An e-newspaper for Chestertown Maryland
Mark your calendars for the Kent Youth Lacrosse Annual Party April 27th starting at 6 pm at Radcliffe Creek School. Tickets can be purchased from Cross Street Realtors and FAM&M Insurance starting on Monday, April 1. $30 per person OR $50 per couple. The event will have live music from ‘Vic Vacuum & the Attachments’ food & adult beverages provided by The Fish Whistle.
For more info visit www.kentyouthlacrosse.com or email kentyouthlacrosse@verizon.net
Summer belongs to children. For the past eight years, families and children have grown with Adkins Arboretum’s Summer Nature Camps. The camps provide extraordinary ways for children to enjoy summer the old-fashioned way—outdoors.
This year, campers will experience the Arboretum in a variety of ways. Preschoolers ages 2 and 3 (with an adult) can join Camp Bumblebee (June 10–14) to catch tadpoles, pick blueberries and look for butterflies in the meadow. Camp Pollywog (June 17–21) campers ages 4 to 6 will float leaf and twig boats down the Blockston Branch, create leafy magic carpets on the forest floor and experience nature as the world’s best playground.
In Camp Paw Paw (June 24–28), campers ages 7 to 9 will explore the history of the Chesapeake Bay region through exciting hands-on activities, including target practice with hand-crafted bows and arrows, natural dye-making, and an archaeological dig. Camp Egret (July 8 – 12) campers will use scientific skills to investigate native wildlife, play environmentally themed games, and engage in daily nature art and journaling.
Registration fees vary, and advance registration is required. Register at adkinsarboretum.org or by calling 410-634-2847, ext. 0.
Character Counts Mid Shore, Inc. (CCMS) is sponsoring their 5th annual Six Pillars Century Cycling fundraiser on Saturday, May 4. 
The cycling event will include four ride choices including an 11 mile Family Ride; the 37 mile Fun & Fitness; the 56 mile Ironman Eagleman 70.3 course and a 100 mile Century Course.
The three longer rides wind through the beautiful Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County.
The event will support Character Counts Mid Shore, Inc, a local non-profit organization which is best known for providing the Winners Walk Tall Program to more than 8,000 students in the public schools in Talbot, Caroline and Dorchester counties free of charge.
Approximately 260 trained volunteers known as Character Coaches visit classrooms each week with lessons, activities and stories based on the Six Pillars of Character: Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship.
For 15 years, character lessons have had a positive impact on the behavior of the youth in the schools on the mid shore.
The Six Pillars Century check-in begins at 6 AM at Great Marsh Park in historic Cambridge. A “show and go” start will be held between 7 and 9 a.m. The Family Ride will begin at 10 a.m. This event will be held rain or shine. Online registration is open.
The cost of registration is $55 per person through March 31 and increases in April to $65. The Family Ride registration is $40 per family with a maximum of two adults and two children. Students can register for the Family Ride for $10.
In-park registration will be held on Friday, May 3 from 3 to 7 p.m. and on Saturday, May 4 starting at 6 a.m. for $85 per person. A registration fee will be charged for on-line registration. To register, visit http://www.active.com/cycling/cambridge-md/six-pillars-century-blackwater-tour-2013.
For information on course maps and ride rules, visit www.6pillarscentury.org. Each rider registered will receive an event tee shirt. Food, beverages and SAG support are provided on the course. Entertainment and a Picnic in the Park awaits the cyclists when they return to the park. All included in the registration fee.
For further information, call 410-819-0386 or email sixpillarscentury@gmail.com
Welcome to the first day of spring and the spring equinox; officially that is, for although there are signs of spring everywhere the chilly weather continues to make its presence known if only at night. Today marks the moment when night and day are exactly the same length – 12 hours; as the sun crosses the celestial equator (the imaginary line above the equator) and the earth is not tilted on its axis.
