On Monday, June 3rd, through Wednesday, June 5th, area youth participated in a youth basketball/football camp put together by a collaboration between Varsity Head Basketball coach Todd McLoughlin and Varsity Head Football coach Kevin Fell. The camp consisted of Tri-Valley kids between 2nd and 8th grade school levels split into two groups 2-5, and 6-8. The two groups alternated which half of the day they would focus on each of the respective sports. The kids could choose to be part of either or both of the sporting camps.
The coaches along with some of their assistant coaching staff and a bevy of seasoned varsity players who volunteered their time to help, taught the younger generation the fundamentals of each sport.
Each camp practiced some of the drills that teach agility as well as brief play training for each position on the field or court. You could see kids running to tackle a giant wheel-shaped pad on the football field, or running routes to catch the ball and run into the endzone for a touchdown, or you could see them pairing off for a one on one battle on the basketball court and training with some good passing routines.
It was inspiring to see the seasoned players giving back and passing on some of their talents as well as to see the patience and care given by the coaches to ensure that the younger generation not only understood the sports they were excited about but nurtured their love for the sport to keep them interested for the years to come. I am sure we will see a good number of these youngsters on the field and court in the seasons to come and having this foundation will make them better prepared for it.
