Learning never gets old at Spartan Basketball Camp
LA CAÑADA — It’s an annual event that doesn’t appear to get old — even in its 30th year.
On an early summer afternoon, it’s the sight of a young athlete, perhaps with a lofty goal of playing at a higher level, flocking to the annual Spartan Basketball Camp at La Cañada High to pick up pointers from veteran La Cañada boys’ basketball coach Tom Hofman.
It doesn’t take long for the participants, ranging from ages to 6-14, to hit the floor and work up a sweat while looking to master a variety of drills over the course of a week.
“You get them out there and they start working hard,” said Hofman, who is 686-204 and has won a pair of CIF Southern Section titles and 23 Rio Hondo League championships at La Cañada since taking over the program in 1986. “We just teach them the basic points of the game, like dribbling and how to shoot layups. We try to do different things each day and you just want to see them make a little bit of improvement so they can go home and continue practicing. That’s one of the biggest things.
“They want to find out what their strengths and weaknesses are and we’re here to try to help them. We provide an evaluation so they have a better understanding on what they need to continue working on. There’s a lot of opportunity.”
The three-session camp attracted local participants largely from La Cañada Flintridge and the San Gabriel Valley. The camp began June 5 and will conclude Friday.
About 65 participants were on hand for the first session. Some of the youngsters have attended in previous years and haven’t been shy about coming back.
“I’ve been coming to the camp for the last four years,” said Jason Karlich, 11, of La Cañada Flintridge. “I love playing basketball, but it’s great when you get to learn from coach Hofman and his players because you can remember a lot of things when you are playing in a game.
“I like the stationary drills, where you go from two-on-two drills to rebounding to playing defense. There are so many things to pick up when doing each drill.”
Jack Reynolds, 11, also came back to soak up some more information from Hofman, who guided the Spartans to CIF crowns in 1992 and 2011.
“I like the communication part of the game, because it’s a team game,” said Reynolds, a La Cañada Flintridge resident. “The more talking there is on the court, the better because everybody feels involved.
“You want to make sure you can learn a lot in such a short time. If you can do the drills, you give yourself a chance to be better.”
Each participant is given a final evaluation on the final day of the session, chronicling their pluses and minuses. Games are also played in the final hour of each day with a focus on what the campers learned during the earlier drills.
“We just try to be user friendly,” said Hofman, a former All-Area Boys’ Basketball Coach of the Year who led the Spartans to the CIF Southern Section Division I-A quarterfinals last season. “They like to play the games and see what they can do after being taught something. That’s where you start to see signs of improvement.”
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich
