Counselors happy to give back at annual basketball camp
Ariana Farias remembers what it was like to be a participant in the Tribe Youth Basketball Camp at Burroughs High.
She has fond memories of spending part of her summer honing her basketball skills, running from station to station, taking part in games and being with friends at the annual camp.
Now a player in the Indians girls’ basketball program, Farias is one of a group of current and former Burroughs players who serve as counselors at the camp, which conducted the second of three summer sessions Monday through Thursday.
“It is kind of weird actually for me now as a counselor, knowing I was here as a player four or five years ago,” said Farias, a junior. “But now I get to help them like the counselors who helped me when I was here as a player.
“But it’s really great to see how many kids come out and how badly they want to play basketball and become better players, because that’s how I was. I loved the game at their age and I loved being here playing and learning all I could about basketball. It’s about learning, but it’s also about interacting with other players.”
The second session of the seventh annual Tribe Youth Basketball Camp concluded Thursday and a third session will run July 10-12 at Burroughs High.
The camp is organized by Indians girls’ basketball coach Vicky Oganyan and Burroughs boys’ coach Alan Ellis.
Asia Morales, who is a sophomore in the Burroughs girls’ program, is another counselor who is a former camper.
“It’s so cool to see the players and see how excited they are to be here and really learn about basketball,” Morales said. “It’s also cool to know that some of them will eventually be here playing in the Burroughs program in the future.”
In the camp, which featured nearly 60 boys and girls ages 6-14, players were instructed in shooting, dribbling, passing and playing defense. They are also put through exercises to help strengthen their core. In addition, players were put into teams and got the opportunity to play in games.
“It’s always great to see the kids who come out for our camps and a lot of them come out to multiple camps or they return from year to year,” Oganyan said. “There are a lot of camps out there now and kids have a few to choose from.
“We just try to make ours fun, as well as helping players improve their skills. We’ve been doing it for a few years so we kind of have it down.”
Players, who were broken down into three groups by age and ability, received a healthy dose of basketball instruction from the coaches, current and former players and camp director Jay Bandele.
“We have three rules here that we adhere to to make it enjoyable for everyone,” Bandele said. “The first is have fun, because if you enjoy something you normally do it better. The other is always compete; we want the players to compete and know what that’s like. And the other is play safe. We want them to have fun, but to do it in a safe manner.
“All camps are different, but in all of them, I try and have basically the same template for what we want to teach them and have them learn the basic concepts of the sport.”
One of the campers with previous basketball experience was 13-year-old Nikki Siy, who was looking to improve her skills.
“It’s very competitive here and I like it that I don’t just get to go against girls, but I get to go against boys, as well,” she said. “What is also good is the coaches here are very nice and they really teach you things instead of just letting you play on your own. You also learn by just being around different people.”
Said 11-year-old Clayton Richardson: “I just think it’s a great experience for beginners like me. I have learned how to dribble better and shoot better, too. The other good part is that I’m here with my friends.”
Twitter: @jefftsports
