By Matt Youngfrau
LOCH SHELDRAKE — August 2, 2002 – Each summer, Sullivan County Community College (SCCC) holds basketball camps for boys and girls.
While at the camps, which are for youngsters ages 7 to 16, the young players learn the fundamentals of the game and other skills such as teamwork, passing and shooting.
Each camp runs for a week. The girls’ camp took place the week of July 15-19, while the boys’ camp was held the week of July 22-26. This year saw 28 girls and 61 boys participate, respectively.
According to SCCC Athletic Director Chris DePew, those attendance figures are the highest in his five years with the camp.
“The kids learned a lot,” DePew commented. “They adapted and worked well.”
For the girls’ camp, the staff was headed by SCCC Women’s Basketball Coach Kyle Walter. Also on his staff was SCCC Athletic Staff Member Brian Bury and SCCC Lady Generals’ guard Nicole Feller. The boys’ camp staff was headed by SCCC Men’s Basketball Coach Chad Beeten. Beeten’s staff consisted of DePew, Bury, Monticello Central School physical education teacher Sandy Monroe, and Tri-Valley Central School player Kyle Humphrey.
DePew was very excited about the camp. It not only gave the instructors an opportunity to work with the children, it also allowed the community to see how their program works.
“It gives everyone an opportunity to see a real college (basketball) practice,” remarked DePew. “It gets information out on our program. Since the camps began, we have seen a jump in community involvement at our games. It has been a great response in support of our team.”
Besides the practices, teams were formed to play games. The games were played throughout the camp, which helped the athletes put their newly learned skills to use.
“Our Administration has been very supportive,” DePew stated. “They allow us to get out and do what we need to do. We get the community more involved. We thrive on that. We do what we can for the community.”
Each student at the camp received several gifts besides a valuable education. In addition to their basketball education, each student was given an SCCC t-shirt, an SCCC basketball, a season pass, and an evaluation of their performance.
DePew deemed the camp as highly successful.