Working with Move Your Feet Sports

Detailed Counselor Training

Minding the Children

The Move Your Feet Sports number one rule for interacting with our participants is this:
Never say or do anything to a camp participant that you would be unwilling to do or say if their parent were standing beside you.

NEVER use foul language while working at the camp. Children will hear you and will speak about it. Children do not understand sarcasm, and will often misunderstand your jokes and take you at your literal word so be careful what you say and how you say it.

If a child is disrupting the group or putting themselves or other campers in danger you ask them to sit down. A junior counselor can escort the child to the nearest sitting out spot. The camp director or assistant director will take it from there. Once the disruptive instance has passed and the child has had a chance to cool off, please be sure to include them back in the activity ASAP.

If a child is hurt in any way, care for them immediately. The first aid kit is always nearby and you will be trained in it’s use. if a child get as much as a small scratch or a mosquito bite, or even has their feelings hurt, I MUST be told about it! The camp director or assistant director must be made aware of any incident no matter how small. If a child is hit with a racquet I will discuss this with their parent, so I will want all the information.
There are often players with specific medical needs (diabetes or allergies, etc.) If so, you will be made aware. Robert Owens or the assistant camp director will manage these, however you must also keep them in mind.
No camp participant can leave the facility unattended. Any child going to the bathroom must be accompanied. If a large number of players are leaving for the bathroom they must be attended by two counselors. They will not all enter the bathroom together. They will go in smaller groups. You must check the bathroom are clean when you leave them. Report any problems immediately to the camp directors.
We give out starburst during the Tennis & Golf camps. This must not be abused. We will give out these rewards for specific reasons , Ie. best effort, best shots, best ball collection, hardest working, best attitude, etc. In past years this was done haphazardly and we aim to improve this.
Phone use is disallowed during the camp. The kids and their safety will require your total attention. Brief use during the lunch hour may be permitted, however abuse of this will result in a total ban.
During the training sessions, I will walk you through the Driving range and courts and mini golf course to highlight any vulnerabilities related to the facility.

Minding the counselors:
Verbal or Active bullying or harassment of other counselors will not be tolerated. We support each other at all times and never speak ill of each other. If you have any reason to be offended or otherwise made uncomfortable you must tell me. If I am the cause of your concern then you must speak to the assistant director.

Camp Setup

Setting up the camp for each sport in the morning and afternoon is also the responsibility of the counselors. This relates to the energy factor mentioned above.

Every day we will begin promptly with the equipment ready for our dynamic warm up. This sets the tone for the hi energy activities to come.
GOLF
The first thing done at 8.30 am is the camp bay reservation sheets are placed in the bays we intend to use. The balls must be collected and brought to the range and the counselors are ready to receive and organize the players with bays and partners before 9.00am.
TENNIS
The courts are set up as soon as the courts have been watered. Each court must have the balls and baskets and dots on the court and ready to go. I want the courts to look like a circus attraction before the players arrive. When they do, they will see all the teaching aids, ball machines, targets and balls ready for an afternoon of fun.

Drill Technique

Hi-Energy is a fundamental aspect of how we run our program. The coaching parts of both sports are conducted fully by Robert Owens, the camp director. The junior and senior counselors are expected to simply emphasize and repeat the simple instructions given to the group. They will do this as they energetically feed balls to the players.

Counselors will need to become familiar with the Drills Spreadsheet. This Spreadsheet is a comprehensive list of drills for both Golf and Tennis suitable for the players at each level.
Your voice projection is an important factor in creating the energy we want to project. Be willing to use you voice to add energy to the group. If you find this difficult you must know how to convey your intentions by calling the players to you so you can instruct clearly. Have creative and energy giving methods to supplement your voice projection.

GOLF DRILLS.
During the golf drills, safety is a primary concern. Rule number one: ‘Only one human in a bay at any one time’. All the players will be familiar with “rule number one” during range practice. You must always watch that it is obeyed. Hitting the maximum number of shots is the MYFS philosophy. The learning comes in that frequency. Using brief, understandable coaching points and lots of repetition, the players will make excellent progress. The different creative drills and games keep the players interested in swinging. When you see the players begin to tire of the drill or game, or the drill/game is failing, it’s time to switch it up. Always have the next drill/game in mind.

