“Stop hogging the ball!” “You are such a loser!” “I can’t believe you missed that shot!” are sayings you would typically hear at a public school gymnasium or a sports team in the world. But at Ambassador Youth Camp, this was not the case. These kinds of insults were never heard.

Every day involved some sort of sport or other group activity, all of which required teamwork. This helped campers learn to work together as a group, have fun, and, above all, have right attitudes.

One activity in which campers exercised teamwork was the Amazing Race, which started at 10:00 a.m. and lasted most of the day. Everyone was assigned to a group and had to decide on a team name. Then they were given clues about tasks they needed to complete. Teammates had to remain close together at all times or they were penalized with standing still for 10 seconds—which allowed other teams to pass them.

During the event, we always tried to run beside each other. Whenever someone could not keep up, we slowed down.

One of the Amazing Race clues required us to collect a tiny balloon from the basketball court (which was about 200 feet from the judges station called the “Command Center”) then run a quarter of a mile to cabins on the other side of the girls’ village and fill it with water. Each member of the team had to keep one hand on the balloon as they carried it back another quarter mile to the Command Center. Water from the balloon was then used to fill a container with water. If the balloon popped along the way, the team had to return to the basketball court and do it all over again. Every member had to work together, encourage each other, and avoid disagreements to complete each task.

Another area where teamwork was required at AYC was canoeing. As campers made their way down the almost calm, olive-green water, partners had to paddle together to make the canoe go straight. If they did not work together, it caused big problems when trying to avoid obstacles such as rocks or branches.

While it was one person’s job to be on the lookout for hidden dangers, it took two people to turn the canoe to navigate around them. Without teamwork, one wasted a lot of energy and ended up being even more tired at the end of the day.

Working as a team is not always easy. Yet, at AYC, campers knew they had to have right attitudes. They encouraged each other to keep going and not give up. If someone was struggling, others were quickly there to help. Even the hardest tasks seemed easier with friends cheering you on.

In the end, we learned that when we work together, we can overcome anything!