niversity of Maryland sophomore Sara Berman of Baltimore is a poster child for camp. She started going to Camp Louise an all-girls camp in Cascade, Maryland, at age 10, spent eight summers as a camper, and is now a counselor. “I remember being homesick at the beginning of that first summer, but when I left, I couldn’t wait to come back,” she recalls.

Tom Rosenberg, CEO and president of American Camp Association (ACA) says, “ACA believes that camp, day or overnight, provides an environment created just for children. At camp they learn real life skills, develop self-esteem, and gain a sense of independence and community. Whether children are playing, exploring nature, conquering new heights, or becoming part of a camp family, they are creating memories that will last a lifetime.”

Berman can attest to that.

“Besides making life-long friends, camp gave me skills that helped prepare me for college and my future. It taught me to be independent, problem solve, live in a communal environment, and try new things.”

Even before the pandemic, many kids spent too much time on their screens. Camp provides a welcome break from technology. “We’ve found older kids really feel good about not having to keep up with texting friends, Instagram, and their Facebook page,” notes Rosenberg.

Unless a camp is geared to technology, cell phones at overnight camp are often collected and given back at the end of the session. Even most day camps don’t allow cell phones.

“At camp everything is 100 percent in person,” says Rosenberg. “Children have the opportunity to participate in human-powered activities and to learn important skills like communicating, socializing, collaborating, resilience, and empathy. Camp is a welcome opportunity to work on their human skills and be physically active, especially after this time of prolonged social isolation.” All these skills will be important in a camper’s future.

Today, the camp market has definitely widened. There are many different flavors, from traditional day and overnight camps to specialty camps. Facilities may include skate parks, go-karts, and zip lines. A camp might have pottery, silver works—even glassblowing. There are cooking camps and camps themed to wilderness skill building, circus performance, and debate. If you have a camper with a special need there are camps for kids with dyslexia, asthma, and diabetes. And if you want a camp with a little religion mixed in, you can find that, too.

Rosenberg says, “Now more than ever before, kids need camp. With the pandemic, many children lost ground with social and educational skills, while others had mental health issues.” Alicia Berlin, director of Camp Louise, says, “In summer 2021 we hired a mental, emotional, and social health director who oversaw a team of 11 people on our Wellness Team throughout the summer. We plan to have a similar model of professionals to support campers and staff this summer.”

COVID-19 still remains a factor for both administrators and campers. Last summer, kids enjoyed activities in pods, overnight camps had fewer children in bunks, many day camps limited the number of children, and camps kept children on campgrounds. As much as we all thought and hoped COVID would be behind us, it’s not.

For camp 2022, Rosenberg says, “Think fluid and flexible. No one knows what COVID will be like. Depending on how it is acting, camps will have to be flexible.”

Jon Bisset, executive director at River Valley Ranch camp in Carroll County, is cautiously optimistic for the season ahead. Bisset says that they offer a wide variety of camps on their 500-acre campus, from overnight to day camps and, “This summer, we are hoping to be up to full capacity.”

Still, he adds, “What’s important is that camp be safe and provide a meaningful experience for the kids.”

Camp Resource Guide 2022

FOLLOWING IS A LIST of just some of the camps in or near Maryland offering everything from religious study and computer skills to sports training. As with all things impacted by COVID-19, camp schedules are subject to change. Visit the camp website or call for the most up-to-date rates, dates, and COVID-19 policies, as well as to register.

BALTIMORE LAB SCHOOL
2220 St. Paul St., Baltimore, MD 21218.
410-261-5500. baltimorelabschool.org.
Designed for students in grades 1-12 with learning differences, this program has a low student-teacher ratio, on-site specialists, and an innovative arts-based curriculum. Baltimore Lab School’s summer program is designed to help students discover their strengths, exercise their creativity, overcome academic difficulties, and prepare for the school year ahead. Session runs July 5-29.

BETH TFILOH
400 Delight Meadows Rd., Reisterstown, MD 21136.
410-517-3451. btcamps.org.
Located on 70 acres, “BT camps” offers a range of traditional and specialty camps for kids ages 2-15. The facility includes four swimming pools and an aquatics center (with a triple-decker, double-barreled water slide), a lake with boats and a 25-ft slide, as well as arts and crafts, ropes course, zip line and plenty of ballfields and green space for play. June 20-August 12.

CAMP CENTER STAGE
700 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, MD 21202.
410-332-0033. centerstage.com.
Baltimore Center Stage will host three summer sessions for children in grades K-12. Each session is themed to “Creative Impressions,” and will explore everything from dance and improv to acting and STEAM activities. Sessions run June 27-August 5.