During the Mini Golf session, the counselors must keep reminding the players about the do’s and don’ts of playing golf. During the camp, explain to the players what to expect when they go to play golf. For example, being quiet during play, being quick and not slow, Picking up their ball and moving it an easier place, or not.

TENNIS DRILLS.
Fast feeding is a prerequisite skill for all counselors. You will be trained on this. We have a philosophy of having zero or very short waiting time between turns for all players. Repetition is the foundation of their learning. Feeds must be of a high quality, meaning they must be low and make hitting the ball easy for the student. Knowing the drills and setting up the court for the next drill must be efficient. I will expect a ‘pit crew’ like efficiency in getting your group started, especially at the beginning of the camp. Using the dots helps to achieve this. Know the level and size of the players and take this into account when selecting a drill and setting it up. Communicate clearly by demonstration with you want the players to do.

Drill Rotations

How you transition from one drill to another is important. For example if you are about to run a ‘drop hit’ or serving drill in tennis, you do not need to collect the balls before doing so. The balls spread out along the fence actually helps to separate and slow down the players so they can stay safe as they line up along the baseline.
During ball pick up, the senior counselor rally’s or feeds to two players and the junior counselor manages the ball pick up and rotates the players through the rally’s.
Know what drill you want to do next. If a drill is failing be ready to switch it up.
During the Golf and Tennis camps we will rotate the groups at the same time, unless a group needs to take an early break for a special reason. Counselors do not initiate a break just because they want a break. We operate together.

Pre and Post camp detail.

Golf and Tennis camp set up is a standard that must be maintained. At the end of camp, one or two counselors must walk around the exterior of the entire four courts to collect balls that have flown over the fence.
Any items left behind from previous days must be placed out for parents to easily see.
If you think of a compliment that you can convey to a parent regarding their child please say it. Criticisms will only be conveyed by camp directors.
Nobody leaves until 4.30pm. If you have taken camp photos on your phone, this is the time to upload them to the camp You Tube channel.
Our work and tasks typically repeat from week to week, therefore do not stand around looking at other counselors working, there is always something to do.
During the lunch break counselors are still working while they eat lunch. You are watching the kids while they eat lunch and always keeping them safe. You are chatting with the kids and playing with them. Keep an eye out for kids on their own and include them. The kids are not allowed off the grass where we have lunch. This means a trash can must be rolled over to the grass so lunch waste can be safely disposed of. Lunch is the very time accidents can happen so total vigilance is required. No counselor can leave the facility until their shift is fully over, 12.30pm or 4.30pm. Either bring your lunch or have it delivered, nobody can leave to ‘get their lunch’. There will be a task list that must be completed each day with an initial beside each task.

Counselors Schedule.

The schedule spreadsheet is made up of two separate parts. The first is the availability schedule. This is where you indicate your availability. I want this filled out in advance. On Wednesday you must confirm the information is correct because I will confirm the next weeks schedule on Thursday. This actual schedule will indicate who is working each shift for the next week.

If you are scheduled to work and suddenly find that you cannot, you must reach out to another of the counselors and try to have them take your shift. Then you tell me and you make cancel your self from the schedule. Everyone is responsible for the accuracy of their schedule and I will run payroll off the information on the schedule spreadsheet. Do not make last minute changes to the schedule without my permission.

Ideas and creativity.

I am eager to improve our service all the time. If you think of a way to do something new or an improved way of doing something, please share it with me. You will be rewarded.

New Ideas for 2025:

Players will be challenged to write a golf or tennis bio for their ‘partner’ in the style of the counselor bios. The best bios will be rewarded. I will get small giveaway prizes from the dollar store for these prizes.
In order to cut down on the younger kids sitting out and being isolated, have them groped into smaller cells that work together. Court 1 should use both ends of the court. It should look like a circus. Court 2 can often do the same.
In the past, Friday was a game day. This is now replaced with a bringing it all together day. The games and drills will reflect the coaching we have completed.