Printer Friendly Version - Alex Learned: A Man About Camp

A literal lifetime of camp experience has kept Camp Hazen YMCA an engaging home for Alex Learned. He’ll also represent his hometown in the upcoming Tri-Town Vintage Base Ball Tournament sponsored by the Chester, Deep River, and Essex historical societies on Sunday, Sept. 16. Photo by Zoe Roos/The Courier

Alex Learned has spent 27 years at Camp Hazen, either as a camper or a member of staff. That number alone would be impressive, but is made even more so when you factor in that Alex is still shy of turning 30 years old.

“Including my years as a camper, this is my 27th summer. As a 29-year-old...I have only missed a couple years there,” he says.

Camp Hazen, located on more than 150 acres surrounding Cedar Lake in Chester, has been around since 1920 and offers day and overnight camps throughout the summer as well as other camp programs throughout the year. The camp has a long history and for Alex, the camp has a long history in his family, too.

“I grew up at the camp,” he says. “It’s about a third generation now, so my grandfather worked here in the ‘50s and then both my parents worked here. They met here and then my mom, Denise Learned, took over as the executive director in 1999 and my dad [Michael] is the maintenance and facilities director.”

After his years as a camper, Alex started as an assistant camp counselor in 2005 and eventually joined the year-round professional staff back in 2011 right after he graduated from college. Alex went to George Washington University where he majored in history and world religions, and while he was on track for a PhD and thought he wanted to go into the academic world, the camp kept calling him back.

“College was me thinking I wanted to do something else,” he says. “Education was my goal and I love teaching and I have picked up a lot of teaching certifications here as a lifeguard instructor [and] archery instructor trainer, and so working with the staff I am still working with college-age people because my role now joining as one of the directors is preparing the staff to work with kids...I have that similar experience that I thought I wanted” as a college-level instructor.

While Alex’s bio on the Camp Hazen website says, “When not at camp, Alex can be found heading back to camp,” Alex is involved in numerous other programs and activities around town and across the state including serving on the Connecticut Y Network, the now dormant Chester Winter Carnivale planning committee, and on the Chester Vintage Base Ball team.

Each year, teams from Deep River, Chester, and Essex face of at Devitt Field in a tri-town vintage Base Ball competition, a sport where the game is still played by the 1857 rules—so, for example, the fielders ( known as scouts) don’t use gloves, and a ball caught on one bounce is still considered an out.

This fall will be the fifth year of the tournament and Alex says he is looking forward to getting back out on the field on Sunday, Sept. 16 from 2 to 4 p.m.

“I think our Chester team has improved significantly,” he says. “We have a few practices in the month before and it’s just fun. I love playing by the old rules and it is just a unique way to play and it’s a good team to be a part of.

“Since Camp Hazen has been here for so long we are always looking for ways to connect into the town and just being a member of the team I see my teammates around town, which is a fun part of the connections I have made there,” he adds.

Alex says over the years the age of the players has become a bit more diverse, too, but he has quickly learned younger doesn’t necessarily mean better in the world of Base Ball.

“The younger people play the outfield because we run more and we are able to cover the larger area a bit better, but some of the older players are amazing hitters,” he said. “They have the power stil,l no question.”

As a senior program director, Alex has spent time overseeing both the day and overnight camps that over an 11-week period in summer draw hundreds of kids to Camp Hazen. Alex said he wanted to make sure camp is always a unique experience for kids and that they have the opportunity to choose what they want camp to be like for them.

“I specifically saw to the activity areas. One personal thing that I love is camper choice,” he says. “So I kind of redesigned some of the classes. I have a heavy focus on making sure the kids gets the classes that they want and we have a huge preference system and the kids rank the classes and making sure that system is efficient and giving kids their top choices was one of my main goals.”

In addition, Alex has help revive a few programs and try to bring some new ideas to camp so that the options for kids are fresh and exciting.

“A big thing I added was STEM activities,” he says. “It’s something we use a lot with our school groups and environmental education. We used to have it more in our overnight camps, so it is bringing back that environmental education and science and engineering into the summer camp world. The kids seem to love it.”

A willingness to explore new activities and shift programs around is part of what sets Camp Hazen apart, according to Alex.

“We are always looking for the what’s next and looking for new programs,” he says. “Talking to other camp directors, they admire that about us because we are constantly ready to change—we don’t change for change’s sake, but we are constantly developing and analyzing ourselves to see what is best…We have a big culture right now of improving and never being satisfied.”

Part of the camp’s ability to evolve and grow has a lot to do with the staff, according to Alex. For him, one of the best parts of camp is seeing the evolution of its members as former campers return to work as counselors.

“One of my campers when I was a day camp counselor is now our day camp waterfront director this year and she has been a counselor for a number of years, too,” he says. “It’s just really cool to see that development. I remember when she was 12 years old and just being such a great swimmer and she kind of helped teach her swim lessons...She was already at that high level, so she was teaching the butterfly to her fellow campers and then now she is running our waterfront and helping the instructors teach the butterfly to their campers.”

In addition, Alex said the camp has a very high return rate when it comes to counselors.

“I think you have point to the longevity of our year round staff,” he says. “That is unique. Having an executive director where she started on staff in the late ‘70s and she has been here in some capacity since then. Our Camp Director Kath Davies, from England, her first summer was 1999 and she has been here ever since.”

Alex says Davies is just one out of a large percentage of all staff members who are international. He said having counselors that come from all over the world makes for a unique experience for the kids, too.

“We have always had about 35 percent international counselors...By introducing some international sports, it allows them to share their culture a little bit and it allows kids to experience something they might not otherwise,” he says. “They aren’t playing cricket in gym class.”

In 2020 Camp Haven will celebrate its centennial and while that date maybe a ways away, Alex says the planning wheels are starting to turn.

“That is a big one for us,” he said. “We were founded in 1920 so we are going to be celebrating the 100th anniversary of that founding. Nothing is formal yet but there will be a celebration at camp in the fall of that year in addition to other celebration throughout the world in a few different offsite locations to connect our alumni and international staff.”

The Tri-Town Vintage Base Ball Tournament sponsored by the Chester, Deep River, and Essex historical societies is on Sunday, Sept. 16 from 2 to 4 p.m. at Devitt Field, Deep River. Rain date is Sunday, Sept. 23. Attendance is free; concessions will be available from the Chester Rotary Club.