CAMP FAIRLEE
22242 Bay Shore Dr., Chestertown, MD 21620.
410-778-0566. campfairlee.com.
Camp Fairlee is a traditional overnight summer camp located outside of Chestertown on the Eastern Shore. Programs are for children and adults aged 6 and up. Camp is for people of all abilities, providing accessible recreation
for campers and family respite. Accessible activities include canoeing, kayaking, wall climbing, swimming, nature trails, and indoor games. There is a health center staffed with nurses. June 26-August 14.

CAMP JEMICY
11 Celadon Rd., Owings Mills, MD 21117.
410-753-8032. jemicyschool.org/camps.
The five-week summer camp for coed students ages 6-14 run by Jemicy School offers skills instruction, tutoring, and recreation for children with dyslexia and other related language-based learning differences. Full, half-day, and extended-day programs offered. June 27-July 29.

CAMP HORIZONS
3586 Horizons Way, Harrisonburg, VA 22802.
540-896-7600. camphorizonsva.com.
ACA accredited since 1983, Camp Horizons specializes in sports, outdoors, arts, sciences and technology, aquatics, outdoors, and equestrian activities as well as classic camp traditions! Open to campers ages 6-16. Camps will run June 12-August 14.

CAMP PUH’TOK
17433 Big Falls Rd., Monkton, MD 21111.
410-329-6590. camppuhtok.com.
Located on over 60 wooded acres in northern Baltimore County, Puh’tok has provided kids 5-16 with camp activities that emphasize leadership, appreciation of nature, and teamwork since 1942. Activities include archery, pony rides, swimming, tubing, and zip lines. Day and overnight camps are available. Camp will be open in one-week sessions from June 27-August 19.

THE CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL OF BALTIMORE
2800 Edison Hwy., Baltimore MD 21213.
410-732-6200. thecatholichighschool.org.
This school offers a variety of programs from June-August. For the most up-to-date programs, visit the website.

CENTER FOR JEWISH CAMPING
5708 Park Heights Ave., Baltimore, MD 21215.
201-417-0294. livecamp.org.
If you’re looking for a Jewish summer experience that’s perfect for your child, consult Alli Muser for free, unbiased, and personalized guidance for families considering Jewish day or overnight camp. The Center for Jewish Camping is a collaboration between The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore and The Louise D. and Morton J. Macks Center for Jewish Education.

CHESAPEAKE BAY OUTWARD BOUND SCHOOL
1900 Eagle Dr., Baltimore, MD 21207.
410-448-1721. outwardboundchesapeake.org.
Expeditions are open to middle and high school students and teach students technical skills like navigation, camp craft, the basics of backpacking or rock climbing, and much more. As students learn these skills in challenging situations, they also learn the value of teamwork, compassion for others, and the pursuit of excellence. Check the website for excursion dates.

COLLEGE SUMMER ACADEMIC PROGRAMS AT GETTYSBURG COLLEGE
300 N. Washington St., Gettysburg, PA 17325.
717-337-6924. gettysburg.edu/offices/conference-event-services/summer-programs.
Gettysburg College offers several virtual and in-person camps for high school students. Each one-week program is led by noted faculty, and campers can explore subjects including psychology, creative writing, and Civil War Era Studies. The school also offers several athletic camps. Visit website for rates and session dates.

COLUMBIA ACADEMY
Five locations in Columbia, Ellicott City, and Fulton.
columbiaacademy.com.
Every week, elementary and middle school campers explore a new theme. Just a few activities include engaging STEM activities, team-building quests, outdoor water days, and planned weekly virtual field trips and enrichment.
Sessions run June 13-August 19.

FORK UNION MILITARY ACADEMY SUMMER CAMPS AND SCHOOL
4744 James Madison Hwy., Fork Union, VA 23055.
434- 842-3212. forkunion.com.
Fork Union will offer three athletic-themed summer camp programs this year. Camp is for ages 7-17 (some are coed). There is also a non-military summer school program that combines academic study, leadership development, athletic activities, and summertime fun. Summer activities are located in Central Virginia.

GILMAN SUMMER!
5407 Roland Ave., Baltimore, MD 21210.
410-323-3800. gilman.edu/community/gilman-summer.
Enrichment and skill-building programs for kids grades K-12 designed and taught by Gilman faculty and field experts. Camp experiences include art programs, STEM courses, cooking and music, foreign language, and sports camps as well as Young Scientists, Makerspace, Outdoor Experience, and Nature Explorers camps. Camps will run June 6-July 1.