(Continue reading here)
Echo Hill Outdoor School’s Andrew McCown is back with another edition of Cool Outdoor Stuff. This time, Andy notes the bittersweet exit of geese to Canada on a blustery St. Patrick’s Day with videographer Jack Elliott. The wind eases up for just enough time to end with a Joel Barber poem dedicated to the recently departed.
The video runs approximately three minutes
On most weekends in Maryland — maybe even every weekend — there is a club lacrosse practice, a youth basketball tournament or a tennis clinic happening somewhere. The athletes who play, in some cases, can be as young as 6.
Sports provide everything from a fun activity to a pathway to college for children. But some parents and leaders in the youth sports industry believe the time commitment and extreme competitiveness of club sports can be overwhelming, and can engulf kids in too much pressure from a young age.
But many, like the Garden family of Davidsonville, whose three children play lacrosse, just make it work.
Rich and Shannon Garden’s oldest daughter, Kendall, received a scholarship to play Division I lacrosse at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. She graduated from Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn with a number of awards, including two-time Academic All-American and two-time First Team All-County.
Kendall played six years of club lacrosse, four of them with Integrity Lacrosse, a team based in Davidsonville.
Club teams like Integrity Lacrosse, and similar ones in lacrosse and other sports, are teams that are not school-based and cost money to join. These teams can take players from any region, usually practice throughout the year and often compete in out-of-state tournaments to give young athletes more exposure to higher levels of the sport.
When the Gardens first signed Kendall up to play lacrosse in 6th grade, Shannon Garden said Kendall wanted to play because her friends were playing.
“We didn’t take it too seriously. It was just for fun,” Garden said, adding that once Kendall started middle school and joined her first club team, “it got serious real fast.”
The number of girls between 6 and 17 participating in team sports — school and club — is on the rise, increasing by 14.4 percent over a three-year period, according to a 2012 Sports and Fitness Industry Association study.
The number increased from roughly 10.5 million in 2008 to more than 12 million in 2011.
The rapid growth nationally and at the state level in youth club sports has allowed boys and girls to develop technical skills at a much younger age than before, which many see as a huge plus.
But the pressure put on young athletes is unsettling for some.
“(Parents) think their kids have to get those skills earlier,” said Robert W. H. Price, founder of Elite Minds, LLC, a sports psychology consulting service in North Potomac.
“That’s not necessarily true,” Price said. “But that’s how it feels and seems.”
Throughout his years consulting athletes, Price has noticed that those who begin competing at a younger age have a higher likelihood of burning out or giving up due to the increased pressure to perform on the field or court.
“They can lose the fun aspect of playing the sport, and that seems to happen when you start playing in clubs pretty quickly,” Price said. “For a parent to continue to keep it fun, that’s the challenge. If the kids can keep the sport, or whatever they are doing fun, they’ll stick with it.”
Sally S. Johnson, executive director of the National Council of Youth Sports, said she too sees fun as what drives most kids to pursue sports.
“The fact remains, when you talk to boys and girls, they want to play for fun and make new friends,” Johnson said.
Through advocacy and education, the Council represents 200 organizations in the amateur youth sports industry — including Little League Baseball, Pop Warner Little Scholars, U.S. Youth Soccer Association, US Lacrosse and others — which combined serve approximately 44 million athletes nationwide.
Johnson said she has noticed “the pendulum starting to shift” from thinking about sports as activities to treating them as jobs — particularly among high school athletes.
“There’s so much pressure to be a great player,” Garden said. “And I don’t like that kind of pressure on kids. I’ve learned that from my first (child).”
Garden said that as a parent, she knows she contributes to some of that pressure. She said she is trying to find a balance for her two younger children.
“I try to let them know that it’s OK if they’re not the best kid on the team,” Garden said. “I do feel really bad about the pressure sometimes.”
Jenna Garden, 12, of Davidsonville, (pictured with the ball) cradles between defenders in a lacrosse game for Integrity Lacrosse, a girls club lacrosse program with teams starting at the 5th grade level up to high school. Photo Courtesy of Shannon Garden.
