I Spent Three Days At An All Boys Summer Camp

Last month I bravely faced the hormones and hygiene of 45 teenage student athletes and their dozen or so coaches, and spent three days at what was basically a basketball frat house. 

Bless the camp's only female, Ally Alexander, the camp matriarch who helped buy groceries and injected a little femininity in what was otherwise a sausage fest (sorry, but this feels like my most appropriate descriptor).

It was more daunting than I had anticipated. I quickly realized that I no longer know how to interact with teenagers in a normal capacity-- I found myself doing awkward finger guns during conversation. Like, why?

Holster yourself, Michelle. 

Anyways, my story is about a group of high school-aged student athletes that have dreams of playing in college and for those good enough, maybe even the NBA one day. The players hail from 12 different countries, from Sweden to Japan to South Africa, and have varying skill level. The camp, Alexander Basketball Academy, aims to help these players get to a place where they can be collegiate-level athletes and then go a step further by getting them in front of college scouts by bringing them to the U.S. 

The story was focused on these unique athletes, but I honestly could have done a whole separate thing on the camp coaches. The motley crew of 12 current & former basketball players voluntarily took a month off of whatever their "real jobs" were to live in a dorm with a bunch of rowdy teenagers.  After nearly a month of coaching, stepping away from the boisterous and often mischievous players is a necessary relief for the coaches. Most of the time this meant heading to the town's local watering hole, the Pub 990, for a drink--or five. 

It's a long read but it's a fascinating story about a Danish Hulk, a Mongolian-Canadian Legend, and the camp that brings them all together.

Read it in full, here.