Close to 80 kids beat the summer heat inside a school gym the past two weeks at the 12th annual Sunshine Coast basketball camp.
The fun started last week as 40 kids took part in two elementary school-aged camps at Halfmoon Bay and Cedar Grove schools.
Ellen Thomas coached the kids alongside Devan Haynes, James Willis, Cameron Dybwad and Wendy Palmer, who was a provincial all-star at Centennial Secondary School.
"It was a good camp and a lot of fun," said camp director Reg Thomas. "One of the coaches who was there Monday and then came back on Friday told me he couldn't believe it was the same group. The level of play had improved that much. At this age, these kids are like a sponge - they just absorb all the skills."
This week, the high school camps took place at Chatelech Secondary School. Senior girls (grades 7 to 12) hit the court for four hours each morning, while the senior boys hit the court in the afternoon.
A total of 24 girls and 28 boys took part.
The high school camp was run by Don Van Os, head coach from Terry Fox Secondary School in Port Coquitlam, Mike Hind, executive director of Basketball B.C. and the new senior boys coach at Fox, local coach Patti Kennedy and former Fox player Graham McCallum.
"We try and take them to another level. Take them to a level that maybe they're not used to reaching," said Van Os. "We try to show them some different skills and fundamentals and bring as much of our experience and coaching up here to the Coast. Hopefully they can learn something and bring that back to their high school teams in September."
Van Os said variety is the key to success.
"Generally we try to create some variety for the kids, but at the same time, basketball is a game of repetition," he said. "The basic fundamentals and skills are crucial to the success of any player, so we just try to vary the drills while emphasizing the same fundamentals. We don't do a lot of scrimmages. Philosophically, one ball for 10 kids is not learning the game. We try to break it down, defending, ball screens, stuff like that. As soon as you go five-on-five, you have to recognize that not every kid is going to touch the ball. I think in a camp situation, where you have 20 hours, we want a ball in their hands as much as possible. Having said that, the kids love going five-on-five, so we usually finish the day off with a quick scrimmage."
Van Os said the numbers are down a bit this year from previous years, but that hasn't dampened the enthusiasm of the camp.
"It's still a good turnout for a hot day during the summer," he said. "It's a good experience any time we come up here. We have a lot of good coaches and the players are very keen to learn."
Van Os has been a part of the camps here on the Coast since their inception.
He said it's the players and people involved who motivate him to keep coming back.
"Mike [Hind] suggested that I start a camp up here many years ago. I thought it would only be a couple of years and now we're in our 12th year," Van Os said. "I do this for a few reasons. Reg and Ellen are a big reason why I do this. Reg does so many things for the kids. I find Ellen an amazing woman. I brought my kids up here for a tournament two years ago.
"Here's Ellen teaching English 12, running the tournament where she was coaching one team and assisting with another. She was tournament director, running the concession stand and she had to referee a couple of games. I thought that was just amazing. I don't mind helping people out like these two individuals, who care about kids and care about the game."
For Van Os it's also about giving back to the sport.
"I love coaching basketball and I love being part of the game," he said. "I've been coaching since 1980. It's something I'm passionate about. When I see kids getting something out of these camps, it makes it all worth it. If I can instill in these kids the work ethic that is involved, that's great.
"Through the years, I think Chat has become a better basketball program from the first time I came up here. It's all about improving the players so they can improve their game."
