Hey who's that guy?

Ryan (right), playing Hockey.

This month I had the chance to meet new to Foley camper, Ryan A. Ryan is from Maryland and has attended summer camps in his area previously, but this year will mark the first for coming to Camp Foley. I asked Ryan how he heard about Foley and his response was, “I found it on the internet.” Ryan has family that lives in Minnesota so he has seen the beautiful landscape before, and that is partly what drew him to begin looking for a camp in Minnesota. Ryan has had to the chance to visit Minnesota with family before, but he is excited for the chance to make this voyage on his own.

Maryland holds activities that he participates in which he is also excited about trying at Foley like sailing. I asked him what things he will try as a Foley First and he is excited for paintball. The competitiveness of paintball seems to be a popular topic with most of the campers that I talk with. We also talked about our new boat and the chance to try water skiing and wakeboarding. We got a little off subject and started talking about wake surfing behind a boat, that was a fun topic for me to venture off on.  Ryan also enjoys playing Hockey, as you can see from the picture above, he looks perfectly at home on the ice. My hope is for Ryan to try his hand at floor hockey during his first stay with us!

I can tell within the brief time I had to meet Ryan that he will be comfortable in the Camp Foley setting and I can’t wait to see how many new friends he will make. It’s exciting for me to know that kids from across the world will be coming to my new home at Camp Foley and I can’t wait for the opportunity to learn something new from each of them!

- Adam Ashley, Assistant Director

Stand Back, I'm a Professional

I recently interviewed a Foley vet named Spencer W. from St. Louis, MO. We talked about his experience of the past 7 years at Camp Foley, what he has gained, and where it will take him.

Spencer pictured with some of his camp friends

Spencer first heard about Foley from his Aunt and Uncle. They had a great experience and encouraged him to attend. “I was a little nervous at first.” This was the first time that he would have to adapt to a new environment. When he first arrived what he noticed is that everyone around him had high energy and was having a great time. A little shy at first, it took only a short time for him to just let loose and have fun. “You can just act silly, be yourself, and nobody judges you.” We talked about the friendships Spencer has made at Camp Foley. “It’s sad to say but I feel like I have a closer relationship to the people I see for two weeks in the summer than with my friends back home.” In fact, he and his friends hate going a whole year without seeing each other so they try to plan reunions to get by until summer!

I asked Spencer if there was anything that he hasn’t tried in the past seven years, and that was probably the hardest question. After a brief pause, he said bare foot skiing. “I really want to try that, but I think when I do it will have to be at camp.” Spencer and I discussed his plan for the future, I wanted to know what his thoughts were on college. “I think college will be just like the first day of camp, I’ll have to adapt to a whole new environment, only this time it will come naturally and easy.” In the next few years Spencer is excited to possibly continue his journey with Foley as a counselor. I think it’s great that his experience has changed him in a positive way and he wants to return what he has gained back to the next group of campers.

So in closing I asked Spencer what his words of advice would be to someone first coming to camp, and to think back to seven years ago. “Be open to new things, step out of your comfort zone and just have fun, act silly, act goofy, just be yourself cause nobody is going to judge you.”

If you would like to be interviewed for "The Rattlin' Blog" email us!

- Adam Ashley, Assistant Director