“Great!” “Really, really good.” “I like everything about it.”

Such was the praise Stanford’s All-Sports Camp won this week–its eighth and final of the summer–from a handful of its 6- to 12-year-old campers.

“I really like it,” said a 9-year-old girl from San Jose who has come to camp for several years. “We get to play games and do stuff like rock climbing and gymnastics.”

Stanford’s All-Sports Camps provide local children with an opportunity for low-key, healthy fun and exposure to various activities. In one session earlier this week, a group of campers, above, play a game of “Medic,” a fusion of dodgeball and freezetag. (AUDREY WU/Stanford Daily)

If you’ve been around campus this summer, odds are you’ve seen the camp in action. But what exactly have the kids been up to?

The better question is where, said Pam Mahlow, camp director. The tiny athletes have roamed from the climbing wall to Manzanita Field, from Roble Field to the west campus tennis courts, Mahlow said.

Traditional sports are a big component of the camp. Counselors teach a variety of sports, including baseball, basketball, volleyball, soccer, tennis, track and field, wrestling and gymnastics. On top of this, they also squeezes in rock climbing, slip-n-slide and, of course, Doctor and Spy, a unique variant of dodge ball that is the camp’s most popular activity.

Counselors are the key to the the camp’s success, organizers say.

“Pretty much, our main job is to play with the kids, making sure they are having fun and staying safe,” said Emily Brown, a second-year counselor and local high school student. “It’s awesome to be able to hang out and play summer games as part of your job.”

“We do a little skill training, but mostly, we just let them have fun,” said Alyssa Brown ’12, a counselor and Stanford gymnast. “If they want to learn more, they come to us.”

Dan Hernandez, head counselor, says counseling is a sought-after job. He said about half of this year’s 23 counselors are Stanford athletes.

“It’s very difficult to become a counselor here,” said Emily. “It’s a summer job that everyone wants, and being a Stanford camp, we have the opportunity to hire the best of the best.”

But it pays off, said Alyssa.

“It’s a great way for us Stanford athletes to give back during the summer. And it’s great for the kids too,” Alyssa said. “I have been athletic my whole life, and it’s fun to show them what I can do.”