The Story of S.L.A.M!
I'm often asked how the concept of S.L.A.M! came about, so now's my chance to tell everyone the story of S.L.A.M!
As an Assistant Director for Grosse Pointe summer Day Camp in 1997, I noticed what I thought was a strange trend. Every day I would see girls opting to sit out when the opportunity to play team sports appeared; they just didn't want to deal with the "obnoxious" boys. One year later, I found the girls had the same sort of reluctance to play with the boys at Southfield Parks and Recreation. It was then I decided I could offer a better day camp experience for girls-one which would allow them to feel comfortable learning the skills involved in various sports, practice the best techniques for training and nutrition, and most importantly teach them to have pride in themselves as young female athletes.
So with enormous help from an initial advisory board of local experts, I launched Supporting Leadership and Athletic Moments, better known as S.L.A.M! Sports Camps, Inc. in 1998. We began in Southfield, but because I teach in Birmingham it was easier to operate within our community education system, which is where we are today.
But the camp is only the start! The Prep Recruitment division of S.L.A.M! is a personal consulting service to those high school athletes looking to obtain a scholarship and continue to play their sport in college. The S.L.A.M! Foundation is a division devoted to increasing sports awareness and sports scholarship opportunities among rural and urban female athletes.
And so you have the story of S.L.A.M!, but as you can see the story is just beginning...
to be continued