Spring time means wedding season and it has me firmly in its grasp. I’m currently on the East Coast as a few of my friends declare their nuptials, which means I’m missing a few weeks of practice and games for
Spring time means wedding season and it has me firmly in its grasp. I’m currently on the East Coast as a few of my friends declare their nuptials, which means I’m missing a few weeks of practice and games for the basketball team I coach. With my days of organized ball behind me, I love being around the game as much as possible, and I am understanding more and more the value of good coaching at the younger levels.
Last summer, a renowned group of instructors came to Kauai for the first time. The NBC Basketball Camp is a respected program that will be following up its inaugural camp with a second go-round from June 17-21 at Island School.
The initial decision to bring NBC to Kauai came from Josh Burton, who serves as the founder and president of The W of Kauai, a local non-profit specializing in youth sports. He felt last year’s visit was a huge success and the 87 kids who took part had similar reactions.
“We did camper evaluations after the camp and on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the highest, we received 5’s across the board,” Burton said. “One camper wrote ‘NBC has instilled in me the confidence I need to play at the college level and beyond.’
A second camper wrote ‘I am now a better person because of camp.’ I got a little choked up when I read this at camp because these are the two reasons The W of Kauai exists.”
NBC Basketball Founder and President Fred Crowell makes the week about more than just basic skills with an added focus on building confidence and teamwork. The keiki came out in full force and with great enthusiasm, but sign-ups from the more experienced players have been less abundant.
“What we are lacking is the older kids signing up for the camp — the juniors and seniors in high school,” Burton said. “I feel this age is important. These are the kids that are going to be graduating soon and could benefit from our camp. The coaches that run our camps are either presently playing at Division I colleges or professional basketball, or they are coaches at those levels … NBC prepares these athletes for not only the physical aspect of the game, but the mental aspect as well, which I feel is just as important, if not more.”
Registration figures are expected to reach about the same level as 2012. Burton envisions the camp as an annual event and hopes next year’s registration will see a rise to triple digits.
“But no matter how many kids we have, as Coach Fred says ‘We win one child at a time. We win by proving we care with our hearts afire with a desire to train up leaders of excellence,’” Burton said.
Crowell made a speech at the beginning of camp telling the parents to hold their judgments until the last day of camp and to then decide if NBC deserved to come back.
Their worthiness is no longer a question and registration remains open for this summer’s session. All kids get a T-shirt, basketball and instruction workbook with the registration fee. Sign-up forms can be found at www.nbccamps.com/basketball/camps/island-school. Volunteers interested in lending a hand can get in touch with Burton at joshua.burton@hotmail.com or 653-1003.
“Whether you have little or no coaching experience, if you can be a positive supporter for the kids, we welcome you,” he said.
• ‘My Thoughts Exactly’ appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays in The Garden Island. Email David Simon your comments or questions to dsimon@thegardenisland.com.