GLENELG
12793 Folly Quarter Rd., Ellicott City, MD 21042.
410-531-8600 ext. 2157. glenelg.org/summer.
Glenelg offers a variety of camps from traditional day and sports camps, to specialized camps for everyone from the budding chess player to nature explorers. There’s even a training program for high school students ready to move up as counselors, and campers enrolled in Adventure Camp take off-campus trips for hikes and to tour local landmarks like Fort McHenry. Camp runs June 20-July 29.

HARFORD DAY SCHOOL CAMP
715 Moores Mill Rd., Bel Air, MD 21014.
410-838-4848. harfordday.org/community/summerprograms.
This independent school located in Harford County offers an annual summer camp experience. Check the website for more details.

HOWARD COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL
8510 High Ridge Rd., Ellicott City, MD 21043.
410-313- 2787. hocoarts.org/camp.
This year, campers may select from a wide range of age-appropriate visual and performing arts camps, including Cardboard Creations, Dance & STEAM, Monster Madness, Tiny Playwrights, and much more. Camps conclude with an exhibit or performance of student work on the last day of each camp session. Programs are open to the public, regardless of residency, for grades K-7. There are full and half-day programs as well as before and after care available. Sessions run June 27 -August 26.

ID TECH CAMP AT TOWSON UNIVERSITY
8000 York Rd., Towson, MD 21252.
1-888-709-8324. idtech.com.
Students ages 7-17 can code using Java, design video games, engineer robots, produce a YouTube series, and more. Kids meet new friends and gain a competitive edge for school and future STEM careers. One-week sessions run June 20-August 1.

IMAGINATION 101 SUMMER ARTS CAMP
4701 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21210.
410-472-4737. charmcityplayers.com.
This nonprofit camp conducted by Charm City Players at the LeClerc Auditorium at Notre Dame of Maryland University offers two-week performing arts classes for boys and girls ages 7-16, including acting, dancing, and singing. June 20- July 1: Shrek The Musical Jr.; July 11-July 22: Seussical Jr. the Musical; July 25-August 5: Disney High School Musical Jr.; August 8-August 19: Disney The Lion King Jr.

IT’S ALL FUN AND GAMES
1810 Valleybrook Dr., Kingsville, MD 21087.
410-879-4460. funandgamescamp.com.
Held on the 20 secluded acres of Valleybrook Country Club, this camp is open to children K-13 looking for old-fashioned fun! Activities include swimming, tennis, nature and science exploration, arts and crafts, field trips and special visitors, and individual and team sports. Camp runs June 20-August 19.

J CAMPS
3506 Gwynnbrook Ave., Owings Mills, MD 21117.
410-559-2391. jcampsbaltimore.org.
The Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore has 10 camps for all ages and stages of life. JCC’s facilities include a performing arts center, ceramics studio, adventure park, nature trails, and tennis courts, plus their signature swim lesson program. In addition to before and after care options, JCC offers express bus routes. Sessions run June 20-August 12.

MARYVALE PREPARATORY SCHOOL
11300 Falls Rd., Lutherville, MD 21093.
410-308-8551. maryvale.com/about-maryvale/events/camps.
Each summer, Maryvale Preparatory School offers a variety of camps that are led by varsity coaches and esteemed professionals. These camps are open to Maryvale students as well as local middle and high school students. This year’s camps include athletic camps, musical theater programs, art camps, and architecture/technology camps. Camp sessions run June 20-July 20.

MCDONOGH SCHOOL SUMMER PROGRAMS
8600 McDonogh Rd. Owings Mills, MD 21117.
443-544-7100. mcdonogh.org.
McDonogh offers extensive summer programs for ages 4-18, including traditional day camps, arts and academic experiences, STEM-centric camps, and day and overnight sports clinics. Camps utilize the school’s many facilities including riding rings, fishing ponds, an arts center—even a rock-climbing tower and ropes course.

MERCY HIGH SCHOOL’S “MAGICAL SUMMER”
1300 E. Northern Pkwy., Baltimore, MD 21239.
410-433-8800. mercyhighschool.com/summer.
A Magical Summer is open to rising 6-8 grade girls. Campers will be coached and instructed by Mercy faculty and coaches, area professionals, and Mercy Girl athletes and artists. Weekly sessions are offered in different areas such as dance and musical theater. There are also athletic camps such as soccer, volleyball, and lacrosse. Sessions run June 20-August 11.

