The Concord Girls basketball team strives to achieve community involvement. This past month the girls’ basketball team put on a three-week camp that took place every Sunday for grades 3-6. Senior varsity player Hadley Kettwich explained the reasoning for the team hosting this camp: “We wanted to get the little kids involved and excited to play basketball. Teaching the younger kids benefits us too; we also learn new things as we teach.”

Every day the camp started off with dynamics and ball handling. Lining up at the baseline the kids would follow along with the coaches, doing lunges and hip rotations to get their blood flowing and bodies ready to work hard. Ball handling was also a part of this warm-up. They would dribble with their left and right hand, between their legs, and behind their back. By the last day of camp, their ball-handling improved compared to the first day.

Watching the campers laugh and have fun was what made the camp rewarding. Senior varsity player Maddy Connelly says, “She loves seeing the kids come in every day with a smile on their faces excited to learn.” There were dribbling races and shooting contests between the campers. Sharks and Minnows was a camp favorite, along with Lightning. The kids did such a great job supporting their friends and cheering them on during these competitions. 

Team building was also an exstensive part of this camp, especially the first day. The coaches and players would race together. One partner would lay on their back and the other would drag them by their arms. Starting at the side line, they would race from one sideline to another, then switch, and race back. This brought out so many laughs from the campers and coaches.

Improving and gaining new basketball skills was a priority for the coaches; getting to know all the kids on a new personal level and making new friends was a bonus. Girls varsity coach Doc Rando says his favorite part about this camp was “seeing the coaches interacting with the kids and the kids looking at the coaches like they are gods.”

During the two-and-a-half-hour camp, the kids would get a half-hour break. During this time they would be given snack bags. There were a variety of snacks that campers could get: Gushers, fruit snacks, Goldfish, Gatorade, cookies, Ritz crackers, and cheese. This half-hour gave the kids a break for them to talk and hang out with the basketball girls. Kettwich says, “My favorite part was definitely seeing the kids look up to us and get to know us on a personal level.” On the second day of camp, the kids were given a white t-shirt that said “Concord hoop school” in purple lettering. They were also gifted their own basketball; they had the option to choose between a purple or yellow ball.

By the end of the camp, it was pleasant to see the campers engaging and getting more comfortable with each other and the coaches. The last day of camp was definitely a favorite. The campers got to scrimmage against each other and apply their new basketball skills. During the snack break, Doc put the campers to the test by seeing who knew all the names of the coaches. Campers Zack Stevens and Ty Sinden were the only two who were able to name them all. The campers got to learn all the nicknames of the girls’ varsity and JV teams. Kids laughed when they heard some of the nicknames, like Junkyard Dog, Juice, Stilts, Worm, and Ribs. ‘We hope we can extend the little family atmosphere that we’ve created with the JV and varsity girls onto the campers and the community,” says Doc. 

We would like to give a big thanks to the girls’ basketball team and their coaches Doc Rando and Coach James for putting together this awesome camp together. We hope to one day see these kids continuing to play in middle and high school. 

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