The Kings Dominion Draft was taken to the next level this year. After the evening playoff games everyone headed up to the Walker Fine Arts Center. Coach Marr had set the stage - literally!
Over the past week, campers have been getting together with other campers to form their Kings Dominion groups. Unlike Water Country, where teams travel around the park together, campers create their own teams for KD. They usually get together with new or old friends - or both. We added a new element this year. These groups have always given their teams names but this year we asked them to be more thoughtful of their team name and we made it a contest. The best team name, chosen by a small group of administrators, were given the first pick in the 2016 Draft. In fact, the top four names were given the top four picks in the draft. The best team name this year, as chosen by the small council, was Children of the Caughron. I'm not sure if this team knew the significance of their name. Hopefully the counselor who helped them with this creative selection gave them the back story. As you may or may not know, Red and Cathy Caughron led Sports Camp for the first twenty five years of it's existence. Red was a legend at Woodberry and earned this status not only as the Sports Camp Director but also as Athletic Director and Head Football Coach. Both Red and Cathy have passed away but their spirits live on through the campers and counselors who come together each summer for three weeks during Sports Camp. Second, third an fourth place names included, Keeping up with the Sari's, The White Flags and The WFS 49ers.
The first pick of 2016, as made by Chidren of the Caughron, was Derek Lora, also known as DLo. There was little debate on stage about this pick. This team knew exactly who they wanted. Coach Marr and his fellow correspondent, former camper and first time support staff member, Scotty Pittman called DLo over for a quick interview after the pick. Derek was elated and humbled. He had a few words to say and then we were on to the second pick.
On and off during the draft Coach Marr showed old photos from past drafts and also candid photos from this year's camps. Counselors were often surprised by some of the photos showing up on the large screen. Certain photos brought "awws" and laughs. The onstage banter, cheers from the crowd, and draft picks went on for the next hour or so until all of the teams had made their first round pick. After the event, teams went back to dorm and enjoyed a pizza party. Upon departure they were thrilled to be reminded that breakfast would be at 9am instead of 8am.
In addition to the draft there were many playoff games. Teams competed ferociously. As you may recall, the playoffs during Sports Camp is 'one and done'. Brown won the first two Dodgeball games of the playoffs taking down Oregon and Navy. We started to call them the Kings of Dodgeball but then they ran into one of the most disciplined teams in camp - West Point. The Black Knight's do not play around. They beat Brown 4 games to 2.
Notre Dame and Harvard met up on the football field during the afternoon session. This game went into overtime. Harvard had been behind through three quarters. They came back in the fourth to tie it up and then they had to hold Notre Dame from scoring. They did just that in four downs inside the thirty yard line to force an overtime situation. They scored on their first possession and then held the Irish again to secure the win.
We added a new element to camp. Yesterday we held the first ever Musical Chairs Competition with counselors. Campers assembled in the stands at Johnson Stadium. Fifteen chairs were placed on Hanes Field and sixteen representatives from each team were present to take part. The competitors were either coaches or referees. Bebe Olaniyan, assistant coach for Oregon and former camper, was the last man standing. He earned 8 points for his team. As you can imagine, the counselors became quite competitive during the game. They still managed to have fun and the campers were thoroughly entertained!
As I write this everyone is up and around. We're ready for another full day of playoff games. Enjoy your Sunday!