MICA SUMMER ART CAMP
1300 W. Mt. Royal Ave., Baltimore, MD 21217.
410-225-2219. mica.edu/artcamp.
Have a budding artist? Then the art camp at Maryland Institute College of Art may be just the place for your camper this summer. Camp is open to children in grades K-12. Sessions run June 6-July 29. Check the website for more details.

THE PARK SCHOOL OF BALTIMORE-PARK CAMPS
2425 Old Court Rd., Baltimore, MD 21208.
410-339-7070. parkcamps.com.
Park’s experienced staff welcomes children ages 3½–15 for exciting summer activities hosted on its 100-acre campus. In addition to traditional day camp activities, age-specific camps offer sports and games, nature exploration, and music and movement. June 27-July 29.

RED BARN RANCH
175 Klees Mill Rd., Sykesville, MD 21784.
301-933-6888. redbarnranch.com.
This traditional day camp is open to kids in K-6 grades. Campers engage in arts & crafts, science, sports—even high ropes. All staff have had FBI and CPS background checks, and have been trained by Kids After Hours and Maryland State licensed trainers to ensure a safe and fun summer experience. Before and after care are available. June 17-August 26.

SUMMER AT GARRISON FOREST
300 Garrison Forest Rd., Owings Mills, MD 21117.
410-559-3433. gfs.org/summer.
Summer at Garrison Forest has extensive program options, including traditional day camps, specialty camps, equestrian camps, and overnight programs. Campers can play nearly every sport, including riding and polo, express themselves in an array of arts programs, make STEM discoveries, learn to cook, and more. Before and after care, lunch, and combo camp packages available. Located on Garrison Forest School’s 110-acre campus, Summer at Garrison Forest runs from June 6-August 19.

SUMMER NATURE CAMP AT IRVINE
11201 Garrison Forest Rd., Owings Mills, MD 21117.
443-738.9200. explorenature.org/summercamp.
Campers learn about nature in Maryland by exploring and playing in the woodlands, meadows, wetlands, and streams of Irvine Nature Center’s 211-acre campus. Campers get up, get active, and get outdoors daily! Led by professional educators, offering different themed programs weekly, no two sessions are alike. Irvine Summer Nature Camp 2022 will run from June 20-August 26. Full-day and half-day options available for 3-12 year-olds, with a new Counselor in Training program for ages 13-17.

SUMMER CAMP AT THE ODYSSEY SCHOOL
3257 Bridle Ridge Ln., Lutherville, MD 21093.
410-580-5551. theodysseyschool.org.
The Odyssey School’s camp is a specialized summer program for children with language learning differences in grades 1-8. The camp incorporates an individualized, structured academic experience in the mornings, designed to promote ongoing skill development in the areas of reading, written language, and math, followed by afternoons of outdoor activities and athletics. Full and half day options. June 27-July 29.

SUMMER AT THE ST. PAUL’S SCHOOLS
111232 Falls Rd., Brooklandville, MD 21022.
443-632-1083. stpaulsmd.org/summer.
The St. Paul’s Schools offer a range of coed and single-gender programs for children ages 5-17, including Gatorland Day Camp, sports, arts, cooking, and babysitting training. June 13-August 12.

YMCA CAMP CONRAD WEISER
201 Cushion Peak Rd., Reinholds, PA
17569. 610-670-2267. smymca.org.
Part of the South Mountain YMCA camps located in Berks County, Pennsylvania, Camp Conrad Weiser offers overnight experiences for boys and girls ages 7-15. There are traditional camps as well as specialty camps like the Immersive Literary Theme Camps and Horse Riding Specialty Camp. Camp offers three-tiered pricing to serve families with different abilities to pay. Check the website for the many session dates.

If I’m being honest, I have a certain level of anxiety in writing this essay. Putting to paper all of my shortcomings when it comes to combating systemic racism opens me up to criticism. Admitting my outrage without action is just hot air. Just believing Black Lives Matter as some abstract thought isn’t enough. I keep seeing the same message: If you’ve ever wondered what you’d do during slavery, the Holocaust, or the civil-rights movement, you’re doing it now. In my mind, I’m getting arrested at a “sit-in.” In reality, I’m at home with my four children doing my best to home-school and get through a pandemic. Am I not as brave and progressive as I thought?

My kids—Milo, 13, Willa, 11, and Zeke and Gideon, 9—spent their first years of life in Baltimore City. They attended a public charter school that pulled students from every zip code, and our classrooms were filled with students of many different races and economic backgrounds. A few years ago, when we moved just over the line into the county, our kids enrolled at a school that we love, but where we, as Jews, represent one of the few examples of diversity.

