Light the Flame and Let It Burn
The hero is charged with sharing the vibration of positivity and growth so that others can understand that they too are a hero in their own journey. The coherence to this goal starts as personal and then evolves into group coherence. This in turn has the potential to create a community of heroes, and that community will continue to grow.
Olympia Sports Camp has as one of its primary goals to create such a community and it is accomplished in various ways. One way that this vibe is shared and promoted every day of every week of every year? The songs. Let’s go back.
The year 1984 was filled with many events and cultural aspects that shaped the world. The Aids virus was first identified. Apple came out with its first Macintosh personal computer. Michael Jackson released his iconic album Thriller. And the Summer Olympics were held in Los Angeles. Olympia Sports Camp historians point out that the big thing that came out of Los Angeles that summer was produced by Brazilian composer Sergio Mendes who wrote the theme song for the Olympic Games.
The name of his song? ‘Olympia.’ Yes. That song. Youtube it to bring it all back.
The hero’s journey sharing of that ‘vibe’ takes place weekly at Olympia Sports Camp, where the opening ceremonies start it off with a level of energy that inspires, then is reinforced daily at the hero’s awakening, and then the closing ceremonies put a bow on an amazing week of transformation for many. Counsellors are instructed to get their whole cabin, their whole division, the whole camp, to have the same feeling of excitement and joy when the songs come on. The goal is fun. The goal is community. A community of heroes.
The powerful songs used throughout the ceremonies whip the staff, coaches, and campers into a frenzy, and a real sense of community. Each song has a choreographed set of steps that the crowd performs at various levels of proper technique, but none lacking in the vitality of the moment. The series of songs build the energy, but the crowning moment is always Mendes’s dedication to sport in 1984, where the staff takes the spirit of the hero to a whole other level. The climax “Big O” circle of passion that inspires the whole camp. Watching that last moment, where all these great leaders share in the moment as the song crashes to its denouement and are jumping as high as they can in one huge circle of love and community, is moving.
The hype machine that is the opening and closing ceremonies involves a team approach. The dance steps were created by a litany of staffers over the years, either by a crew of leaders taking on the assignment of creating dance moves to various songs, or by creative staffers who come up with a song and put steps to it. The playlist songs must be high energy, have an inherent message about growth toward goals and success, and some have both. But the bottom line, to steal a line from ‘Olympia’ these songs must:
“Light the flame and let it burn”
Before the message of these songs came the messengers. It would take a team approach of young leaders over a decade or two to create what takes place every week now. One of those key team members is Nicole Bazzocchi.
Nicole has been a coach’s’ kid since she was 1 year old as her dad Frank has been a long-time week 9 hockey coach. In high school she did the three-week Leadership course that maybe changed the direction of her life. She was an Olympia counsellor for two years and a unit leader for three. She became camp coordinator involved in training and development and did the camp hiring for 2 years.
To get to Nicole’s role in the songs and their dances at Olympia, one needs to hear the inspiring background of this amazing leader. The irony of Nicole’s involvement in Olympia choreography is that her family has always been heavily involved in dance, with two brothers, a sister, and two cousins all on Team Canada. They all used to do a family dance on skit night.
“ I was never as good as the others but I took drama and dance classes so I guess I have an aptitude,” Nicole says,” Olympia for me was a foundational component of the life skills to connect with people and to have the confidence to share my creativity.”
The role Nicole, again just one of many, played in the formation of the songs and dances goes back to drama classes that formed the creativity that drew so many to her. Her journey to ever taking drama classes was caused by a catastrophic gymnastics injury when she was 10 years old. After a horrific fall, Nicole was in hospital for two months and lost feeling and movement in one arm. There was even talk of amputation. She ended up being in physical therapy for years. She turned to drama as she couldn’t do anything else. No physed, no recess, as there was always a danger of her arm getting hit. The therapy process taught her a lot about life and the power of a positive mindset. It also played a role in her choice of profession.
“The occupational therapists, nurses, and physical therapists that worked with me taught me that tomorrow is another day and their energy and passion allowed me to stay positive and to keep working with faith that there was an end in sight,” Nicole says,” those great professionals made me who I am today. My need for such extensive therapy imparted on me the beauty and importance of therapy as an opportunity for growth and that was a big motivator for me to become a speech language pathologist.”
That mindset of helping others, combined with her aptitude for dance, made Nicole a natural for playing a big role in all those dances on exhibit at Olympia. A video and online learning of the dance steps was established to get the staff to learn the dances before they got to camp, so as not to be embarrassed in the early days of staff training. Best intentions, many staff would forget the flow of the steps and Nicole would be called in to teach them.
“I’m glad there is a chapter in the book on the songs,” Nicole says,” the songs connect to the community and create energy for the day, and for the week. For these songs to have come from the community itself makes this even more special. What is amazing about the songs is that there are legends as to how and when some of these songs got started. Most of them have gone through that organic process with many people having a hand in making it all happen."
“To me, though, the best part of the songs and that they transpire over time and are shared with Olympia people outside of Olympia. We don’t see our Olympia family enough as years go on and we all are experiencing life, but one of the songs come on the radio, or a playlist, or at a family event, and the time and distance disappear, and we are all back at Olympia Sports Camp and what the place means to all of us. We remember the moments because of the songs.”
Pay It Forward. 2022 will be a great year as the camp will return and flourish, but we need to be allies. Now is the time to get the word out to our circle of influence The camp website is www.olympiasportscamp.com Check out the website. Register your kids. Get your kids to get a few friends to join them at camp. Send a note to your club teams, your school teams. Do it for the kid whose life will be changed because they got to go to Olympia Sports Camp in the summer of 2022. Help spread the vibe that after two years the best sports camp in Canada ( with the four reasons we hear at every opening) will be back and be better than ever.
The link to the blog is TuesdayswithDave.blogspot.com
This blog is about the journey of the writing of the book A Hero's Journey: From Little Norway to Olympia Sports Camp. The blog will contain excerpts from the book and my personal thoughts on what the place and the people that make up Olympia's journey is all about. The title comes from the great book Tuesdays With Morrie, by Mitch Albom. The blog's title is recognizing Dave Grace as Camp Director, but all content is my own.
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