Camp Code - Leadership & Staff Training Podcast for Camp Directors – Details, episodes & analysis

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Find full show notes and links at: https://www.gocamp.pro/campcode/lesstalkingmoredoing

In this episode of Camp Code, Beth Allison, Gabrielle Rail, and Shoshi Rothchild challenge a common trap in staff training: too much talking, not enough doing. They make a compelling case that leadership isn’t learned through lectures; it’s built through practice. From marshmallow tower challenges to role playing homesick campers, the episode is packed with hands-on strategies that turn passive sessions into active learning. These experiential approaches don’t just improve retention; they build confidence, strengthen relationships, and mirror the real-life unpredictability of camp. The core idea is simple but powerful: if staff are expected to lead in dynamic, human-centered environments, their training should reflect that same energy.

The conversation goes further by showing how small shifts—like adding movement, using quick decision-making scenarios, or turning feedback into a game can dramatically increase engagement and impact. Activities like “try-teach-talk,” themed training days, and even creative projects like staff-made videos help embed learning in ways that stick. But the real magic lies in reflection. Each activity is paired with intentional debriefs that help staff connect what they did to how they’ll lead. The result is training that feels less like school and more like camp itself: interactive, meaningful, and rooted in community. If there’s one takeaway, it’s this: memorable training isn’t about covering more content, it’s about creating moments where staff actually experience what great leadership feels like.

From Gabz,

One of the most effective and often overlooked ways to strengthen staff training is through intentional recall, not just repetition. Drawing on insights from Neuroplasticity, this approach emphasizes that learning sticks when people actively retrieve information rather than passively review it. In practice, that means closing the “book” and asking staff to remember, apply, and use what they’ve learned instead of simply hearing it once and moving on.

A simple but powerful way to build this into camp training is through “capsules.” After introducing a concept such as handling camper behavior or problem solving, staff revisit it 48 hours later through new, scenario-based challenges that require them to recall and apply what they learned. These quick touchpoints can be woven into existing moments like meals or by slightly shortening sessions to make space. The result is stronger retention, more confident staff, and skills that actually show up when it matters most during the summer.

• Shoshi Rothschild, Founder and Principal - in.tent Consulting and Facilitation

• Beth Allison, Camp Consultant - Go Camp Pro
• Gabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp Ouareau
• Ruby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby Outdoors

UltraCamp

Imagine camp registration software that actually gives you MORE time for what you love - CAMP! With UltraCamp, you can effortlessly track attendance, manage staff, streamline registration, and more. Explore now at ultracampmanagemnent.com/campcode.

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Find full show notes and links at: https://www.gocamp.pro/campcode/teaching-staff-how-to-notice-things

On this episode of Camp Code, Beth and Gabz dig into one of the most overlooked and most essential skills in camp leadership: teaching staff how to notice. Not just supervising for safety, but observing with purpose. It’s the difference between running an activity and truly understanding the campers within it. From spotting the quiet camper who’s pulling away to recognizing moments of connection, joy, or leadership, noticing is what allows great counselors to step in early, build relationships, and shape meaningful experiences.

The challenge? Noticing isn’t instinctive, it’s learned. Many younger staff haven’t had the chance to develop observational awareness, often due to structured environments, screen-focused attention, and a growing fear of being judged themselves. That inward focus makes it harder to read the room. The solution is intentional practice. Beth and Gabs share simple, practical ways to build this skill into training: using observers in scenarios, breaking down cues like facial expressions, body language, and group dynamics, and asking predictive questions like “What might happen next?” to help staff think ahead instead of just reacting.

By embedding noticing into everyday moments, whether through reflection, shared observations, or guided practice leaders can help staff shift how they see their role and the campers in front of them.

From Beth,

Instead of simply telling staff to “pay attention,” build noticing into a daily habit. A simple question like “What did you notice today?” encourages reflection, sharpens awareness, and helps staff connect their observations to action. Over time, this consistent practice strengthens empathy, improves decision-making, and helps staff feel more confident and prepared in the moment.

• Beth Allison, Camp Consultant - Go Camp Pro
• Gabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp Ouareau
• Ruby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby Outdoors

UltraCamp

Imagine camp registration software that actually gives you MORE time for what you love - CAMP! With UltraCamp, you can effortlessly track attendance, manage staff, streamline registration, and more. Explore now at ultracampmanagemnent.com/campcode.

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!

Find full show notes and links at: https://www.gocamp.pro/campcode/navigatingdifficultconversations2025

Let’s face it—having tough conversations with staff who aren’t meeting expectations can feel downright uncomfortable. At camp, where relationships and community are everything, addressing performance issues can seem at odds with the culture of care and belonging we work so hard to build. Too often, directors and leadership staff hesitate to give feedback because they fear defensiveness, gossip, or escalation. But avoiding those conversations can quietly erode team trust and weaken your camp culture.

