A few girls stood up and showed off their talents from gymnastics to telling jokes during their break at Dare to Dream Fundamental Basketball Camp last Thursday.
After they went back to business and hit the basketball court for the last day of the annual camp.
“It was really fun,” said Kayla Russell, a freshman at. Clarkston Junior High School. “It helped improve us fundamentally. It really helped us not only learn how to do the drills but do them in a better way.
Russell began playing in fourth grade. She has attended the camp for over two years and said it has really boosted her basketball skills.
“I started out of control a lot,” she explained. “I wasn’t really keeping the ball the right way. All of the coaches and the older girls helped me grow as a person and in sports. It gave me the endurance I needed. It helped me help the younger players as well.”
The camp had 58 girls from third through ninth grade attend this summer.
“The kids have worked hard,” said Tim Wasilk, Clarkston Girls Varsity Basketball Head Coach. “They played in the head and haven’t complained.”
He added they have a good mix of talent and work ethic from the seven grade levels.
“The kids are having fun and that’s important,” he smiled.
They worked on fundamentals every day such as ball-handling, defense, passing, rebounding, footwork and shooting.
“It was a good mix of hard work and fun,” said Wasilk.
They also played five-on-five full court basketball games and had four contests every day in three divisions separated by grade. The winners from each day competed against each other the final day for bragging rights and a trophy.
Champions from the Hot Shot contest where Samantha Wycoff, Molly Nicholson and Kelsea Hunt.
Hannah Rostek, Molly Bullinger and Ashley Mills were free-throw knockout winners.
Lightning winners were Wycoff, Nicholson and Olivia Nickola. Wycoff, Nicholson and Russell won the one-on-one competition.
“It’s a really good program,” said Russell.