A Strengths-Based Approach to Working with Tough Boys

The 13- and 14-year-old hotshots who are causing headaches for your instructors; the second-year counsellors who are disrupting your staff culture. These aren’t just problems to be fixed-they’re leadership opportunities waiting to be channeled.

This session equips camp leaders with practical strategies to work with the boys and young men who naturally emerge as influential figures within their camp culture. We will begin by exploring how precarious masculinity the constant pressure boys feel to prove their manhood drives attention-seeking, risk-taking, defiance, and disconnection in camp settings. From there, participants will learn proven strategies for aligning with, challenging, and empowering boys that can be implemented at the camp leadership level as well as taught to camp staff. Transform your most challenging campers into your greatest assets for building a camp culture where everyone, not just the loudest voices, can thrive.