2008
Summer Sports Experience Camp
Parent Handbook

Dear NVA Sports Experience Campers and Parents,

Groups of nine to eleven children have already been made at this point, so we will be unable to accommodate any further group requests. We appreciate your understanding on this issue.

The orientation meeting on Sunday, June 8 this still very important to attend so parents and kids can go over a more detailed explanation of what to expect each day and have any questions answered. This is also an opportunity to go over the LFC grounds so parents know if they need to pick up their child early they know the areas to meet us.

What your child will need to bring along with herself/ himself:

Hopefully each child will come with bright eyes and a big smile. Each child also should bring a backpack with the following essentials: swimsuit, towel, water bottle/ and or sports drink (we will have water available wherever we play), Lunch will be at 11:00 AM this year, so a mid-morning snack is not necessary. Remember, lunch is included at the Lake Forest College cafeteria, so kids need not bring a lunch with them. It is a good idea to label all of your child’s belongings, as we collect no fewer than five items each day.

Time and place for drop-off and pick-up:

Drop Off: Each day begins with drop-off between 8:45 AM – 9:00 AM at the Lake Forest College athletic campus area. We begin each day with an entire group meeting @ 9:00 AM which will discuss the day’s activities and cover all announcements concerning the day’s events. Our Sports Experience day concludes with pick-up at 1:00 PM at the same drop-off location.
The athletic campus is located on the west side of Sheridan Road directly across from Maplewood Avenue on Lake Forest College South Campus. Park in the main parking area. We will have coaching staff located in the parking lot directing participants the first day of each weekly session to our location. DUE TO CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, WE WILL NOT MEET ON THE SPORTS CENTER STEPS AS IN PAST YEARS PAST. This year our grounds locations for drop off will vary weekly. Children fourth grade or younger should be walked to his/her NVA coach daily from the car. Children 5 th grade or older may be dropped off and walk themselves to his/her coach.

Pick Up: Pick up is at 1:00 PM at the same location as drop off. If you need to pick your child up earlier than 1:00 PM, please notify your child’s coach at drop off in the morning. Please notify them in person as opposed to a written note. Each coach has a daily itinerary detailing the time and location of each activity so he or she can arrange an early pick-up. If you are late dropping your child off, simply come to the NVA help tent and a coach will direct any kids and parents to the right area. Any advance notice on this matter is helpful.

Please be careful when dropping-off and picking-up your child. The parking lot is busy with children entering and leaving cars, and they are not always easily seen.

How to contact us at any point during the day:

Coach Kraig will be manning the NVA Command Central this summer (NVA help tent) with one or two coaching assistants. The tent will provide assistance for parent communications throughout the day for ate drop offs, early pick-ups, and any other issues that may come up. He will have a cell phone, which will be on only during the hours of 8:45 AM – 1:15 PM during the time camp runs. The number is 847-323-5293. If your child also participates in NVA baseball or field hockey, please do not call this line to access daily information about rain outs or any other information that you can find online or on the NVA Daily Hotline @ 847-295-0682.

If you can’t reach Coach Kraig, we are in contact with the LFC Summer Conferences Office throughout the day. The office is located in the Sportscenter and can be reached by calling 847-735-6133. Their ready and willing staff will relay any messages to the NVA staff in case of an emergency. Should you arrive at LFC needing your child in an emergency, first try to find Kraig in the help tent. If he is unavailable, you can find the nearest coach (look for light blue Under Armor shirts and khaki shorts) Each coach has a daily itinerary detailing the whereabouts of every group.

Daily Lunch Guidelines:

Always cheered as one of the best parts of the day for participants, the LFC cafeteria offers the freedom to choose among many menu items:

We ask parents to discuss eating habits with their kids before camp begins. We speak to the kids about a healthy diet, but cannot monitor all food selections. Each home has different diets; so if you do not want your child attempting the ice cream cone record, please talk to her or him about a proper lunch.  

Swimming Pool Guidelines

The Lake Forest College Summer Conferences supply one to two certified lifeguards every time we are in the pool. In addition, NVA coaches are also present, many times in the pool with the kids. The pool itself has a shallow end where kids leery of the deep end can hang out. All of our scheduled group activities in the pool are held in the shallow end. Some kids are still not comfortable swimming for a couple of reasons. Some kids are fearful of the water and/or their lack of swimming ability. We have found that even the most timid kids come around once they see the fun we’re having as a group in the pool. We encourage participation, and for some kids in the past, the NVA Sports Experience has been a life transition where kids go from land-lovers to fish. Another reason for a child not swimming is that he/she may be shy about changing in front of other kids. Both guys and girls locker rooms have plenty of room within where many kids change out of eyesight of the others. We also post a coach outside of the locker room to listen for any problems within. If your child is still hesitant to get in the pool, she or he may opt to jump into another group participating in another activity.

NVA MONEY & THE NVA STORE:

In 2002, we began a new concept to reward kids for good sportsmanship, a positive attitude, teamwork, and good effort on the playing fields by awarding NVA money. The money is in essence “play” or Monopoly type currency created at the NVA mint. The kids, in turn, can spend their earnings in the NVA Store that sells t-shirt and uniform overstock, new and game-worn baseballs, baseball cards, NVA pencils and squishy balls, and snacks. We feel this system gives kids a little incentive to try new sports and to keep them motivated throughout the summer. We also feel it teaches kids a valuable lesson about spending versus saving. We have observed the NVA Store to be quite positive for all the kids. Much to the disappointment of many local dentists, there will be a new “2 Candy Purchases only” per day rule this year.

An additional reward system is the NVA Lottery. Kids will be awarded lottery tickets from a coach for good behavior, helping out other campers, being a team player in a game, improvement over the course of the session, or any other event that a coach feels is worthy of reward. The Lottery will be held each Friday and will have some very worthwhile prizes.
THE COACHES

Each Sports Experience coach has three years experience working NVA Sports Experiences, three or more seasons experience in NVA sports programs, or is an adult working in the education field. Thus, we are all well versed in the “NVA Way”, bringing high level of structure and education a fun athletic environment. The coach to child ratio is 1:10. Each coach gets to know each child as they get to know all of us.

We encourage parent involvement especially in discussing all of the aforementioned subjects. NVA also invites you, the parents, to attend any of our daily activities to observe the fun we have in our Summer Sports Experiences. Please feel free to contact us should you have any preliminary questions at 295-0NVA (295-0682). We plan on discussing the summer with the kids on the first day, making clear the five weeks ahead and always encourage the kids to openly communicate with ourselves.  

Special Events
NVA Sports Experience will go on a bowling field trip during Week 5 Fatman’s in Libertyville will be our host, providing bowling, pizza and NVA sports trivia for a fun-filled day. Our date will be determined later once we have a better handle on weather we’re expecting for week 5. Our hope is to schedule it on a day where we are either expecting rain or excessive heat. Cost of the field trip is included in your fee. Any other purchases, such as vending machine snacks will need to be made using the child’s money.