By Rob Potter
LOCH SHELDRAKE — A total of 26 local youngsters improved their hoops skills and had a great deal of fun while doing so at the annual Sullivan Generals Boys’ Summer Basketball Camp which was held last week at Sullivan County Community College (SCCC).
From Monday through Friday, those 26 boys practiced the skills of dribbling, passing, shooting and playing defense for a few hours every day in the Paul Gerry Fieldhouse on the SCCC campus in Loch Sheldrake.
The campers were divided into two groups: age 7 to 12 and age 13 and up.
The members of the 7 to 12 age group were: Patrick Farran, Joseph Horn, Jarred James, Joshua Johnson, Max Kaplan, Ben Kennedy, Jiron Kevii, Dion Lynch, Cougar MacDowall, Zach Nilsen, Gohan Norford, Sean Pettway, Kenny Presti and Shane Rennison.
The members of the 13 and up age group were: Braiden DeGraw, Dustin Foertsch, Shakree Gibson, Graig Godlewski, Jonathan Griesbeck, Aaron Hornbeck, Jarrett Madison, Arjun Malhotra, Ryan McKeon, Kyle Ruperd, Rakkir Watson and Justin Weintraub.
Guiding the campers throughout the week were Coaches Chris DePew, Kyle Humphrey, J.R. Rennison, Gregg Semenetz Jr. and Diana Traugot.
At the end of camp on Friday afternoon, DePew and the other coaches held an awards ceremony which was attended by several parents and family members of the campers.
DePew praised everyone for assisting with this year’s camp.
“I want to thank the boys and their parents,” he said. “It was a pleasure working with this group of guys all week. I thank all of the the parents for supporting the camp and helping to make it successful.”
While thanking his fellow coaches, DePew, who is the SCCC Director of Athletics, also thanked his secretary, Georgia Lyons, for being “a tremendous help” in keeping the camp organized and running smoothly.
DePew noted that the number of campers was down about 25 percent this year compared to last year, which he thought could be attributed to many factors.
He also pointed out that in making phone calls to coaches at other area colleges which hold summer youth basketball camps, he learned that numbers were down for them as well. For example, the number of participants at camps at SUNY Orange and SUNY Ulster were down 60 and 70 percent, respectively, this summer.
Prior to handing out the awards, DePew explained that every camper would receive a participation certificate as well as an evaluation packet detailing their performance through the week.
He and Humphrey then presented some special awards on behalf of all of the coaches. The boys earned these awards for winning special contests as well as their overall play during the week.
Those awards were:
Age 7 to 12:
Horse: Dion Lynch
Around the World: Jiron Kevii
1-on-1: Jiron Kevii
2-on-2: Jiron Kevii, Cougar MacDowall
3-on-3: Zach Nilsen, Kenny Presti, Joseph Horn
4-on-4: Jiron Kevii, Joseph Horn, Gohan Norford, Joshua Johnson, Dion Lynch
Foul Shot Contest: Joseph Horn
All-Week Foul Shooting: Jiron Kevii
Hot Shot: Dion Lynch
3-Point Shootout: Ben Kennedy
MVP: Zach Nilsen
Most Improved: Cougar MacDowall
Hustle Award: Jarred James
Coaches Award: Joshua Johnson
Age 13 and Up:
Horse: Dustin Foertsch
Around the World: Dustin Foertsch
1-on-1: Rakkir Watson
2-on-2: Dustin Foertsch, Jonathan Griesback
3-on-3: Dustin Foertsch, Ryan McKeon, Justin Weintraub
4-on-4: Braiden DeGraw, Graig Godlewski, Justin Weintraub, Kyle Ruperd
Foul Shot Contest: Braiden DeGraw
All-Week Foul Shooting: Dustin Foertsch
Hot Shot: Rakkir Watson
3-Point Shootout: Dustin Foertsch
MVP: Dustin Foertsch
Most Improved: Justin Weintraub
Hustle Award: Kyle Ruperd
Coaches Award: Jarrett Madison
In addition, the All Camp Foul Shooting Contest Champion was Jiron Kevii.
“It was a great camp,” DePew said moments after handing out the awards. “This was a great group of kids. They worked hard all week and got better everyday.”
Next summer, DePew added, SCCC is hoping to host an All-Sports Camp. The six-week camp would feature a different sport each week. Those sports would include boys’ basketball, girls’ basketball, soccer and baseball.
DePew also said that SCCC is working to bring the Sullivan County High School Summer Basketball League back to Paul Gerry Fieldhouse next summer. The college hosted the league for several years, but the league played its games at Liberty Middle and High Schools last summer and is back in Liberty this summer.