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{{short description|Summer sleepaway camp in Monterey, Massachusetts, U.S.}}
'''Kutsher's Sports Academy''' (KSA) was a [[Summer camp|summer sleepaway camp]] in [[Monterey, Massachusetts]], for children ages 7–17. It was originally "conceived and developed by Milton and Joseph Kutsher and legendary basketball coach [[Clair Bee|Clair F. Bee]] in 1968."<ref>[http://www.kutsherssportsacademy.com/staticPages/programactivities.htm Kutsher's Sports Academy]</ref> The land was originally the Harmony Country Club.<ref name="Times">{{cite news |title=Kutsher's resort all began with a modest rooming house |url=https://www.recordonline.com/article/20100705/News/7050323 |accessdate=6 January 2019 |publisher=Times Herald-Record |date=July 5, 2010}}</ref> The Kutsher family owned and operated the academy until 2005 when they sold the camp to Marc White, the longtime Executive Director. Until 2007 it was located in [[Monticello, New York]]. The camp moved to the Berkshires at the start of 2008, and is now located on [[Lake Buel]], just outside [[Great Barrington, Massachusetts]].<ref name="recordonline.com">[http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071227/NEWS/712270317 Sports academy leaving Sullivan Orthodox Jewish camp will lease site]</ref> The former site in Monticello is being leased by an Orthodox Jewish camp.<ref name="recordonline.com"/>

Part of the reason for the move may be because the site was considered for a casino before the deal between the Kutsher family and the [[St. Regis Mohawk Reservation, New York|St. Regis Mohawks]] was cancelled in favor of another site.<ref>[http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051108/SPECIAL03/60726145/-1/SPECIAL03 Interior officials conflict on casino]</ref>

Campers choose from a variety of sports, tailored to their own interests, either to increase their skills in a particular sport(s) or to try a sport they have not tried before. There are also opportunities for campers to play sports on a purely recreational level.<ref>[http://www.newcolabs.com/live/kutshers/pg3.htm KSA brochure, page 3] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061213202001/http://www.newcolabs.com/live/kutshers/pg3.htm |date=2006-12-13 }}</ref> Ten of the camp’s coaches have been there for more than 20 years.<ref>[http://www.sc-democrat.com/archives/2005/sports/06June/24/ksa.htm 37th Season]</ref> In 2007, [[Wil Cordero]] spent the whole summer there as a coach and has stayed with KSA ever since; other famous athletes have come to participate in a clinic for a day.<ref>[http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070704/SPORTS/707040352 Former major-leaguer Wil Cordero shares baseball knowledge with kids at camp in Sullivan County]</ref> Creative and performing arts activities were available as well.<ref>[http://www.newcolabs.com/live/kutshers/pg4.htm KSA brochure, page 4] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061217104351/http://www.newcolabs.com/live/kutshers/pg4.htm |date=2006-12-17 }}</ref> Mike Gilberg, a former camper and baseball coach, took over as Director of Kutsher's Sports Academy in 2016.

As seen in the ''[[Times-Herald Record]]'' on December 26, 2007, the Sullivan County site was leased to a Satmar group for five years beginning in 2008.

The reputation was so stellar among athletes that [[Joe DiMaggio]] and [[Wilt Chamberlain]] trained here in the off season. Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) faced each other for the first time in the Maurice Stokes Game, which was held each summer at the KSA Field House.<ref>[http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20050619/ai_n14689092 Borscht Belt's last hurrah] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924095122/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20050619/ai_n14689092 |date=2015-09-24 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.newcolabs.com/live/kutshers/pg8.htm KSA brochure, page 8] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927045547/http://www.newcolabs.com/live/kutshers/pg8.htm |date=September 27, 2007 }}</ref>

In November of 2024, the camp closed and became Berkshire Trails Camp.

==See also==
*[[Kutsher's Camp Anawana]]
*[[Kutsher's Hotel]] and Country Club

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* [http://www.kutsherssportsacademy.com Kutsher's Sports Academy Official Site]

{{Summer camps in Massachusetts}}

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[[Category:Summer camps in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Jewish summer camps in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Jewish summer camps in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Berkshires]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Berkshire County, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Monterey, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Sullivan County, New York]]
[[Category:Sports in Berkshire County, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Sports schools in the United States]]
[[Category:1968 establishments in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Sports academies]]

Kutsher's Sports Academy - Revision history

imported>Cornmazes at 04:33, 4 June 2025