***(Editor’s note: This version excises an erroneous statement to the effect that Forest Home Christian camp was founded by A.J. Dhus’ father.)*** “I was amazed at how the kids opened up,” says A.J. Dhus of his experience counseling fourth- and fifth-graders at summer camp recently. “They talked about not knowing where they were going to live when they got back from camp. It was really something.” The 16-year-old, who just passed his driver license test and says he enjoys working with children, was excited when his mother Susie told him he would be assigned to one youth and share responsibility for five others during the weeklong outdoor experience. Dhus, who will be a junior this year at La Jolla Country Day School, seems recharged and is one step closer to maturity this summer after working with the young man for five days – which had its moments. “He’s an athletic kid (and impulsive). Sometimes he’d wander around, and you couldn’t find him for two or three minutes. If he sees a rock he wants to climb, he’ll go climb it.”
But the three-sport student-athlete says George (not his real name) “wanders with a plan. He’s a smart kid.”
Dhus, who is combining football workouts with play on Coach John Edman’s summer baseball team, came back to San Diego from the Christian camp at Forest Home, which he attended as a youth, and is pouring himself into his sports regimen. He also surfs on the Country Day team.
Reflecting on his time sharing a tent with elementary school students, the pitcher/catcher/infielder says, “They come from a church in Los Angeles that ministers to single moms. Their mothers are in a live-in training program at the church. So they’re working on finding a steady place to work and a set place to live. The kids were open in talking about their situation.
“What blows me away is that when I was in fourth or fifth grade, I was more concerned about what I was going to wear (or something else trivial). I didn’t have to worry about whether I had something to eat (as these children do).”
He says a key element in the boys’ opening was the trust built through the week. Another positive factor involved the beautiful outdoor setting and Dhus’ enjoyment of physical activity and sports. At Country Day, he played on the junior varsity baseball team as a sophomore, hitting .300 in the sixth slot in the batting order.
He decided in the ninth grade that “I might as well enjoy the time I have in baseball and (that) I could add another tool” to his game by learning to switch-hit. He says he has been hitting well from both sides of the plate and expects to be on Edman’s varsity team next spring. Playing on the summer team gives him an edge. Meanwhile, he says, “I am seeing the ball well. We’re playing in front of scouts, which is important. Plus we’re facing the pitchers in summer ball who are good.”
In an interesting intrafamily rivalry, Dhus’ sister Natalie, a ninth-grader, will play volleyball this fall at University City High, next to which the Dhus family lives. “I can see them constructing the new baseball field from our house,” says Dhus about what could have been his home field. “My sister really wanted to go to U.C.” She had the choice to attend Country Day with her older brother, but she chose to be a Centurion. Dhus had attended Forest Home from second through seventh grades as a camper. “I fell in love with it,” he says. “I counseled last winter, so I decided to counsel this summer.
“When I told my mom I wanted to counsel,” he says, “she told me I would be working one on one with (George, a foster child). I was blown away.”
Dhus will be carrying a demanding load this year while playing three sports. He registered for honors Spanish 3 and will be enrolled in calculus – “math is my strong suit” – and biology.