Cliff-hangers Y’s Leaders School a summer camp like no other

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Abby Malone perched atop the narrow end of a giant wooden pole as it teetered more than 30 feet above the ground.

The safety harness attached to her back didn’t stop the 14-year-old’s knees from shaking in unison with the wobbling column.

In front of her, a giant rubber ball dangled from a rope. Malone’s goal was simple enough: jump out and grab the ball. For the moment though, she was frozen in a staring contest with the inanimate object.

Minutes passed as a crowd of fellow teenagers gathered below. The pressure mounted.

Emilie Bronson, Malone’s camp counselor, broke the silence: “Who cares about what’s around. It’s what’s inside you,” she hollered.

Without warning, Malone leapt from the pole, her hands stretched out in front as she reached for the ball.

As the harness broke her fall, leaving her suspended 20 feet in the air, applause broke out from the spectators below. A smile spread over Malone’s face.

Welcome to Leaders School, an annual, adventure-based camp offered through the Bangor YMCA for children in grades seven to 12 that defies most every summer camp stereotype. Epiphanies like Malone’s are not only encouraged, they’re required.

While picturesque scenery and mild weather make Maine a haven for youth camps in the summer months, few can match the spirit of Leaders School, which ran from Aug. 5 to 11.

On the surface, it’s a camp about hiking, rock climbing, paddling and all the adrenaline that goes along with similar outdoor activities.

But below that surface, Leaders School is much more, its organizers said. It’s about losing yourself and finding yourself simultaneously. It’s about conquering fears. It’s about discovering what you can accomplish.

“We set the tone of being unified and solving problems together, but it’s pretty fun too,” camp director Eric Taylor said recently from Camp Jordan on Branch Lake in Ellsworth, the home of Leaders School. “We have only one week with them, but our hope is to give them something they can take with them for the rest of the year.”

On the winding dirt road that leads to Camp Jordan, a temporary banner hangs high amid the trees. The words are simple: “Prepare for an experience that will change your lives.”

Campers said those words are no exaggeration.

“It’s so amazing, I can’t even explain it,” said Malone, a Bangor native who participated in her second year of Leaders School in 2007. “You have to experience it for yourself.”

‘Outside their comfort zone’

During the middle week of Leaders School, the sky opened up. Rain poured down hard and heavy, bouncing off jagged cliffs in the western Penobscot County town of Clifton.

On the edge of Route 9, a dirt path leads into the woods where rock climbers often go to find challenges. On this day, the cold, wet weather might have sent most scattering for shelter, but not the group of about 30 Leaders School campers.

“I guess the rock climbing itself wasn’t a challenge enough,” Taylor joked.

At the pinnacle of Leaders School is Challenge Day, which actually takes up two days of the weeklong camp. Campers are split into 11 groups based on their interest and skill level and then sent off on excursions throughout the state.

Hiking enthusiasts headed south for the trails of Acadia National Park. A group of white-water paddlers brought their kayaks and canoes to the waters of the St. Croix River. A team of mountain bikers was sent to another rugged corner of the state, Mount Bigelow.

In Clifton, campers explored the art of rock climbing.

“I don’t want to say it’s the most dangerous, but it’s definitely the most challenging trip, especially today,” said counselor Zac Robbins, 23. “It’s also one of the most rewarding as a counselor because you really get kids to step outside their comfort zone.”

Most of the campers who went on the climbing trip had climbed at least once before, but likely not in driving rain. Taylor said if anything, the weather enhanced the trip.

“This just makes you guys look all that much more hard-core,” he told the campers and then later said, “We don’t mind putting a little stress on them.”

Aside from Challenge Day, describing a typical day at Leaders School is a lot like predicting Maine weather: impossible.

There’s no shortage of activities: ropes courses, kayak rolling, snorkeling, self defense, archery, orienteering and less strenuous activities such as music, cartooning and video production.

While Taylor and other staff members work hard to develop programming that focuses on team building and personal growth, it’s the spontaneity that sets the camp apart.

To an outsider, Leaders School seems filled with inside jokes and random madness. There are goofy games with names like “camouflage” and the “pajama parade,” but there also are serious discussions and a morning “zen swim” for silent reflection.

