Helicopter Moms Welcome

Listen, we totally get it.

Image Credit: The Huffington Post

Your neighbor’s kids did Champ Camp last year, and by all accounts had a blast. Then in the Fall, you noticed one of your little one’s classmates rocking a mesmerizing tie dyed shirt. When you asked him where he got it, he told you that he made it at ChampCamp, and went on to corroborate your neighbor’s story, raving about his newfound passion for boogie boarding and affinity for afternoon dance-offs. And after all of this, you even saw the giant green ChampVan driving through Downtown Manhattan.

Now it’s Springtime and everyone is planning out their kids’ summers. Naturally, Champ Camp pops right into your frontal lobe. Other parents are constantly asking about your Summer plans, as they’re trying to arrange for a big group of classmates to get the ChampCamp experience together. But, even with all the perceived positivity surrounding us, you’re not quite sold-- and you shouldn’t be.

Once and for all, you decide to get to the bottom of this whole ChampCamp saga. With a detailed interrogation list in hand, you give us a buzz, and we chat for the better part of an hour. To your relief and surprise, we substantiate everything you’ve heard and seen over the past several months-- our high fives & good vibes mentality all but radiates through your iPhone. Suspiciously satisfied, you throw out one last zinger that will either make or break all that’s been built up to that moment. “Can I come watch what you all do down there?” you ask. “Why of course you can!” we reply. Nailed it!

We fully acknowledge the great degree of skepticism surrounding the idea that it’s even possible for your youngster to be completely safe for a week on the beach, all while making memories that add up to this being the best summer of their life, so far. Our ostensibly far-fetched proposition shouldn’t be accepted without a healthy dose of empirical data-- your vetting process should be thorough.

So, by all means, come check us out! Cruise by the week before your child’s session, setup your own undercover camp down the beach to see what we’re up to, or even take it to the ocean and spy on us from a jet ski. Whatever it takes for your confidence in us to rise to the level of the great stuff you’ve heard about us, go do that thing! All that we ask is that you leave ample time to find parking, as the spots on our helicopter mom landing pad are usually taken :).

Clear for takeoff,

-Trevor

Safe & Stoked: 6-to-1 or Bust!

When shopping around for kids’ recreation programs, one of the first questions that parents should, and often do, ask is, “What is your ratio of campers to counselors?” Considering that, in enrolling one’s child in any program outside of the home, a parent is quite literally turning over their most prized possession in the universe to a group of strangers, this is an extremely legitimate inquiry. To compound things, given the seemingly unpredictable environment of a program on the beach, the thought of letting your little one loose to an understaffed organization a mere one hundred feet from the Pacific Ocean is unnerving to say the least.

Lucky for us, we leap far beyond the industry standard in the ratio department, and proudly answer the above question with an emphatic “6-to-1!”

While we’d be lying if we said it’s not gratifying to hear the relief in a concerned parent’s voice when we tell them those numbers, that ratio is also the key to maintaining our success on a daily basis. For our purposes, success is being able to give a “YES” response to the following two self-check queries:

1. Are our campers safe?
2. Are our campers stoked?

Objectively, since our first day of camp in 2012, we’ve been in the business of keeping eighty plus kids per day safe on the beach, and here we are in 2017. Much to the help of our vital 6-to-1 ratio, the answer to the first question has been, "Yes" 100% of the time. If it wasn’t we wouldn’t still be here. That’s pretty much the end of that.

The second, more subjective, measure of our success deals with the degree to which our campers are pleased with the general goings-on at ChampCamp at any given point throughout the day. In other words, are we transmitting ample high fives & good fives such that they’re being received, felt, and internalized by every single kid in attendance that day? Admittedly, we’re not wizards, and of course a few campers out of the thousands of who have partied with us over the past five years weren’t fully exhilarated every moment they were with us-- it happens. However, you can bet your hiney that we give a maximal effort to meaningfully connect with each kid, and our glorious 6-to-1 ratio plays a big part in helping us achieve that.

So, next time you’re researching recreation programs for your kiddo, make sure you ask about ratios. And, in the likely chance that you come across a proportion that doesn’t sit well with you, feel free to share our contact info with that organization-- we’d be happy to guide them in the right direction :) .

PewPew,

-Trevor