LEARN A SKILL
THIS SUMMER
Specialty Camps Give
Kids Focus and Drive
BY JILLIAN DIAMOND
WITH MANY SUMMER CAMPS
closing their registration period
only a few months into the year,
you might be feeling the pressure
to narrow down camp choices, but
too many options can make it difficult.

DePalo, owner of Eastern Watersports, whose Baltimore-area
summer camp program is a one-stop shop for waterfront-based
activities like sailing, kayaking and sports including water vol-
leyball and paddle board hockey.

“Here, you’re basically on the water and in your life jacket
from the moment you arrive,” he says.

Camps like these give kids the chance to discover new
talents or hone strengths they’ve acquired from sports or
extracurricular activities during the year — and summer is the
ideal time for that, since your child’s energy isn’t split between
school and other responsibilities.

GYMNASTS: CHERRY-MERRY/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS;
DYNAMITE CAMPS
What if your child doesn’t find their niche?
Day and overnight camps are dedicated to offering a large
variety of activities in order to appeal to every child. But the
broad scope of these programs make it so that if kids do find
an activity they really like, they may not have as much time to
spend on it.

This is where specialized camps come in. Camps focused
on one skill or area of interest can provide more detailed and
all-encompassing instruction in their given fields.

“Water activities at more general summer camps are just
one small part of their overall programming,” explains Philip