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MARINE MILITARY ACADEMY SUMMER AND ESL CAMPERS SPRINT OFF STARTING BLOCK WITH GUSTO GALORE!
Marine Military Academy (MMA) Summer and ESL campers, parents, families and friends arrived on Saturday, June 28 th to begin the ‘official’ Registration process. Campers, most toting bulging gym bags and back packs, made their way through stations - Admissions, Medical, Business Office, and ultimately Military departments. Once introduced to their Drill Instructor (DI), campers said their farewells to family (some gleeful, some not) and Cadet Instructors (CI’s) guided them to what every camper eagerly anticipates (???) – Mr. Handy’s Barber Shop and the fashionable “buzz” style. Ears still ringing from the clippers, campers are measured and outfitted with what one camper estimated to be “at least 400 pounds of camp gear”…at least that’s what it felt like according to him as he attempted to sling the awkward white mesh bags over his shoulder. Parents, family and friends in the meantime visited with MMA staff and faculty, shopped the MMA Parents’ Organization tables, jumped on tours of the facility…many straining for a glimpse of their camper in action…and many headed off for a couple of days full of sunny beach fun aboard nearby S. Padre Island.
MMA President BGEN Cheney, USMC, (Ret) gathered the campers in the Academy’s Yeckel Auditorium on Monday, 1:30 p.m. and rolled out the Academy’s WELCOME mat and a few words to the wise, “Campers, when your parents or whoever paid your way in to Camp, they gave you a gift. What you can accomplish here in the next four weeks is something you can always be proud of, something you’ll be boasting about when you return to your hometown ‘couch potatoes’…and rightly so! Campers that succeed here the most have a positive attitude – that’s what makes the difference. Safety first, hydrate at all times, rest during rest periods, and listen to your DI. Do all that and you’ll have a GREAT camp. We’re glad you’re here!”
Parents, families, and friends – the challenge is issued: As you look over these photos, try to pick out your camper…he’s the one wearing the bright yellow shirt, red shorts… and no hair to speak of!
So, what will these campers be up to for the next four weeks? All campers, regardless of whether they are ‘Summer’ or ‘ESL’, will undertake challenges full of EXTREME EXCITEMENT - the name of the game at Marine Military Academy’s Summer Camp. Here each camp participant will soon discover it’s not how many hours you put in each day, but what you put into each hour. Campers join others from all over the globe, experiencing team sports Marine Corps-style, learning how to build interpersonal relationships based on mutual respect and trust, and discovering how important these relationships are. They’ll participate every day in new activities designed to turn ordinary summers into extraordinary adventures they’ll remember the rest of their life.
On Sunday, July 20 th, 0900 sharp, Iron Man competition combines sizzling team competition requiring negotiation of a mud course, paint ball competition, obstacle course, fireman’s carry, rifle range, and more. Throughout the four weeks, campers will learn how to climb, rappel, travel down a zip line, navigate a full-sized Marine Corps obstacle course, Leadership Reaction Course, and pugil stick pit--all part of the Leadership Enhancement And Development (LEAD) Complex, otherwise known as MMA’s ‘Back 40’. They’ll develop self-confidence, maximize physical endurance and mental sharpness, plunge into intense leadership learning experiences, enhance team-based problem solving capabilities, strengthen focused leadership techniques, increase their sense of personal confidence, learn how to earn mutual support within their group, and develop an increased level of agility and physical coordination.
There’s the Paint Ball Course with Echo Company breaking it in first at 1100 on Monday, June 30 th. Throughout the four weeks, all will test their mettle on the Confidence Course, Mud Infiltration Course (July 3-5 th), not to mention inter-unit athletic competition: flag football, soccer, softball, dodge ball, volleyball, swimming, circuit course training, basketball...and oh, so much more!
All Camp activities will wrap up on Saturday, July 26 th with Graduation Parade at 0900 on MMA’s Parade Deck overlooking the Iwo Jima Monument. Okay, Parents, time’s up…have you located your camper in the Yeckel Auditorium pictures??? Be sure to check back to MMA web site frequently…There’ll be plenty of photographic moments as these young men progress!
PREPARE TO BE AMAZED!
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