Tuesday's With Dave

 World Renowned Olympia Sports Camp Today I had the pleasure of interviewing Olympian Josh Collins. Josh learned a  lot about basketball and life on the courts of Olympia.  He had a lot of great things to say about the impact camp had on him as a young player, an  impact that helped him have  great career at the University of Windsor and a few years as a professional basketball player. The reason todays interview was special was that, through the power of zoom, Josh and I spoke for an hour, me in Burlington Ontario and he in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. What an awesome way to connect and re-connect. The interview got me to reflect on how far-reaching the impact of Olympia is. Olympians are world renowned! Olympia coaches and campers are from around the world, a high percentage of staff are brought in from other countries. Greg Rogers has led numerous groups throughout the years to countries like Kenya and Tanzania. Literally world wid...

Olympia before it was Olympia    Highway 60 runs through central Ontario and serves as a gateway to the rugged beauty of Algonquin Provincial Park. If you are heading out of Huntsville along highway 60, east to Ottawa, you’ll come upon Limberlost Road, where a left turn and 14 kms will get you to a beautiful piece of property between two lakes. Seeing the property and the rustic buildings, you’d never know you were on the home of so much history.   This land has been on a journey all its own. It is a setting that holds a very special place in the hearts of thousands, Canadian and Norwegians alike.   To many the land is called Olympia Sports Camp, but to a generation of Norwegians it will always be known as Vesle Skaugum, which means “a home or clearing in the woods.”   Here is a Cole’s Notes version of Chapter 5 in  A Hero’s Journey: From Little Norway to Olympia Sports Camp.   We are currently researching the indigenous roots ...

  Olympia Sports Camp is a Place Where, but its a People Who Olympia veterans of a certain vintage may recall a part of the Dave Talk where Dave used the teaching point he called The Echo. He taught us that whatever we do in life, whatever vibes we send out,  will come back to us, and quite often by a factor of ten.   The journey of writing A Hero's Journey: From Little Norway to Olympia Sports Camp is a case in point. This undertaking is an awesome amount of work but the people I get to meet! The book will be filled with great stories not because I wrote them, but because of the subjects I get to write about. Any of us could easily make a very long list of absolutely awe-inspiring people that we've met through Olympia. I've had the opportunity to interview a whole bunch of them and I'm excited to see their stories, their own personal hero's journeys, in print. Let me introduce you to two of them. Sierra Zicaro is a 13 year old with a great future. The people of We...

A Week At Olympia is what chapter 7 of A Hero's Journey: From Little Norway to Olympia Sports Camp is all about. It captures the energy and enthusiasm of the camp and the people who make up the fiber of camp life. The energy at Olympia Sports Camp allows the campers, under the help and direction of so many Allies, to enter into a world where challenge and self-belief are all around. For some it’s the welcoming atmosphere when being away from home for the first time. For others its about skill and it starts at the Sunday jamboree where they meet new coaches and counselors and look around at all the other players, sizing up challenges and how much fun it will be this week. Others still use activity of any kind as a vehicle to simply experience all that Olympia has to offer for the week. It may be the waterfront, bunking up with 11 others, the zip line, the climbing wall, the Big Swing, gaining insight from those around them. But mainly its the amazing people you get to meet and inter...