Friday dawned sunny and very cool. Perfect for SUFFERFEST in the river! Entering the water there were some shrieks and squeals, but after the first set of burpees, we were in the groove and the “fun suffering” began! We did 100 burpees, 100 push-ups, 100 rock presses, 100 Rock Squats, 200 Mtn Climbers, 4 sprints and two-minute tuck holds with jumps – ALL while walking, slipping, sliding, tripping and floating 1 mile down the river!!! And, we ended with the annual “Duck Race”!
SUFFERFEST is an opportunity to push limits in a fun and team-oriented way. To take on that challenge as a group, and to suffer all together, offers up such a big feeling of satisfaction, accomplishment and camaraderie! I hope the campers will remember Friday for a long time to come, along with every day of camp this past week. Life is better lived “outside your comfort zone” and we did that for six days straight!
A special shout out to our 2024 ELITEAMers of the Year – Ellie and Topher who showed throughout camp their Grit, Teamwork, Positivity, Focus, FUN, and ability to Push Their Limits!!!
At our journal meetings the campers wrote down EVERYTHING we did in their ELITEAM Notebook, so please read through each day with them to relive it. It’s amazing how much we packed into each day!
I’ve already heard from a number of parents and I thank you for your comments and feedback. And speaking of feedback, each of the campers filled out an “exit survey” and below is a summary of their responses. We were thrilled to see that so many athletes learned a ton and left feeling inspired to dig deep!
Thank you for trusting us with your athletes. Our Coaches are tired, but all were amazed at how your athletes pushed themselves and tried new things. Attached are some photos. Stay tuned for another email soon with a link to ALL the photos and videos from the week. A big thank you to Coach Klara for capturing everything on camera! And follow us on Instagram @eliteamdigdeep
Enjoy the rest of the summer. See you all next year for ELITEAM 2025!
Coach Doug and the entire ELITEAM Staff
802-793-3078
End-of-Camp Survey
100% ….. Learned mental skills that will help them become a better athlete.
100% ….. Learned ways to become a stronger, fitter and faster athlete.
95% ….. Learned nutrition tips that will help them become a healthier athlete.
100% ….. Feel more inspired to dig deep and push their limits.
100% ….. Feel moreinspired to pursue their goals.
98% ….. Feel ELITEAM boosted their confidence this week.
100% ….. Would recommend ELITEAM to their sports-oriented friends and teammates.
Words to describe ELITEAM:
- Fun (90% listed FUN as one of three words to describe ELITEAM!)
- Challenging
- Exciting
- Rewarding
- Tiring
- Inspiring
- Great
- Gritty
- Hard
- Awesome
- Thrilling
- Intense
- Entertaining
- Amazing
- Exhilarating
- Helpful
- Difficult
- Tough
- Unforgettable
- Life changing
ELITEAM is…
A hard but fun week of pushing your limits.
The best camp I have ever gone to.
Fun and filled with cool activities.
Fun and hard and pushes your limits.
Suffering, fun and challenging (in a good way).
AMAZING!!!
Awesome and crazy!
Challenging, but really fun!
The best camp ever!
A place where you can push yourself and learn more about yourself as an athlete and person.
Something I always look forward to.
Amazing, gritty and something I love.
So much fun and you learn a lot!
Really fun but also challenging.
The best athletic training program used to help keep athletes involved and focused.
Fun, challenging and a great place to make friends.
A fun way to get out of your comfort zone.
Empowering!
What did you learn about yourself this week?
I learned that I have a lot of fun mountain biking and pushing my limits.
You can easily push your limits.
I can go for 5 1/2 days straight.
If I am positive and confident, I am better.
I can always improve.
I’m stronger than I look.
I can push my limits very far.
That I can do a lot more than I thought I could.
I learned that I can succeed if I dig deep.
I learned that I can do hard things and push my limits and I’ll be okay.
When I push my limits, it gets easier.
I can use techniques to manage my fears.
I learned that I can push myself harder than I think I can.
That I can do things I thought I couldn’t.
I have the abilities to do things that I am afraid or don’t want to do.
I learned how much I am capable of and how I can push myself even more.
I learned loads of mental skills and I learned that yes it’s quite suffering but after you will be a better athlete.
It feels good to push my limits and feel the burn.
I can push myself to reach my goals.
I learned that sometimes you have to just go for it and give it your all, no matter the outcome