In this episode of Camp Code, Beth and Gabrielle sit down with HR consultant and lifelong camp enthusiast Diane Slater to explore how camp leaders can give clear, compassionate feedback that supports accountability without sacrificing empathy. Drawing on her extensive experience in human resources and her deep love of camp, Diane shares practical frameworks for how to approach difficult discussions, how to handle tears, anger, and denial, and how to prevent frustration from festering across your team.

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From Diane,

Sometimes, despite coaching and multiple chances, a staff member doesn’t change. When you and your leadership team no longer believe improvement will happen, it’s time to part ways. Think of it like baseball: after three solid attempts, if behavior hasn’t changed, they’re out. Keeping someone who ignores feedback signals that the behavior is acceptable, invites others to copy it, and slowly poisons your culture.

The exit itself can be clear and respectful because you’ve already documented expectations and tried to help. You can say, “Unfortunately, today will be your last day with our camp—the behavior hasn’t changed and it’s not working.” It’s hard, but you’ll often hear relief from others afterward; leaders rarely see the full iceberg until stories surface once action is taken. When you’ve set expectations in writing and offered real coaching, ending employment can be the healthiest choice for the team and the campers you serve.

• Diane Slater, Camp HR Consultant

• Beth Allison, Camp Consultant - Go Camp Pro
• Gabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp Ouareau

UltraCamp

Imagine camp registration software that actually gives you MORE time for what you love - CAMP! With UltraCamp, you can effortlessly track attendance, manage staff, streamline registration, and more. Explore now at ultracampmanagemnent.com/campcode.

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!

Find more at https://camphacker.tv/camp-code/taking-care-of-your-staff

If you have listened to the three earlier episodes focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic, you’re already prepared with a new set of tools on your belt to help YOU as a camp professional. In the final part of our four-part series, we shift our focus on how you, the camp leaders can help your staff. 

If your camp was fortunate enough to run this past summer, things were different as you and your team braced for a camp that encouraged social/physical distancing and potentially lived the summer with a mask on. For those camps who unfortunately were unable to run, your campers and your staff were just as heartbroken as you were when we all learned that camp was not an option this past summer. 

In this episode of Camp Code, Gabrielle, Beth and Ruby break down the fact that camp people are often natural caretakers, which leads us to this question - as camp professionals, how do we take care of our own people at this time? 

We know this is a hard time for camp staff whose lives have been turned upside down. Employment may be hard for them to come by at this time, or they have shifted to going to post-secondary school fully online, The stress levels are unprecedented for everyone at this time, so if there is something we can do to help the camp staff we rely on for our summers, we should take action! 

Our hosts are full of ideas, from sending care packages, having “real talks” about the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement or COVID safety to even helping to provide resources to your staff to process grief or stress they are dealing with at this time. 

If you want to learn more about how a little bit of effort for camp leaders can be a foundational shift of much-needed mentorship for your staff, then tune in to this episode!

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We hope you love this episode of Camp Code! If you do, please consider subscribing to the show, and leaving us a rating in your Podcast app. It’s SO easy, just head to https://ratethispodcast.com/campcode

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From Gabrielle Raill

Visual presentation skills are critical to the success of your online training. Visual cues can create an anchor in the minds of your students to exemplify what it is you are talking about. Gabrielle recommends using https://unsplash.com/ to get great FREE images to help accentuate your presentations.

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• Gabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp Ouareau
• Beth Allison, Camp Consultant - CampHacker.tv
• Ruby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby Outdoors

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Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/camp-code/professional-development-in-2020

In part three of our four-part series focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic, we dive into the importance of professional development. Regardless if your camp was able to run this past summer with restriction, or maybe not at all Ruby, Beth and Gabrielle are here to help. We get it, 2020 has added an additional layer of the financial pressure that may limit your professional development, but our Camp Code gurus dive into some ideas to enable your professional development. 

The most important part of professional development is to know what you want to learn. The first step is to make a list of all of the things you want to learn. 2020 has brought on us an overwhelming amount of online content as organizations adapted to virtual work. Conferences and courses are two things that have gone primarily online and we’ve outlined a few resources to make it easier for you. 

