Scoring, competing, winning, just playing—this is music to the ears of an athlete. But come summer, young female Jewish athletes normally have to put their sports on hold, except as a passing distraction at existing Jewish overnight camps. That all changed recently.

Camp Neshama opened its beautiful, scenic doors and courts to 38 teens from the greater New York and New Jersey area, California, Maryland, and South Florida as the second season convened. Dale Pianko, Ph.D., a social worker, educator, and parent with over 35 years of experience working publicly and privately for the Jewish community, invested in her belief in the power and efficacy of informal Jewish education. Dale understood that, despite a myriad of camping options that filled a range of needs for the Orthodox teen, there was a void for the athletic girl who wanted to put sports first—and she decided to do something about it.

Through her years of work with teens, Dale marveled at the arena of athletics as a vehicle through which a young woman could be challenged physically and mentally, and simultaneously be empowered by her personal progress and abilities to overcome hurdles. While other camps focused on activities punctuated by games and sports, Camp Neshama became the only camp to put sports first for Orthodox girls. This is a novel concept in Orthodox circles—every pursuit on this campus is reinforced and validated by the philosophy of the athletic mentality. Team-building and implementation of community spirit is armored through daily clinics and competitions, as well as in the learning and shiurim. Midot, values, and sportsmanship are exemplified in every drill, every inter-camp competition, and every bead of sweat shed in the name of the game. And sweat they did, as the campers competed with neighboring camps Mesorah and Moshava in softball, basketball, soccer, and tennis.

“At Camp Neshama,” says Dale, “discovering and developing one’s personal best is strengthened in every activity throughout the day, from morning workouts, to drills and clinics, trips, ice cream dates, and interesting shiurim, to connecting with exemplary role models in sports and chinuch, to daily well-balanced menus.”

“Sports at Camp Neshama are sports with neshama, with soul,” says Dale’s daughter and program director, Yocheved Feinerman. She, along with her husband and daughter, made aliyah with Nefesh B’Nefesh at the end of camp this summer, but she plans to return next summer to be with “her girls.” “This isn’t about sports for its own sake,” she adds with pride. “We are dedicated to the enrichment of girls’ athletic proficiency—and all its byproducts—in an atmosphere of spiritual and Zionist fortification, professional guidance, personal support, and an acute attention to all-around fitness and health.”

This formula clearly seems to work. After a lively goodbye party with a DJ and a smorgasbord, as campers boarded the bus for airports and home they continued to text Rivky Pianko Kalman (sports director, Navi teacher, and girls’ basketball coach in Westchester Hebrew High School), Elana Kasztl Kolhagen (sports coordinator and former captain of the Stern College basketball team), and Kim Hirmes (head counselor, Stern College junior): “We had the best time, we can’t wait for next year!”

Rivka Rosenblatt, a talented athlete from Riverdale and a junior at Mayanot High School in Teaneck, who came to camp to train and improve on her skills, was effusive in her praise. “Honestly,” she says, beaming, “this is a place where everyone is given the opportunity to shine and be a star—athletically and otherwise.” She continues, “Whatever your sport or abilities, your game is guaranteed to improve at Camp Neshama.”

The Neshama connection doesn’t end with summer. Dale and her staff stay in touch with their campers throughout the year by attending school games, cheering on “their girls,” and offering personal coaching tips when asked. “They really care about us and how we do in all aspects of our lives,” remarked Elana Goldstein, high school basketball MVP who graduated from Kushner in Livingston, N.J., and is on her way to Tiferet in Israel.

As with all new endeavors, Camp Neshama is a work in progress. Located on 110 acres of combined rustic and modern facilities and state-of-the-art game courts, and set in quaint and lush Hawley, Pennsylvania, the campgrounds provide a full range of athletic opportunities, including basketball, softball, hockey, swimming, tennis, dodgeball, and more. Next summer, there will be a brand-new “lodge” and dining hall, five brand new state-of-the-art bunks, as well as five new tennis courts. The camp will be able to accommodate 150 campers and staff. It’s official…the female athlete summer sports dilemma is solved!