I grew up on summer sports camps. As a coach, I am in awe of  how quickly time flew for me and my fellow campers back then. We started at the crack of dawn, it probably broke 115 daily degrees on the tennis court  and we had no issue playing for a good 6 hours straight 5 days a week with matches on the weekend. All we had was h2o by the gallons but you couldn't drag us away from those camps.  We loved it. I still miss it sometimes.

As an adult, when I think back about those camps it makes me wonder....

A. Where did we get that type of work ethic?

B. Could I do it now?

C. Was it really about the sports we were playing at the time, or was it more about fitness?

I draw inspiration from those days and the athletes that I work with nowadays. As I  hit a wall on my run today, I thought about what I was able to accomplish when I was much younger and less aware of the full benefits of fitness. Remembering helped me dig a little deeper and get through that moment.

Randy Clark from the UW Health Pediatric Fitness program says one of the best things parents can do to ensure the health of their kids is to lead by example and "get out and play."

If you can't get to camp yourself this summer (there are a ton of fun one's for us) sign up for something fitness or sports wise that your kids could see you enjoying (or maybe just attempting?). Seems to me that there is nothing more motivating than being on the sidelines waiting for your chance to play. In my opinion youth sports/fitness, if presented in the right light, can be the proverbial "spoonful of sugar " on the way to a lifetime of fitness practices.

I watched my mom play tennis for many years before it was my "turn", maybe this is how I got through all of those what should have seemed like long days of summer. Sports were her "thing" first, but they became mine too. She's gone now, but I still have what she instilled in me.