Online Conferences - There are a ton of these around, some to note are as follows: 

• Women in Camp Summit Conference
• InBound conference

As for free online resources, there are podcasts, videos, free university courses, but to get you started...here are a few of our favourties:

• Go Camp Pro’s 5-Minute-Friday Program - 
• Youtube Learning
• University and college courses - There are various resources for this, one that you can check out is https://www.edx.org
• Skillshare - https://www.skillshare.com/ - This was one of Gabz’s favourties spots to learn and embrace her inner creativity. 
• Podcasts - We’re huge fans of learning this way and we would recommend any of the GoCamp.Pro podcasts to learn all aspects of camp and beyond. 
  • Camphacker Podcast (the one that started them all for GoCamp.Pro) - https://www.camphacker.tv/podcast
• The Day Camp Pod - https://gocamp.pro/day-camp-pod
• First Class Counsellors - https://www.camphacker.tv/first-class-counsellors
• The Camp Owners Pod - https://gocamp.pro/ownerspod
• Beyond Camp - https://gocamp.pro/beyondcamp

The resources listed above are just a sneak peek into some of the ideas that Beth, Ruby and Gabz are happy to share. To hear the rest, have a listen! 

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From Beth Allison

Interview people and not to hire staff. If you know people that you think you can learn from, make that list! Next, send out some invitations to those people asking them for 30 minutes or less of their time and specify what it is you want to discuss. After you meet with them, it is a great idea so write them handwritten thank you cards and send it to them in the mail. 

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• Gabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp Ouareau
• Beth Allison, Camp Consultant - CampHacker.tv
• Ruby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby Outdoors

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!

Find more at https://camphacker.tv/camp-code

In part-two of the four-part series focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic, we want to help you take care of one of the most valuable things in your life, you! To be the most effective camp leader, you cannot forget to stop, take a moment of mindfulness and recharge the batteries. Ruby, Beth and Gabz are here to share what each of them do to recharge and be ready to be the best versions of themselves. 

For Ruby, it’s all about having a day without time. Ruby takes off her watch and puts the phone away. Rather than being caught up in the busyness that life can bring you, taking a day to disconnect and live your day from sunrise to sunset. 

Gabz takes a slightly different approach as living at camp during a pandemic has its perks. She takes the morning to do meets, emails and computer work, followed by some “her time” (usually a nap) and then spends the afternoon doing some labor around camp. 

For Beth, taking care of herself is all about understanding her emotions and really capturing how she is feeling now. She taps in to an article by Jonathan L. Zecher (source: https://theconversation.com/acedia-the-lost-name-for-the-emotion-were-all-feeling-right-now-144058) where the author reminds us that we are exhausted of zoom meetings, cocktails and parties. Our days of baking bread and other means of distraction during a pandemic is over, now it is time to take care of you. 

Taking care of yourself starts now, not tomorrow. Have a listen for some tips and tricks to get started!

We hope you love this episode of Camp Code! If you do, please consider subscribing to the show, and leaving us a rating in your Podcast app. It’s SO easy, just head to https://ratethispodcast.com/campcode

From Ruby Compton

Singing songs is the perfect way to take time for yourself. It doesn’t matter if you can carry a tune or not, but taking the time to sing; in the shower, in the car or loud and proud for everyone to hear, a song can change your mood. 

• Gabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp Ouareau
• Beth Allison, Camp Consultant - CampHacker.tv
• Ruby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby Outdoors

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Well, that was a summer that we will all remember for the rest of our lives. To kick off season eight (that’s right folks, eight seasons on Camp Code) we are launching a four-part mini-series to focus on the COVID-19 pandemic and how it affects you, the Camp Director. 

Ruby, Beth and Gabrielle are back after the most memorable summer that didn’t fill the cabins with the laughter of children of the joy that is found in song. In Canada, most provinces were unable to open summer camps, preventing Gabrielle’s camp from opening and Beth found it challenging to do summer camp marketing with Canadian camps closed for the summer. Similarly, Ruby found herself working at a few different restaurants as we all adjust to the normal of today. 

In part one of the mini-series, Ruby, Beth and Gabrielle ask themselves “You know you are a camp pro during a pandemic when: _________________” Ruby dives in to talk about learning to “people” again as we learn to reintroduce ourselves outside of an unfamiliar landscape post quarantine. Gabrielle focuses on moments when your brain misfires, causing her to buy headphones that she had previously done the research on and knew she did not want to purchase. 

The pandemic of 2020 has people coping and reacting to a new world. Listen in to part one of the mini-series to learn that you are not in this alone and now more than ever, camp folk need to stick together. 

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We hope you love this episode of Camp Code! If you do, please consider subscribing to the show, and leaving us a rating in your Podcast app. It’s SO easy, just head to https://ratethispodcast.com/campcode

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From Gabrielle Raill

1. Plan and organize as much as you can… or “plan to plan”. Take two hours on Friday afternoon to review your week, validate that you accomplished everything you wanted to complete and focus on developing your goals for the following week. 
2. The pandemic is the enemy. If you have to break promises caused by the pandemic, keep in mind that we are all in this together, and more understanding than ever. 

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• Gabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp Ouareau
• Beth Allison, Camp Consultant - CampHacker.tv
• Ruby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby Outdoors

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!

As summer approaches, the Camp Code season finale is here! 