The Gardens’ other children, Ben, 17, and Jenna, 12, also are heavily involved in lacrosse. Ben is a junior at Archbishop Spalding who could potentially play in college, while Jenna is entering her 5th season with Integrity Lacrosse.
As Garden said, there are more options for young girls who want to play club lacrosse — and other sports — than ever before.
“There are dozens of clubs within driving distance, and it wasn’t like that even when my daughter who’s 18 was her age,” Garden said, referring to her daughter Jenna, a 7th grader.
Not only are there more teams, but also more opportunities to play outside of the traditional season. The Gardens’ children play lacrosse during the spring and summer, and participate in fall tournaments and weeknight skills sessions during the winter.
According to a 2008 market research study by the National Council of Youth Sports, 75 percent of club sports programs are being offered year-round.
The Gardens originally committed to organized lacrosse because they wanted Kendall to learn the sport and play with competitive, committed kids under good coaches.
But Garden said that in order to have all of that, it has cost them a hefty sum.
She and her husband have already spent approximately $25,000 on club sports cumulatively for their three children.
John Haigh, the boys varsity soccer coach at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, has noticed a growing trend of playing for club teams among certain athletes on his team.
He said one of the downsides to the club sports culture is that those who can afford it can play club soccer with ease, while “those who cannot afford it can only play on scholarships if they demonstrate a high level of skill.”
“Playing facilities, well-conditioned fields, equipment, travel expenses – all of those things cost money,” said Johnson, from the National Council of Youth Sports,.
Johnson is pleased that despite high costs, there has been an increase in the number of young athletes signing up to club teams. Part of the reason for that, she said, is that more and more children are left without options at the school level these days due to budget cuts.
“The funding has been totally cut back or eliminated from school budgets,” Johnson said. “That makes afterschool and out of school organized sports critical options for kids to play and have fun.”
More than half of the 19 counties in Maryland have either never offered sports to middle schoolers or made cuts in their education budgets that have seen the disappearance of middle school athletics.
As a result, many Marylanders are forced to turn to out of school athletic leagues and club programs if they want to play sports at a young age.
Those families, like the Gardens, often spend their summer vacations taking their children to multiple practices a week and traveling from state to state to play in tournaments in front of college scouts. They spend Saturdays at clinics put on by colleges. They spend vacation weeks at recruiting camps. In many cases, the goal is to be seen by college scouts.
Although athletics have commonly been considered a gateway to college, Shannon Garden has noticed some parents even going as far as pushing their children to get recruited to specific high schools, or even make their varsity teams in Anne Arundel.
“At the end of the day, none of these kids are going to be pros, especially the girls,” Garden said, about club lacrosse athletes.
By Julia Maldonado
Capital News Service
Sultana Projects, Inc. is pleased to announce that its summer programming for children and young adults now includes a day camp version of its popular Kayak Program. Offered for children ages 9-12, the new program is designed for kids looking to explore the great outdoors. Sultana Projects’ other summer programming includes residential camping on the Schooner Sultana for ages 11-14, residential Kayak Trips for ages 11-14, and non-residential Canoeing Day Camps for ages 7-11.
Much like the Canoe Camps, each day of Kayak Camp begins at Wilmer Park in Chestertown, Maryland, where participants meet the staff to look at maps to determine where that day’s paddle will take place. Campers then board a 15-passenger van towing a mobile kayak rig and travel to a put-in site on a local waterway. Once underway, students spend most of the day learning basic paddling skills, exploring creeks and marshes, pulling seine nets to sample marine life, beachcombing, and swimming. Afternoons are spent fishing with a hook and line, catching critters with hand nets, taking nature hikes, and visiting local country stores to enjoy popsicles. Kayak Camp helps to instill confidence in children who will come away from the week with a complete understanding of basic kayaking skills.
