Charlottesville

Camper of the Week in week 3 for his team.

Football MVP for the entire camp.

His team won 4 of 8 championships.

And, today, in his team's final competition of camp - softball - he hit 2 home runs and a walk off ground rule double for the win, that I saw, in person.

More importantly, J.P.'s coach/counselor was effusive in his praise when I talked with him today at Woodberry Forest.  Humble.  Tremendous work ethic.  Team player.  Leader.  All of those were words he used to describe J.P. as we strolled across the 1,200 acre campus toward the dormitory on the last day of sports camp.

What was really special, though, was hearing from him that J.P. always took care to involve his younger teammates and to make sure they tasted success in a particular game.  Whether it was passing the ball to a teammate in soccer or hockey, or just encouraging a teammate to keep competing, J.P. was leading, and that's what Jude and I want from him.  On the athletic fields but more importantly, in life.

As J.P. and I picked up his gear and walked to my truck, then back to the Woodberry Forest bookstore, he exchanged goodbye's with several boys.  A nod of the head, J.P. slapping hands with another camper as we walked by.  J.P. met a lot of kids and made new friends.  A chapter in J.P.'s life closed but, hopefully, he heads into a busy and challenging fall with the confidence that can only come from living away from home, even for a little while, and establishing himself amongst he peers at camp. 

We walked down to the gym at Woodberry Forest.  It's an old school, turn of the century gym, the kind I love.  No air conditioning, sunlight streaming through windows on one side of the building.  J.P. and I got some shots up and talked quietly while we were shooting.  As we were leaving, Seth, one of his teammates from his team the first week, UNC, walked in with his father, who coached at Woodberry Forest.  He and J.P. laughed together as they talked about their first week of camp, when their team went 24-2.  As a result of their success, the teams were reconfigured for weeks two and three.

Seth, who Joe and I had named "the big dog," when we saw him in photos from camp, is taller than J.P. and a good basketball player.  His brother is 6'7" and plays in college.  Very nice boy.  His father and I talked at length, about baseball, when I dropped J.P. off, so it was fitting that they were the last ones we talked to before we left campus today.

Later, as we walked down the mall at West Main Street in Charlottesville, near our hotel, looking for a place to eat lunch, a boy yelled out, excitedly, "J.P.!"  It was Frank, a boy he'd met at camp who played on another team.  As I shook hands and introduced myself to his parents, Frank looked up at me, earnestly, and said, "J.P. is an amazing athlete."  I smiled and thanked him, then we said our goodbyes and walked away.

What an experience for J.P. had at Woodberry Forest sports camp!  I'm so grateful he had the opportunity to be there the last three weeks.  I'm grateful, too, that I have him back.

J.P. and his coach, Jay.  Jay is a football manager at the University of North Carolina who wants to coach football.  He and I talked for a bit and he had a lot of good things to say about J.P. as a person and as an athlete.  

J.P. with his coaches, Braden and Jay.  Really, really good guys.

J.P. and Matt Blundin, former quarterback at University of Virginia and head football coach at Woodberry Forest.  Matt and his wife, Amy, are the sports camp directors.

Now, on to the Smoky Mountains tomorrow to hook up with Jude, Joe, and Jude's college friends from Tulane.