We—my husband, Ron, and I—try to teach our kids daily about what’s right and wrong. We talk about the news, never hiding the hard stories. We vote—in person when we can and always dragging our kids along, so they grow up knowing that this is what we do in a democracy. We repeat, over and over, that everyone is loved and welcome and equal in our eyes.

We march, as we did in that first big Women’s March in Washington, D.C., after the last election (and the subsequent smaller ones in Baltimore). We’ve also marched against gun violence and for abortion rights and now we stand in the streets for Black lives. I go for many reasons, but mostly to breathe in—if only metaphorically now through my mask—the air of like-minded people. And make sure that my own voice is heard.

But are we just surface activists? After the BLM march in Roland Park, I posted a picture of my daughter holding her “RACISM IS A PANDEMIC” sign on social media and wrote: “I worry about posting the wrong thing and offending someone. To post #blackouttuesday or not. To attend a mostly white protest in support of racial justice or not. But then I thought, if I do nothing else but show my daughter that we don’t sit idly by when we see our fellow humankind hurting, that’s enough.”

But let’s be honest. That’s not enough.

It’s time for the tough conversations and self-reflection.

It’s time for the tough conversations and self-reflection. My kids are my opportunity to do better.

I think about reaching out to my friend, Tanika White Davis, a Black mom who has twin boys a year older than mine and an 8-year old daughter, but then I see she has posted her newest Sun parenting column, “No Sage Words for This Moment in History.”

“It is all just too much,” she writes. “And I am exhausted from feeling all of it, all at once.” How do I put my burden on her after reading this? “I know I should have more to say,” her column continues. “But I am no sage. I am just a mother of three Black children, trying to protect them. You’ll forgive me then if I spend what’s left of my energy doing just that.”

I want to say to her: “Help me help you.” But that just feels like extra work for her. (Though she later scolds me: “You know you can always reach out to me.”)

Instead, I reach out to Traci Wright, dean of students at The Park School of Baltimore in Brooklandville. We talk about race and privilege and kids. Wright leads the school’s formative Civil Rights trip, now in its 16th year, that takes students and faculty from Park, Baltimore City College High School, and City Neighbors High School on a tour of the South. From Atlanta to Birmingham to Montgomery to Little Rock to Selma, they visit sites and meet people who were instrumental during the 1960s movement for racial equality.

“They learn the importance of speaking up and being involved,” says Wright. One of the local stops is the Hampton National Historic Site in Towson, a vast 18th-century estate that still has its original stone slave quarters, which she suggests I visit with my kids for a guided tour. “They do a phenomenal job of helping kids understand the system of slavery,” says Wright. “No one is born a slave.”

Wright is full of wisdom and suggestions and kindness toward my jumble of questions. She forwards me a piece on NPR’s the Hidden Brain about how it’s more important to change the way that a community thinks about race and racial bias than it is to focus on one individual person. She tells me to read “75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice” on Medium and says she even learned things from that article that she, as a Black woman, should be doing.

I tell her about the “inclusive parents versus anti-racist parents” post from Curious Parenting, a caregiver online community, that I keep seeing shared by friends. In one example, an inclusive parent makes sure their child’s library is racially diverse. An anti-racist parent intentionally includes books that go beyond slavery and the civil rights movement to include reads on ballerina Misty Copeland or NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson or poet Maya Angelou. I realize that I fall into the former category.

Wright emphasizes that it’s important for students—hers at Park and mine at their Baltimore County public schools—to feel empowered. “It’s up to the adults to create a culturally relevant curriculum,” she says. And what is culturally relevant? Well, if you live in Baltimore, says Wright, “just open your eyes” and look around. That includes teaching about both current events and history in a real and truthful way.

In addition to Wright, I speak with Mark Riding, a high-school English teacher at the all-girls Maryvale Preparatory School in Lutherville, where he is the only Black faculty member.

“I’m not an expert, but I am a passionate educator,” he tells me. There have been only a handful of Black teachers in the school’s 70-year history. “The students are overwhelmingly white,” says Riding, the father of two teenagers. “I’ve done a lot of thinking, even more since the upheaval happened: How can I bring a fresh perspective to a community that is sorely lacking that [Black] perspective?” Despite some pushback over the years, Riding has always made it a priority to amplify the histories and lessons of the marginalized, from feminism to the Black voice.

This spring, he saved for last the Harlem Renaissance—the artistic explosion of Black culture in New York in the 1920s—and ended up having to teach it virtually. But he and his students still got in deep about why there needed to be a renaissance in the first place. And they also talked about the intersection of race and gender. “No matter what racial or ethnic background, you are marginalized for being a woman,” Riding told them.