Unless you’re there to experience it, though, you have no idea, campers said.

“When I started camp, all I remember was how weird everybody was,” said Matt Sevey, 17, of Bangor. “Now, I don’t notice. I’m weird, too, I guess.”

‘Method to the madness’

Perhaps the biggest endorsement of Leaders School is the number of volunteers who come back every year to make the camp possible.

Taylor said that of the 40 counselors this year, more than 90 percent went through the program.

“The staff really embodies the spirit of Leaders School,” he said. “Believe it or not, there is some method to the madness.”

“This is like my renewal for the year,” said Emilie Bronson, 20, of Bangor, who spent four years as a camper before becoming a counselor last year. “It’s amazing to watch these kids grow into leaders and to see where they come from, because we used to be those kids.”

Some travel from as far away as California just to donate their time, but at the warm center of Leaders School is Taylor, who lives in Dedham.

Known to campers simply as “ET,” the 55-year-old father of six balances limitless energy with self-diagnosed attention deficit disorder.

Taylor, a licensed social worker, was first handed the reins of Leaders School 23 years ago when he held the title of YMCA youth director.

“Basically, [the YMCA] didn’t know what to do with me during the summer,” he recalled recently on the steps of the dining hall at Camp Jordan.

In the early 1980s, Leaders School was little more than a glorified sports camp, Taylor said. He immediately made plans to tweak the camp’s mission, but admitted it didn’t come easy.

“There was this sort of ideological confrontation,” he said, explaining his proposal to transform Leaders School into an experiential camp in the same vein as Outward Bound.

One of the first things Taylor did was develop a ropes course at Camp Jordan. It’s been a hit ever since.

Little by little, Leaders School has evolved, and with that time, its reputation has taken on a cult status.

About 30 campers between the ages of 12 and 18 attended Leaders School in Taylor’s first year. This year, the number was 171, the highest in the camp’s history.

“It’s kind of amazing, really. We fill to capacity without ever advertising,” Taylor said. “We’re getting to the point now where we have to be creative with our programming.”

For most of the year, Taylor owns and operates the Group & Family Center in Bangor, which offers traditional and not-so-traditional counseling services.

He no longer works for the Y, but he has no intention of giving up Leaders School.

“It’s so easy to want to come back,” Taylor said.

‘You can go farther’

How do you make a week last an entire year?

That’s the challenge of being a Leaders School counselor, but the kids make it easy, Taylor said.

When the campers first arrived at Camp Jordan last week, they gathered for a giant group picture, then spent several hours in activities that helped them break the ice.

By the end of the week, many exchanged phone numbers and e-mail addresses as if they were best friends. Many had already signed up for next year.

“One of the really cool things about Leaders School is seeing people you may not get to see all year,” said Nick Stevens, a 14-year-old from Hampden. “And you never know who’s going to come back.”

At $475 for the week, Taylor said, it’s a bargain for the campers, but because Leaders School operates primarily on volunteered time, the camp serves as a big fundraiser for the YMCA.

Taylor Tremble, 17, of Brewer participated in his fifth and final year of Leaders School in 2007. He was one of about 20 to “graduate” from the program this year and said he owes the world the camp.

“When you first start, you’re a little apprehensive so you end up looking up to the older guys,” Tremble said at graduation, a ceremony that was bittersweet for most, emotional for some. “Now, we’re the older guys. We’re the guys that the younger campers look up to.”

Most of the campers who attended this summer either heard about Leaders School through a friend or family member.

Zac Robbins first attended Leaders School several years ago, following in the footsteps of his brother, Micah Robbins, who is now the camp’s assistant director.

“I had some self identity and confidence issues as a kid,” Zac Robbins said. “Looking back on things that might have seemed small at the time, they really changed my perception. More than anything, Leaders School teaches you that you can go farther.”

Taylor, who is not one to shy away from pushing his own limits, said seeing campers accomplish something they didn’t think was within their reach is the very foundation of Leaders School.

“Parents, when you leave here, you’re going to hear a lot of stories,” he said at graduation. “My advice: Listen to your kids.”