One of the great opportunities at camp is for boys to meet other boys from new places and perhaps make lifelong friendships from these cabin mates.  One of our counselors’ main goals is to make sure boys are meeting each other, making new friends, and that all boys in the cabin are included.  

Boys relate through activity and there is lots of activity at Alpine.  So, it usually doesn’t take long (sometimes 15 minutes, literally!) before boys who have just met are off and running (literally!) to play ping pong or 4 square together along with their counselor.

Cabins of 1st through 5th grade typically have 5 or 6 boys, 6th and 7th graders have 6 to 7, and 8th and 9th graders have between 7 and 10 campers.

Counselors also sit under the instruction of Bob Ditter, widely considered the foremost expert on children and summer camps.Bob emphasizes effective communication with boys, equipping staff to resolve fights and discipline issues. Chris Thurber, another nationally recognized figure in camping, speaks on preventing homesickness and bullying. We even bring in parents to share their expectations and veteran staff members to share experiences from summers past.

Our head nurse covers health and safety, emphasizing common pediatric conditions such as ADHD, asthma, and allergies as well as cleanliness, bedwetting, and giving medication. Each counselor also receives CPR and First Aid certification from the American Red Cross. Staff leading specialized activities arrive early to participate in high level clinics in their fields and to receive official certification.

Finally, before each term, Glenn meets with each cabin counselor individually to go over the boys who will be in his cabin. He covers family background, connections to Alpine, past experiences at camp, pertinent medical information, and any other personal information passed on by parents (all of which is kept in strict confidence between directors, cabin counselors, and medical personnel when applicable).Each counselor knows his boys when they arrive and welcomes them to the cabin accordingly.

The Directors spend most of the school year in the process of hiring a staff each summer.  It is a long process for each counselor to ensure that we hire the strongest, most fun, most mature guys we can find.  Our approach is very personal.  We like to hire counselors who know someone that we know, so that we have a personal connection with them and someone we know and trust who can vouch for them.  

We visit college and university campuses all over the Southeast and beyond to find staff.  We call on former staff members and also campus ministry contacts to recommend new staff prospects.  We personally interview each prospect asking them specific questions about their family, background, beliefs, interests.  A staff prospect must then fill out a lengthy application providing 4 references as well as lots of detailed information about themselves.  We check references and we also perform a criminal background check on each applicant.  

We do not hire everyone who applies to be a counselor.  We spend much time talking to references, campus ministers, and praying to determine who will be the best fit at Alpine.  In the end our goal is to hire really fun, cool Christian young men who have a desire to come have fun with and serve their campers.

If your son is sick or hurt while at camp, he will first be assessed and treated by our staff in the infirmary.  If our medical staff feels that a camper needs treatment that we cannot provide we have excellent medical facilities a short distance away at DeKalb Regional Medical Center in Fort Payne, AL or at T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital in Chattanooga, TN.  We take a very cautious philosophy at Alpine and will always send a boy to be checked out for further testing (i.e. x -ray, etc) if there is any question in our staff’s mind.  

That being said, almost all injuries and sickness at Alpine are minor and can be treated by our capable medical staff.  We do not notify a parent when a camper is in our camp infirmary for minor ailments, but if your son should become seriously ill or suffer an injury requiring outside treatment be assured we will notify you immediately.

We value communication with our parents and our nurses and doctor want to keep you updated as best they can with any medical issues.

The best thing parents can do before camp is stay extremely positive and highlight all the fun activities that he will get to enjoy at camp.  A camp tour in the spring is a good idea so that he can see where he will be in the summer.  We are glad to arrange these tours with a little advance notice.  

It is very important that a parent does not make a “pick up deal” with his son.  A “pick up deal” is when a parent promises to come pick up their son if he is not having fun at camp.  Studies have proven that once this deal is made a boy will not make the effort to get into camp and overcome his fear, but rather, will only focus on going home.

We are committed to hiring a Christian staff.  Campers are able to see their counselors live out their faith.  Over 26 days, they see them reading scripture, singing hymns, scoring the winning point in an ultimate frisbee game, losing in a staff basketball game, being excited about an overnight, getting tired after being in a cabin with eight ten year olds while still having patience with them.  At Alpine, we only want to further and compliment what you are teaching your sons at home.  Sometimes, those things that you have been teaching him at home, really click with him at camp when he sees a “cool” college guy doing them as well.

When a boy comes through the front gate of camp, he gets to leave a world full of technology, worries, and stress.   Once at camp, he can unplug from all of that.  He can get away from all the noises of the outside world.  At Alpine, we want boys to be boys.  We want them to have a chance to be still in the midst of God’s creation but we also want them to run and play and get dirty!  There are so many things for a boy to do from swimming in a river to riding a horse to biking on a trail to climbing a tower to catching a fly ball to throwing a football to casting a fly rod.  

A month at camp allows a boy the time to make lasting friendships.  Many times, a former camper will show up to college and be instantly reconnected with old camp friends.

During camp, a boy has the opportunity to make decisions and gain a healthy sense of independence.  We believe it is crucial for a child to be able to do this in a nurturing environment.  While at camp, he will make mistakes, win games, lose matches, make friends, and all of this happens in a place that will point him to Christ.

A summer at camp will give him tools that he will use the rest of his life.  He will take what he has learned at camp to college, the workplace, marriage, fatherhood and so many other areas of life.

If your son has spent the night away from you on more than one occasion (even just with grandparents) then that is a great sign that he is ready for camp.  His performance in school is another good indicator for young boys (1st – 2nd grade).  If his teacher says he makes friends well and does fine with the separation from you, then that is a great sign.

Your son’s personality is another great indicator.  You might have three boys with three totally different personalities and you can quickly say that one will be ready earlier than another.  Your son who is more independent and easygoing might be ready a year earlier than your son who is more cautious and likes to be around you more.  Sometimes birth order plays into this.  In general (but not always) younger siblings are ready a little sooner than an oldest child because they have been around older brothers and sisters and “act older”.

As far as age, most boys are easily ready for Junior Camp after having completed the 3rd grade with a great many ready after 1st or 2nd grade (again, that depends on personality type).  For First Term and Second Term, most all boys can easily handle 25 days after 5th grade with a large majority ready after 3rd or 4th grade.

All of these factors are simply designed to help you determine when your son is ready for camp, whether that be after 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade or even a bit older.  There is certainly no hard and fast rule.  We believe all boys need camp even if they are still a little hesitant before they come (which is perfectly natural for all boys!).  If you have a child with special physical or mental needs it is best to give us a call and we can discuss whether Alpine is right for your son.