Where do I go from here? I don’t write this to feel better about myself.

The final assignment was to write a poem exploring their own differences. Riding was surprised and impressed to see topics ranging from religion to sexuality to racial disparities. “Everyone has knots in their ropes,” he says. But recognizing that helps you “understand other people’s knots.” That’s a difficult concept even for adults, he says.

Riding told me, “I wanted to expose these girls to the dark, scary, disgusting history” of the Black struggle. But also, what came out of the struggle: music, poetry, stories, and the civil rights movement.

Wright says she’s been energized to see “the far corners of the state” reacting to this moment, as well. There are BLM marches in Harford County and on the Eastern Shore.

“People are seeing these issues as their own,” she says. “They’re becoming everyone’s issues. When people are marginalized, we are all marginalized.” Kids see that—sometimes more than parents—and are responding.

I tell Wright I have great expectations for my kids, as Jews, a group that has faced its own marginalization and decimation. Our house is filled with books about the Holocaust, we’ve visited the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., we’ve listened to survivor stories, and we feel it deeply and personally when a synagogue is under attack or a group of white supremacists are called “very fine people.”

Wright understands the connection I’m trying to make. “You have experienced other-ing and genocide,” she says. “The Holocaust happened not even on our soil.” But there is an outrage surrounding violence against Jews that isn’t always extended to Blacks, she notes. Wright recommends finding books on coalitions between Blacks and Jews to make this even more relatable to my children. “What is the history here in terms of people coming together?” she poses. “Baltimore is a segregated city. We live in our own pockets. We don’t really socialize. How can we bring people together?”

I’ve been thinking about that a lot. It came up in a conversation on Father’s Day. We (me, my husband, my own mom and dad) were sitting around the table discussing the BLM movement. My mother is 71 years old and, still, this movement has awakened her in new ways. As a first step of what she hopes will be many more steps, she just became a member of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. “Wouldn’t you want every person to walk through Jewish museums to better understand our plight and resilience and culture?” I say to my mom. “I would guess the same is true for that museum.” We’ll go together as soon as we can, I tell her.

Prior to this moment, and this movement, I’m not sure we would have had this conversation. And that’s what I have witnessed more and more—the conversations. “Can this happen in schools?” I ask Wright. “Public schools are more racially and socio-economically diverse,” she says. (And while that might not be true for our elementary school, it certainly is at Dumbarton Middle School, which my oldest attends.) “Public school is real life,” she says.

It’s the place where you are together with people who look different from you. It should be the best place for listening and sharing and growing.

Wright acknowledges that the conversations about institutional racism are not easy for anyone to begin. But it’s our jobs as parents to foster relationships, she says, whether it’s making sure we are on sports teams that are diverse or forming a book or movie club with families that create a safe space for honest questions and discussions.

“Initially, it will likely feel forced,” says Wright. “But we have to work harder to combat the systems of oppression. It’s okay if it makes you feel nervous or uncomfortable because the more we talk about it, the more it becomes second nature. It’s retraining our brains to see what we’ve been missing all along.”

In the days that follow, I spend a long time scrolling through posts on the Anti-Racist/Social Justice Parenting Discussion Group on Facebook that I joined during the heat of the protests. There are virtual events (the Reginald F. Lewis Museum’s African American Children’s Book Fair), town halls (“How to Raise and Teach Anti-Racist Kids,” hosted by author Kwame Alexander), and fundraising ideas. I can’t do it all, but I can start somewhere. I sign up for Zoom calls about raising socially conscious children, and I order Jason Reynolds’s and Ibram X. Kendi’s Stamped: Racism, Antiracisim and You and Veronica Chambers’s Resist: 35 Profiles of Ordinary People Who Rose Up Against Tyranny and Injustice.

Where do I go from here? I do not write this to feel better about myself, or to say that Googling or reading or even protesting makes me a social-justice warrior mom. But I do understand that there is a time to talk and a time to listen. A time to teach and a time to be taught. My kids are watching me and all my actions. We, as a family, need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. We need to hold ourselves accountable.

I promise that we will.

If it’s March, then it must be time for what should be Maryland’s state sport (could they really pack 40,000 fans into Camden Yards to watch…jousting?)—and that sport, of course, is lacrosse. It’s one of the fastest—and the fastest-growing—sports in America, but that comes as no surprise to the thousands of Baltimore-area families who live and breathe lacrosse every season, all season. For those families, their only goal in life is to see Junior or Sis make varsity in high school, win the state championship, then get the grades to win a scholarship to some lacrosse-loving Division I college like the University of Virginia, Duke University, The Johns Hopkins University, or the University of Notre Dame. After that, there are adult leagues for the unrecovered grownups, and then, for the über-stars, Major League Lacrosse or an LXM Pro team. What next? They can dream of coming full circle and ending up in the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame (on The Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus).

