It’s Camp Time!
Dear Bridgton Sports Camp Families,
It is a quiet Friday on Long Lake. The staff has the afternoon off after a great week of orientation and preparation for camp. The facility is in unbelievable shape with the grass cut, fields lined and ice down! All we need now are the campers. Drive safely and we look forward to seeing all of our first session families on Sunday!
-Brian
Strength & Conditioning Program
Our strength/conditioning & speed/agility program is one of our more popular “minors” this summer! Below is a brief introduction by Michelle who is running the program:
My name is Michelle Sturgeon I am from a small northern town in Maine called Old Town Maine. I earned a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Maine, Orono in 1997 and a Master of Education, with a concentration in Strength and Conditioning from Springfield College in 2002.
While at Springfield College, I was responsible for the design and implementation of the strength and conditioning programs for the baseball, track, cross-country and tennis teams at Springfield College. I also had the privilege of training the softball team at American International College.
In 2002 after receiving my Master degree, I was given the amazing opportunity to work for Mike Boyle, my mentor and an icon in the strength and conditioning world. There, I coached athletes from the NHL, NFL, NLL, WUSA and USA Women’s Olympic Ice Hockey Team. I was able to acquire the knowledge and skills from the best in the field and take those skills with me to Bridgton Academy.
I joined Bridgton Academy in June 2010 and have enjoyed teaching classes in the science department as well as working with the Soccer and Lacrosse teams. I am excited for the Bridgton Sports Camp this summer and look forward implementing strength and conditioning, as well as speed and agility programs into the athletes class schedules.
Message For Our Soccer Players
My name is Dillon Clark and I am currently in my final semester of college at the University of Maine at Farmington. I am studying elementary and middle school education. I am very excited to run the soccer program this summer and look forward to teaching and learning from all the boys who take part! I was an all conference high school player at Old Town, and continued my career at UMF. At UMF I was a 4 year starter and captain my senior year. I made the All-Conference team both my junior and senior year, playing the outside wing and forward. I have coached and been involved in soccer programs my entire life and truly cannot wait to help players this summer develop their skills in all aspects of the sport. We will work on offensive skills, defensive skills, team play, game strategies and of course, the ever so loved, conditioning aspect of soccer! This is going to be a fun summer full of improvement, hard work and tons of fun! I hope everyone is getting excited and ready to lace up those cleats and get on the pitch!
Parent Newsletter 2011
This Newsletter contains all the info you need as you prepare for camp!
Message For Our Lacrosse Players
My name is Jeremy Phelps and I am the new Lacrosse Director for the Bridgton Sports Camp. I am currently an Assistant Men’s Lacrosse Coach at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina. Guilford competes in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, which was ranked this season as the most competitive conference in Division Three Lacrosse. Prior to my time at Guilford, I worked as the Defensive Coordinator at Ardrey Kell High School. Ardrey Kell is perennially a top 20 team in the State of North Carolina and competes in the toughest conference in the state, which has produced the previous two State Champions. I have also spent time as the Goalie Coach at Fort Mill High School, who won the South Carolina State Championship this season. As a college player, I played at Winthrop University where I was a 2 year captain. In three seasons at Winthrop, I finished fourth in school history in points and third in school history in goals as an attackman. My goal as Program Director is to allow my campers to improve their skills and gain a better understanding of the game in a fun atmosphere. I will offer a variety of drills to target many different skill sets. I believe that my program will allow campers to leave as better all around players, without being subjected to the monotonous repetition of the same drills players are used to. I am very excited about working at the Bridgton Sports Camp this Summer, as well as the opportunity to develop the Lacrosse Program into one of the top camps in the country!
March Update…
March is a busy month for Bridgton Sports Camp and I want to keep everyone updated through this blog, facebook, and even twitter!
