Two years ago I was given the opportunity to come to the Middle East and coach at an ultimate frisbee camp for a week, Ultimate Peace. It was one of my most life changing experiences. Since camp I have hosted coaches each spring during the Washington, DC leg of the Friendship Tour (2015 and 2016). The connections I have made to coaches and players are lifelong.
Since I am living in Tel Aviv for the summer I couldn't pass up the opportunity to return to camp. I excitedly reached out to the coaches to let them know I was going to be around and wanted to help out (although this time I have real life I have to return to during the week). I came straight from work on Thursday and have spent the last two days reconnecting with friends, meeting new friends, and being amazed at how much camp has grown. When I arrived on Thursday night I found all the coaches and leaders in training (LITs) on the field playing games and having fun, just like I remembered. They already looked like a family but they had only just convened on camp a few hours earlier.
Then Friday morning we woke up to the news about Nice, France. It was a shock to the system to hear about yet another awful attack. I was never more grateful to be at camp that morning though. I knew I was with a group of people equally frustrated and hurt and sad and angry. It served to reinforce the importance of what we are doing here - providing an avenue for people from different backgrounds to come together to learn about each other and practice skills to non-violently resolve conflict.
The rest of Friday was full of training for coaches on how to facilitate conversation, ultimate frisbee coaching, and preparing for camp. Then this morning I woke up to attacks in Turkey. Again, I was thankful to be around others working toward the same goal, building a network of peacemakers. It also made the discussions today about Spirit of the Game all that more poignant. One of the primary focuses of Ultimate Peace at camp and during the year-round program is this central tenet of the game - encouraging players to be respectful of the game, the rules, and most importantly of both teammates and opponents on and off the field. If more people lived their life by these ideas then perhaps I wouldn't feel like every morning I'm waking up to learn about another attack somewhere in the world (and these are just the one's I see in the media).
As I head back to work for the week I leave camp with sadness at leaving my friends but with a sense of hope. If we can make even a small impact on the 180 campers who will be arriving tomorrow then maybe, just maybe, Spirit of the Game will take hold and we will wake one day to peace.
Since I am living in Tel Aviv for the summer I couldn't pass up the opportunity to return to camp. I excitedly reached out to the coaches to let them know I was going to be around and wanted to help out (although this time I have real life I have to return to during the week). I came straight from work on Thursday and have spent the last two days reconnecting with friends, meeting new friends, and being amazed at how much camp has grown. When I arrived on Thursday night I found all the coaches and leaders in training (LITs) on the field playing games and having fun, just like I remembered. They already looked like a family but they had only just convened on camp a few hours earlier.
Then Friday morning we woke up to the news about Nice, France. It was a shock to the system to hear about yet another awful attack. I was never more grateful to be at camp that morning though. I knew I was with a group of people equally frustrated and hurt and sad and angry. It served to reinforce the importance of what we are doing here - providing an avenue for people from different backgrounds to come together to learn about each other and practice skills to non-violently resolve conflict.
The rest of Friday was full of training for coaches on how to facilitate conversation, ultimate frisbee coaching, and preparing for camp. Then this morning I woke up to attacks in Turkey. Again, I was thankful to be around others working toward the same goal, building a network of peacemakers. It also made the discussions today about Spirit of the Game all that more poignant. One of the primary focuses of Ultimate Peace at camp and during the year-round program is this central tenet of the game - encouraging players to be respectful of the game, the rules, and most importantly of both teammates and opponents on and off the field. If more people lived their life by these ideas then perhaps I wouldn't feel like every morning I'm waking up to learn about another attack somewhere in the world (and these are just the one's I see in the media).
Above photos are coaches discussing how to teach Spirit of the Game to campers this week.