Multigenerational staff may not be applicable to your camp today, but it absolutely will happen at some point, and what better time to have this in the back of your mind as summer camps eagerly way and adjust to many new guidelines being put in place as the worldwide pandemic continues. 

Multigenerational staff means that some younger staff may still live at home, not be used to doing laundry, or that their summer at camp may be their first job. At the same time, the older staff probably have car payments, or a mortgage or is used to going to bed at an earlier time than 18-year-olds. 

Additionally, there is a physical layer to an older generation staff where they may not be able to crawl on the ground, or have other limitations. In Ruby’s experience, she asked herself during any game “can rock paper scissors resolve this” and in most cases, the answer is yes and most people at any age can play rock paper scissors, so it is a great alternative to something like crawling under someone’s legs in freeze tag. 

As we wrap our season, we hope all you leaders are ready for what summer brings us. We all know camp will be different this summer, but camp is still at heart, summer camp leaders. For everyone who has tuned in to this season, have a great summer and we look forward to more conversations in the fall. 

Thanks for the season, friends!

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We hope you love this episode of Camp Code! If you do, please consider subscribing to the show, and leaving us a rating in your Podcast app. It’s SO easy, just head to https://ratethispodcast.com/campcode

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From Gabrielle Raill

Even though this best practice is from Gabrielle, it was Ruby that brought it up on another podcast. When you are designing camp training for the summer, bring your leadership in on the conversation. Send your leadership team an outline of the staff training and some of the decisions behind what you want to keep and what you want to change. Open the dialogue with your leadership team to see how decisions are made. 

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• Gabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp Ouareau
• Beth Allison, Camp Consultant - CampHacker.tv
• Ruby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby Outdoors

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!

Switching things up this week, Ruby is on her own interviewing the fantastic Emma Kennedy, Director of  “Camp La Grande Aventure…en Anglais” summer camp, from Saint-Donat, Quebec, Canada. Camp La Grande Aventure….en Anglais is an English camp for francophones. Emma’s camp is located close to Gabrielle’s Camp Ouareau, Emma and Gab share many of the summer camp leadership tricks and tools. In this episode, Ruby and Emma dissect summer camp training and the importance of starting training, before training officially starts. 

Keeping in touch before camp’s arrival is something that is now a top priority. Touchpoints with your teams prior to the start of camp allows your team to collaborate right from the start. The current pandemic has reinforced what camps already do, engage staff, engage early, or in Beth’s words…. Frontload! 

Another great idea Emma brings to Camp Code is the idea of “starting fresh”. When working with your leadership team, remove your past schedules and training materials and allow your leadership team to think outside of the box. That older material is always there for you to lean on, but allowing your leadership team to collaborate on what skills are required to be a good counsellor and what other training tools would allow your leadership team to succeed, and your camp to have another great summer. 

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We hope you love this episode of Camp Code! If you do, please consider subscribing to the show, and leaving us a rating in your Podcast app. It’s SO easy, just head to https://ratethispodcast.com/campcode

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From Emma Kennedy

During staff training, take an evening offsite to do something as a group. A good example is to take your team out for ice cream and allow your team to talk, get to know one another and collaborate outside of the camp environment. 

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Guest:

• Emma Kennedy, Camp Director - Camp La Grande Aventure...en Anglais

Your Host:

• Ruby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby Outdoors

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!

Summer camp staff are usually a tight-knit group. As well, the expectations of a happy go lucky summer with friends vs the hard reality of living together in community smack into each other. This type of cosmic splatter happens to any and every organization at one point or another. As leaders, it is our goal to manage that state of cosmic distraction. We work from having differences and bring our community from disruption to resolution and work to land on collaboration.   

Working with people is complicated, you have to set the expectations at the beginning of staff training. As Beth says, by frontloading, it is easier for your staff to reach those attainable goals.  

When you are faced with challenges, you can separate these in the two steps of analyzing the situation and work together to resolve issues. To do this, you can break the “views” into a quadrant so you can have a better understanding of other people's perspectives. An example of a view would be campers vs parents vs directors vs staff and dissecting each perspective and how each view can influence the outcome of your resolution. 

We hope you love this episode of Camp Code! If you do, please consider subscribing to the show, and leaving us a rating in your Podcast app. It’s SO easy, just head to https://ratethispodcast.com/campcode

From Beth Allison

Keeping camp drama free is going to be a challenge. If you flip this around and be the challenger, you can reward your staff who best made it through the week without any drama! Beth recommends a pin, keychain, bracelet or a t-shirt of a llama. Perhaps call it the “No-drama Llama” and make it visible to open it up as a discussion piece between staff and campers. 

Your Hosts:

• Gabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp Ouareau
• Beth Allison, Camp Consultant - CampHacker.tv
• Ruby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby Outdoors