McGill Sports Camp: Parent Interview with Brett Hooton

Watch our Parent interview with Brett Hooton to hear firsthand what children experience and how they grow at McGill Sports Camp.

Transcript of the interview

What's unique about the program at McGill Sports Camp that made you want to enroll your child there?

McGill Sports Camp has a lot of really unique points to it. I work at McGill, so the convenience of it being right in the middle of downtown, I think for parents, is a big plus. But more than that, it's really exciting for the kids. I didn't really anticipate this when we first started going there, but the fact that they're in this complex that's used by the Montreal Alouettes or varsity teams is really exciting. You see some of these athletes in their posters on the wall, and then you see them in real life. A lot of them are teachers there or camp counselors there.

You kind of walk into Molson Stadium, and I think even as an adult, it's really exciting. You see the scoreboard and the stands, and I think that's, for the kids, really, really fun and exciting, and it allows them to kind of project their own selves onto that world. And so I think that really makes it quite unique.

The other thing we discovered about McGill Sports Camp as we went along, and since I have a daughter, Beatrix is 10 years old and attended 5 or 6 years in a row at the camp, is that it's run by women for the most part. Most of the leads of the camp were women. And I thought it was really nice for her to see young ladies in a position of authority and leading this camp that she cared so much about.

They get introduced to a lot of sports, but at the same time, it's sort of like what I mentioned with the facilities, that some of these are varsity athletes. Some of them even play for national teams for Canada, whether it's basketball or tennis or all kinds of other sports. And I think it's just really inspiring and just super cool for the kids to get to interact with such a high caliber of athlete. And so again, I think all those things really make it a unique setting for them.

How was your child's experience with McGill Sports Camp?

My daughter is not the most athletic of children. She has a few things she loves. She loves to swim, but she doesn't really play competitive sports or anything like that. She has done other camps at other recreation centers and camps that were not athletic-based. So I think that's maybe an important message about McGill Sports Camp. It's really about having fun and being introduced to different sports.

At these other camps, she enjoyed some of them, and she didn't enjoy others as much. I think what really sets McGill apart is the quality of the day that they put together for them. Like I said, my daughter is a big swimmer, and so one of the things they've always done is that they swim every day, where at a lot of other camps it's only every couple days, and that was a big difference for her.

Even though it's sports-oriented, they have arts and crafts as well, but they also have specialized sports for kids who want to do more targeted instruction, whether it's basketball or tennis or some of the other offerings they have, soccer in particular. But yeah, I think it was really just the quality of the experience at McGill.

Eventually, after she's tried a number of camps, from things that were more craft- or art-based or outside-based, she just really has always gravitated towards McGill. And like I said, I think it's just this quality of the instruction, the people that are there, and also the setting of both being inside with the equipment and the nice facilities they have there, but also being outside. They get to spend a lot of time outside as well.

It's not every day you get to swim in a competitive-level pool and play in competitive-level gyms or on fields like that. So I think that's really what has kept her going back to McGill, where the others she's lost interest in.

Was there any change or noticeable personal growth you saw in your child after time at McGill Sports Camp?

I think what we saw, for one, was just a physical development. Obviously kids get older, but we found that the camp, I think, really helped with her stamina. It really helped her move and I think even prepare for school, from going from daycare to then being in a setting where you're moving all day and you're learning new things. So we saw a lot of physical and endurance development for her, which was a big jump from being a child to being a school-aged child.

I really think she became very close to not only some of the counselors, but also the administrators at the camp. She sometimes would see them outside of camp, just as we were on campus, and they would say hi, and she would continue to remember them. And so I just think having role models of that age, where they're really young adults, is different from having your parents tell you things or ask you to do something. And I think she found that really, really inspiring. And we saw a lot of emotional and maturity growth through the years of going to sports camp.

How can a parent support their child to get the most out of McGill Sports Camp?

I think just encouraging their children to be open to the new experiences. As I said, my daughter is not particularly athletic, and she's always really just gravitated towards swimming, which was only part of the day. And she sometimes is maybe a little bit hesitant to try new activities, especially things that are competitive. She's never really been drawn to competitive sports.

Sports Camp, like I said, is a very safe environment. It's a very encouraging environment. I don't think they do it in any way that's competitive; it really is an opportunity to give children a chance to learn new sports and learn new activities. And some of them are games too. My daughter always talks about Gaga Ball, which they do there as kind of a fun activity.

They learn a little bit about things, and I think it really opens their horizons. Kids might be like, "Oh, soccer, I hate soccer," for some reason. But they get put in the setting and they maybe discover something that they're good at that they didn't know or that they really like.

And so I think with the parents, like I said, don't be turned off by the fact that it's called a sports camp because it is activity-based, it's physically based, but it's not necessarily to develop a specific sport or to practice. And so I think being open-minded about that and encouraging their children to really try each sport and give it their all, maybe they'll discover something that they didn't know before. And I think that's really one of the fun things they get out of the camp.

What does your child say about McGill Sports Camp, either to you or that you may have heard them say to friends or others?

My daughter really just loves McGill Sports Camp. Maybe I shouldn't say this to other parents, but she's always like, "It's the best camp because they give us freezies." Once or twice a week, I think they get a special treat of freezies, the Mr. Freeze popsicles. And so she just really speaks about it with a lot of joy and anticipation each year.

She always said that through the years she's lost interest in trying anything else for the few weeks that she goes to camp. She really wants it to be McGill Sports Camp. And I have heard her encourage other friends to go.

We've had friends through the years who are more francophone who sent their kids to come with Beatrix during one of the sessions as a chance to work on their English, for one, because, like I said, the camp is actually really bilingual. Most of the counselors speak really good French, and a lot of the kids speak French all day long. So it's a nice way to be introduced to a different part of the city. If you're francophone, being introduced to McGill is not something that you necessarily would have contact with for most families.

And so, yeah, I just think Beatrix has become the biggest supporter of it as well, and she has told friends and other families that it's something they should consider. And so I think that's a pretty big endorsement.

Any final thoughts on McGill Sports Camp?

I really do think McGill Sports Camp is a great value. It's a great experience for the kids to come to McGill. I don't think it's particularly expensive or anything like that, and they really do take a lot of care of them, and they all have a lot of fun while they're there. So yeah, I encourage people to give it a try. It's great.