So who are Baltimore’s rising stars on the high-school level for 2014? We interviewed coaches of all the top-ranked school teams and came up with a handful of young lax masters to watch. And with the help of aficionados like Baltimorean, national lacrosse star, and STX athlete Kyle Harrison, we also dug up lots of fun facts about the lacrosse crowd (i.e., a “yard sale” is not where they buy used lax gear).

And for you lucky laxites who made our list? No pressure, kids.

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Why Lacrosse?

Right now, somewhere in Baltimore, a boy is throwing a lacrosse ball to himself off a brick wall—over and over—hoping to become the next Rob Pannell.

Who? Exactly. The leading scorer in NCAA Division I history is hardly a household name. But in lacrosse circles, the former Cornell University star is a legend. Unlike other major sports in this country, lacrosse does not promise a career of fame and fortune. Even earning a college scholarship for lacrosse is difficult: Major college teams can have rosters as large as 45, with only 12 scholarships to dish out among all players every year.

So why do kids in this region continue to choose a sport with such a seemingly low ceiling?

Shack Stanwick, a senior at The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland, is the youngest of eight kids, all of whom played collegiate lacrosse. And a backyard lacrosse game is to the Stanwicks what football was to the Kennedys. “Lacrosse gives me so many things in return,” says Stanwick, 18, who plans to play at The Johns Hopkins University next year. “I’ve made so many friends through the sport who
I’m still close with today. It’s allowed me to share a special connection with my siblings, and it has also helped me and my dad strengthen our relationship.”

“Some parents are understanding that while there’s not a whole lot of athletic scholarship dollars at the end of the rainbow, lacrosse can help in terms of admission,” says Steve Stenersen, president and CEO of US Lacrosse. “If a child’s academic standing isn’t quite good enough, lacrosse could be a determining factor.”

“It’s just fun,” says Bob Shriver, coach of Boys’ Latin. “It’s a great game to practice; it’s not the drudgery of football. It has more scoring than soccer, more people than basketball. It just gets in your soul.”

Devotees of the game say the lessons learned on the lacrosse field stay with you for a lifetime. To look into that, we tracked down a Baltimore veteran of the sport, Richard Mollett, who was something of a local lacrosse star in his day, playing first at Boys’ Latin, then at Towson State University, where, as a senior, his team won the 1974 college-division national championship. He played or coached club lacrosse for 20 years after that, but is best known as the founder and owner, along with wife Dort, of Antrim 1844, Taneytown’s award-winning historic country inn (and five-star restaurant).

“In business, I’d say lacrosse gave me the ability to know not to ever give up, and to never stop trying to get to the next level,” says Mollett. “And it ingrained in me that once you reach that next level, you can’t be satisfied with that. After you face challenges on the field for so many years, you know you can face challenges in business.”

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HISTORY LESSON

Native Roots

Flash back to the New World, dateline 1636: That’s when a Jesuit missionary first documented the Native American, all-male game of lacrosse. It got its modern name from a French word referring to “a curved stick,” but was known to most Native Americans as “little brother of war.” The first white men to adopt the game were English-speaking Montrealers, who wrote a set of rules, which led to the formation of lacrosse clubs.

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Face Off!

Did somebody say rivalries? Here are the teams to watch in the new season:

GIRLS:

Maryvale vs. Notre Dame Prep

When they meet up, forget the nice-Catholic-girl thing.

Bryn Mawr vs. Roland Park Country

They’re within spitting distance of each other (so to speak).

Anybody vs. McDonogh

They’re the team to beat!

BOYS:

Gilman vs. Boys’ Latin

Both of these teams have deep benches.

Calvert Hall vs. Loyola

Calvert Hall Coach Bryan Kelly: “A healthy rivalry dating way back, but good friends on both teams.”

St. Paul’s vs. Boys’ Latin

“They’re similar in size and compete at the same level in every sport, so it’s a natural rivalry”, says the BL coach.

McDonogh vs. Gilman

There are plenty of Division I candidates on both sides

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LOCAL LEGEND

For local lax intel, we consulted with Kyle Harrison, one of the most recognizable names in the sport. The Baltimore native graduated from Friends School and The Johns Hopkins University, earning just about every lacrosse accolade possible, then played in Major League Lacrosse before co-founding the LXM Pro League. Harrison, 30, also just launched his third-generation STX equipment line called K18.

