Camp Green Lane 100th Summer Blog Post, June 30th

I can’t tell you who the first pick in the Leagues Draft was from year to year.

But I can instantly recall the guys who were picked last.

That’s because here at Camp Green Lane, there’s nothing irrelevant about Mr. Irrelevant. For the Senior Boys Leagues Draft, we call out names one by one like the NFL does. We interview the boys as they walk the Red Carpet and we make a whole big production out of it. They do the Lebron thing with powder and for one night, we’re all superstars.

Draft Night’s become a thing. The boys get dressed up and treat it like a mini-Cabaret with popped collars and sunglasses and jerseys as far as the eye can see. This year, we included the Greeks in the festivities adding even more faces and personalities to the mix and it was awesome.

In front of an audience that seems to grow each summer, the boys gather on the BB1 bleachers and, one-by-one, they get their name called by their coach and join a team that’ll compete in all kinds of games and sports all summer. Of course, the whole thing is camp-ified and the order the names are called are magically edited in a way—unbeknownst to the boys—where the last picks are really some of the best guys.

Comically, Mr. Irrelevant has come to be someone who’s a good sport. To me, being a good sport is just about the best compliment you can give someone at Camp Green Lane.

So they get all dressed up and then a few guys sit and sweat it out. We tell them the story of how Tom Brady sat forever before he was picked and … you know the rest. I digress. Back to the Leagues Draft.

Camp teaches us a lot over time. Of those lessons, sportsmanship, being a good teammate, the power of community, the idea that everyone can find a place in a cabin or on a Leagues team is the one I see constantly at camp.

Last night, we put together teams and I’m sure they’re all going to learn a lot about winning and losing over the next few weeks.

But I learn a lot each year at the Draft.

And the parts I remember most always happen at the end.

Because here at camp, some of the best guys get picked last.

—Uncle Evan