“We’ve had such success with our Summer Programs, that each year we’re left with a sizable waiting list of students. This year we’re introducing Kayak Camp to help us meet that demand, as well as offer a kind of “in-between” option for those who wanted more independence, but weren’t quite ready for an overnight experience,” said John Mann, Sultana Projects’ Director of Educational Programs. “Kayaks allow our students to gain confidence while learning to operate his/her own vessel. We’ll utilize locations in both Kent and Queen Anne’s counties (different from our Canoe Camp sites) that are ideal for paddling, fishing, and swimming. Through Kayak Camp we will significantly increase the number of young people that join us to enjoy and experience the Chesapeake Bay.”
Currently the Kayak Program has three terms available, July 15-19, August 5-9, and August 12-16. Spaces are limited to 10 campers per week and fill up very quickly. Registration forms and information are available by visiting www.sultanaprojects.org or calling 410.778.5954.
On Saturday, March 23, the Sassafras River Association will sponsor a canoe/ kayak paddle to view the heron rookery and eagle nests on the upper Sassafras River. Join the Sassafras River Association as we paddle the upper reaches of the Sassafras River to view one of the area’s largest heron rookeries.
Early spring is the ideal time to view herons and the diverse avifauna of the upper Sassafras. We’ll see dozens of heron nests, plenty of adult herons, and maybe some chicks! There are also two bald eagle nests within paddling range for those interested. We’ll launch at the Foxhole Road public ramp (next to the south bound ramp from 301S to route 290). Come to relax, enjoy the sounds of nature in the approaching twilight, and explore the Sassafras! Bring your kayak or canoe, warm clothing, a life jacket for all paddlers, and binoculars. SRA will provide a limited number of boats for attendees.
Registration required by Monday, March 18th to reserve a canoe, or register before Thursday, March 21st if you’re using your own canoe/ kayak. Capacity limited to first 25 participants. Rain date: Sunday March 24th.
Rates $10.00 per individual $30.00 per family (up to four immediate family members) SRA Members FREE SRA Family Membership FREE (up to four immediate family members)
Register today by contacting SRA at 410-275-1400
Visit SRA’s website to learn more: http://www.sassafrasriver.org/Events/ index.php
Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in cooperation with the National Wild Turkey Federation will once again conduct a gobbler-only spring youth turkey hunt on the refuge.
The Youth Turkey Hunt will include two Saturdays during the state spring turkey season: April 27th and May 4th, 2013. A refuge hunt permit is required. A limited number of permits will be issued to ensure a high-quality and safe hunting experience. Three youth hunters between the ages of 10 and 16 will be randomly selected for each hunt day. Only youths ages 10 through 15 who were not chosen for a past Youth Turkey Hunt at Eastern Neck NWR will be eligible.
Applications for permits may be obtained:
There is no application fee. There are three ways to submit the completed application. 1) Completed applications sent via mail must be postmarked no later than Tuesday, March 26th, 2013. 2) Completed applications must be dropped off at the Eastern Neck NWR Refuge Office/Visitor Contact station by 4:00 pm on Tuesday, March 26th, 2013. Completed applications must be emailed ENYouthHunt@gmail.com by 4:00 pm on Tuesday, March 26th, 2013.
The drawing will be held on Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013. All successful applicants will be notified by telephone following the drawing.
All youth hunters who have successfully drawn a 2013 turkey tag may access refuge lands for hunt scouting on Sunday, April 21st and Sunday, April 28th from 7:30am until 1/2 hour after sunset. All youth hunters who have successfully drawn a 2013 turkey tag must attend a safety meeting the day before their scheduled hunt. This mandatory safety meeting will be held at the refuge at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, April 26th and Friday, May 3rd at the Refuge Office/Visitor Contact Station. Youth hunters must present their valid Maryland hunting license at that time. Refuge hunt permits will be issued at the briefing.
Members of the local chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will be guiding each of the youths selected for the hunt. The youths may be accompanied by a non-gun carrying parent or guardian. The bag limit is one bearded turkey per youth. All Maryland rules and regulations related to the State’s spring turkey season are applicable and will be enforced during the special hunt on Eastern Neck NWR. Detailed refuge-specific hunt regulations will be provided to the successful applicants.