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OFFICIAL LAXICON

LEARNING THE LINGO ON AND OFF THE FIELD

This sport, like any, has its own slang, and the faithful will find ways to work lacrosse metaphors into ordinary conversation. So, go ahead: Try to make a sentence using all of these.

Illustrations by Peter Mac

Around the world: Taking the stick around your far shoulder and behind your back on a pass or shot.

BTB: Passing or shooting the ball behind your back.

Flow: A term for boy lacrosse players who have hair coming out of their helmet—it is their flow.

Lax bro: Think lacrosse thug, with no other discernible interests or skills.

Phantom check: When a player drops the ball without being touched by a defender.

Popcorn: When a goalie makes an easy save on a high shot.

Put on skates: When a defender gets outwitted and looks like he or she is slipping on ice skates.

Top shelf: When someone scores anywhere in the top portion of the goal.

Turf monster: Usually yelled out when a player trips or stumbles without being touched.

Twig: It would be easier to just call a thing by its real name, right? Wrong—it’s slang for the stick.

Upper 90: When you shoot the ball and it hits the top corners of the goal

Yard sale: When a player’s stick gets checked out of his or her hands.

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INJURY REPORT

The most common mishaps in lacrosse*

1. Separated Shoulders

Common from a sideways fall directly on the tip of the shoulder, injuring the acromioclavicular joint.

2. Broken Wrists

The natural reflex to break a fall is to stretch out your arm so you don’t fall on your head. If the force is too great, the wrist breaks.

About 40% of lacrosse injuries are non-contact.

3. Concussions

Contact sports always include blunt-force injuries to the headthat can cause concussions.

4. Broken Thumbs

Whacks on the hand from a stick can break the thumb and is one of the most common injuries for goalies.

A broken thumb can take up to 3-4 months to heal.

5. Sprained Ankles

Rapid cuts while changing directions and dodging movements commonly cause ankle sprains.

* Courtesy of Baltimore orthopedist Dr. Spiro Antonaides.

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HANGOUTS

Where do the stick kids of Charm City gather to talk shop?

Photography by Amanda White-Iseli

Towson Hot Bagels

Starbucks

Hopkins Game Days

Rita’s Ice

Smoothie King

Orioles (or Ravens) Games

Chipotle

Bill Bateman’s Bistro

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DRAFT

Which Ravens or Orioles would excel in lacrosse?

We asked area high-school coaches to speculate on which pro ballers would tear up the turf——some interesting answers, and one name came up more than any other!

TORREY SMITH
Baltimore Ravens Wide Receiver

“Torrey Smith, with his speed and elusiveness and his ability to control his body, would make a pretty good lacrosse player,” says Brent Ritz, coach of the C. Milton Wright girls’ team.

LARDARIUS WEBB
Baltimore Ravens Cornerback

“Lardarius Webb would be just incredible because of his speed and his ability to break down opponents,” says Calvert Hall coach Bryan Kelly. “The more powerful, explosive speed you have, the better.”

RAY RICE
Baltimore Ravens Running Back

“Ray Rice is pretty shifty,” says Jessica Vitrano Randisi, coach of Maryvale Prep. “Speed is number one, because you can’t teach speed,” says Becky Groves, coach of the Century High girls’ team.

MATT WIETERS
Baltimore Orioles Catcher

“Matt Wieters has unbelievable hands and a cannon for an arm,” Ritz says. “He seems to react and read things quickly, so I think he would be a
great feeder on the team.”

ADAM JONES
Baltimore Orioles Outfielder

Traded to the Orioles from the Seattle Mariners for the 2008 season, outfielder Jones was one of the coaches’ picks as a potential lax star.

CHRIS DAVIS
Baltimore Orioles First Baseman

His 130 career home runs (he surpassed Brady Anderson for the O’s record of most home runs in a single season) would translate well to the lacrosse field, say coaches.

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TEAMS TO WATCH

2014 IT’S THEIRS TO LOSE

Here are some of the teams that did especially well in the past season in various leagues*

GIRLS

• McDonogh School
• Marriotts Ridge High School
• Good Counsel School
• Mt. Hebron High School
• St. Paul’s School
• C. Milton Wright High School
• Broadneck High School
• Century High School
• The Bryn Mawr School
• Maryvale Preparatory School
• North Harford High School

BOYS

• The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland
• Westminster High School
• Gilman School
• Loyola Blakefield
• Hereford High School
• McDonogh School
• St. Paul’s School
• Calvert Hall High School
• Severn School

* According to Baltimore-based US Lacrosse.