Camping to Connect Weekend Recap: A Father's Story

camping to connect

Sep 4

Written By Carlos Davila

Young Masterminds Initiative's Camping to Connect Weekend, August 28-30, 2020.

What an amazing weekend!

So, in order to wrap my head around my thoughts I want to write this in sections:

The Team/The Kids/The Experience.

The Team:

Manny Almonte , JD Weatherspoon , and Omari Haughton created an amazing educational, fun, collaborative, and challenging environment for the kids that attended. The depth of care, focus on skill acquisition, and attention to detail were amazing to watch. They were able to maintain control of (at times rambunctious) kids in a way that, as a parent, I was very comfortable with.

The Kids:

DeVaughn, Drew, James, Jean, and my own kids CJ and Dumi, all had amazing “moments” during the weekend. Whether it was James’ perseverance after a very challenging hike, DeVaughn stepping up as a leader and carrying James’ pack and giving him some of his water during the hike, Jean (being the older kid) helping Dumi with cooking, Drew (whether he realized we noticed or not) always making sure that everyone was ok on the hike, Dumi engaging in poignant conversations about his high functioning autism, or CJ better understanding who he is as a person and how to make friends without sacrificing who he is as a person; all of the kids had a “step up” moment.

It was amazing to see these kids that did not know each other at the outset of the trip start to bond (especially since we were put into collaborative teams). The skill building (not only from a camping specific perspective but also from a socialization/collaboration perspective) were amazing to behold.

The Experience:

Having camped only once before (the previous month with this program lol), who knew that I (and my kids) would enjoy it as much as we did!

It has now become a talking point for us, and we can’t wait to venture on camping and hiking trips on our own.

Seeing the immediate growth of these young men, and re-socializing them to understand that “white spaces” like camping aren’t that at all, is integral to the their continued growth.

Thank you, Manny, JD, Omari and the rest of the Young Masterminds Initiative crew, on behalf of myself and my two young Masterminds; CJ and Dumi.

Camping to ConnectCampingHikingEvent recapCarlos Davila

Carlos Davila

Carlos Davila is an adjunct professor at LIU Brooklyn (where he teaches sports psychology at the undergraduate and graduate level) and John Jay College and Baruch (where he teaches Intro to Psychology). He also is diversity officer and group exercise instructor at the Fhitting Room (a boutique HIIT studio) and a coach at 5th Ave Gym. He has an M.A. in developmental psychology. Davila has been a part of both fitness and psychology focused spaces for more than 20 years. As a personal trainer, group exercise instructor, professor of psychology, athlete and avid exerciser, Davila is acutely aware of the intersection of these spaces. As both athlete and coach, specifically within the Crossfit/HIIT space for more than 10 years, he has a wealth of insight into the culture within these spaces. His previous research into microaggressions within sporting spaces and his understanding of intersectionality allow for an analysis of fitness spaces from a varied and multi-layered perspective.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlos-davila-6010a039/

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