The second week in March I’m headed up to Maine to visit camp. I’ll be joined there by Wade and Lisa. We’ll be there for three days to work on scheduling, menus, planning special events, trips, color war, and much more. We have a lot to do to get ready for the summer. I’m also excited to see the new batting cage and the completed player’s lounge, where all of our campers will be able to hang out at night, get a snack, and watch a baseball game. Speaking of baseball, watch out for the Phillies this year. With our starting rotation, I think we’re the team to beat! I’ll be bringing my camera and new flip video camera to camp with me. As long as I can figure it out I’ll post some pictures and video from around camp on the website and facebook page. It will be cool to see what camp looks like covered with snow!
After Maine, I travel down to Atlantic City for the Tri State Camp Conference. I look forward to this every year as a chance for camp owners, camp staff, and vendors to collaborate, share ideas, and stay up to date with the latest products and services.
In addition, throughout the month I have a lot of house visits scheduled for both new and existing families, including a trip to Florida to visit a few families the last week in March. If you are new and thinking about Bridgton Sports Camp for the summer please call the office at 866-283-5943 to set up a home visit or to learn more about camp.
My plan going forward is to write a monthly blog to keep everyone up to date and informed on the latest with Bridgton Sports Camp.
That’s all for now. Remember to become a fan on facebook. We just posted a radio spot that is running now on Z100 in NYC. We are also on twitter @bridgtoncamp.
Have a great month!!
Meet Our Baseball Director
Mike Verrill’s coaching career began in 1969 as a little league coach for Augusta South Little League, moved to Apple Valley Babe Ruth as a coach and League President for 9 years. He served as the district 5 Commissioner for Babe Ruth Baseball for 5 years and the Assistant State Commissioner for twelve years establishing new leagues and generally promoting Babe Ruth Baseball in Maine. Mike started coaching high school baseball in 1980. During that time he has established a won-loss record of 221 wins and 182 losses. Mike has taken 7 varsity teams to Regional Tournaments in both Maine and Florida. In 2009 his team won the District Championship and finished Regional-Runner-Up in the Florida High School Tournament in Division 1A.
Mike also coached softball at the high school level in Maine, bringing home 3 KVAC District Championships, 2 Regional Championships and 1 State Championship. During that time he coached the Gatorade Player of the Year, won a Coach of the Year Award and was selected as coach of the Maine State Sr. All-Star High School Game in 1999.
Mike was a long time coach and clinician for Four Seasons Baseball and Frozen Ropes Training Center in Portland and Westbrook, Maine. Frozen Ropes is nationally recognized as a leader in the development of baseball and softball players around the country.
Serving the baseball and softball communities has been a priority for Mike. He was involved in forming both the Maine High School Baseball Coaches Association and the Maine Softball Coaches Association. Over the years Mike has served on the National Baseball Coaches Executive Board and also the National Fast Pitch Softball Coaches All-American Regional Board. Mike can’t wait to work with our campers this summer at Bridgton!
Meet Our Hockey Director
Jon Lounsbury, a Winthrop, MA. native and 2001 graduate of Bridgton Academy, brings an impressive playing resume to the job, having played for the University of Southern Maine Huskies from 2001 to 2005, then moving upward to play over 280 games professional hockey in his minor league career.
In addition to his impressive athletic accomplishments, Lounsbury also owns and operates Total Package Strength and Conditions, Inc., a series of hockey skills, leadership, strength, and conditioning programs that take from Vancouver BC to Boston, MA.
While a student at Bridgton Academy, Lounsbury set the all-time school scoring record. He repeated his record-setting feat both in college while playing at the University of Southern Maine, and again in the pros while playing for the Huntsville Havoc of the SPHL, where he set defenseman scoring records for both clubs. It wasn’t just about scoring goals, however. Lounsbury was awarded the 2004 Student-Athlete Award while at USM and earned 1st Team All- American honors. His leadership continued into the professional ranks where he served as a Team Captain for his club. Jon is the current head coach at Bridgton Academy and excited to work with our campers this summer!
Coming To Your Area
We will be on the road in Massachusetts January 7-9, 2011. If you live in the area and would like to set up a house visit please contact us at 866-283-5943.
Thanks and Happy/Healthy New Year to you and your family!
Curious Parents Article
Good camps and good camp directors create controlled, ideal communities with an alternative – more traditional – vision of what it means to grow up. Read the article.
