities recipient, the highest award in the SUNY System, will receive the Community Partner Award from the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired on July 12 for her dedication and instrumental focus on Camp Abilities. July 9, 2006 |
