My ears are ringing. I have been to football games, concerts, fireworks shows, and they are all faint whispers compared to what I heard tonight. Five minutes ago I played two games of Battle Ball with the Iroquois, and it was the loudest thing I have ever heard. The best part was that everyone was singing the same songs, together.  We wanted to win and we played hard, but we were singing with the tribe we were playing against.

Our girls love to play hard, but they love each other more, so they sing together at the same moment they are playing to win. It is a great combination and I’ve never seen it anywhere else. I am also convinced that it is teaches them two very important things. First, they are learn to celebrate friendships at the same moment they are working to be great. Second, standing on that floor, throwing, dodging and singing somehow makes them more comfortable taking risks, as they charge the line, drawing fire with smiles on their faces. By learning to do these two things at once they learn a third thing: courage.

My ears are ringing, and it is from the sound of girls becoming brave.

Adam Boyd

Intermediate Camp Battle Ball Team Member