Summary

Seven students participated in the ASF's 2026 Multi-Sport Summer Recreation Weekend.

WINDHAM, N.Y. — The Adaptive Sports Foundation (ASF) concluded its four-day Multi-Sport Summer Recreation Weekend on Sunday, Aug. 16, after seven students participated in a variety of sports and outdoor activities throughout the Windham area.

The event is designed to introduce a wide variety of sports and physical activities to individuals of all abilities. Participants learned the fundamentals of team sports while also experiencing the importance of staying physically active and having fun. The camp ran from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. each day, except Sunday, when activities concluded at noon.

“This weekend was great, we did a lot of fun stuff,” student Matt Colella said. “The kayaking was probably my favorite activity, but all the sports and games were fun.”

The ASF welcomed students at CD Lane Park on Thursday morning. After introductions between the participants and volunteers, the group took a quick nature walk through the park’s wooded areas. After getting their legs moving, participants headed to the soccer field to work on passing and shooting drills. The morning of activity continued as the group made its way to the baseball diamond for a friendly game of kickball before taking a break for lunch.

After lunch, students headed to the park’s basketball courts to shoot hoops and learn proper basketball fundamentals. The ASF also utilized the skateboard ramps and rails to create a fun obstacle course that tested the students’ speed and balance.

The second day of camp was a beach day at CD Lane Park. The morning kicked off with kayaking, giving all students the opportunity to experience paddling across the calm mountain lake on a warm summer day. Midway through the morning, students returned to shore and chose between riding bikes around the park or taking a nature walk along one of the several wooded paths.

The morning activities led into the lunch break. In the afternoon, students were invited to get back into their kayaks and cruise around the lake once again. Once ashore, the group headed to the park’s baseball diamond for batting practice with Wiffle balls, which continued until the end of the day.

Day three was spent in nearby Tannersville, with the group meeting at Rip Van Winkle Lake Park in the morning. From there, the ASF shuttle bus transported students and volunteers to the Mountain Top Arboretum, where they enjoyed a stroll through the arboretum’s East Meadow and a visit to its Fairy Garden.

The activity took up the entire morning before the group returned to Rip Van Winkle Lake Park for lunch. Afterward, students took another nature walk along the Huckleberry Trails before playing playground games such as Red Rover and Red Light, Green Light, creating a true schoolyard afternoon.

The fourth and final day of camp featured a trip to Heidi Ruehlmann’s alpaca farm in nearby Prattsville. Students received permission from Ruehlmann and the farm’s caretaker, Frank Cabrera, who also serves as the head snowboard coach for the ASF Competitions Team, to enter the alpaca pen and feed the animals fruit and oats.

After the alpacas finished their breakfast, participants enjoyed a quick hike around Ruehlmann’s pond to wrap up the morning’s activities. The students then boarded the ASF shuttle bus and returned to the Gwen Allard Adaptive Sports Center for a pizza lunch before saying their goodbyes and wrapping up another successful Multi-Sport Summer Recreation Weekend.