The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Triple Threat basketball camp for kids in Killarney
A COLLECTION of top level basketball coaches will be sharing their knowledge and skills at a Halloween Basketball Camp that will take place at Killarney Sports Centre from Wednesday October 30 to Friday November 1.
The annual ‘Triple Threat’ Basketball Camp, running for the sixth year in succession, is the brainchild of well known Killarney man and Irish international senior ladies team head coach James Weldon. The camp presents a great opportunity for budding young basketballers to work with and learn from some top coaches.
The three day Halloween camp is open to boys and girls from age five to 16 and will be divided into two sections. The junior camp is for 5 to 10-year-olds and takes place from 10am to 1pm on each of the three days. The senior camp is for 11 to 16-year-olds and will run from 2 to 5pm each day
The camp will be led be a selection of outstanding Irish and American coaches. James Weldon will be joined over the three days by Irish International Claire Rockall, Scotts Lakers star player Aaron Jackson and Rathmore’s Jim Hughes. There will also be guest appearances at various stages during the camp by American coaches Dr Tim Rice, Erik Johnson, Chris Corbett, Drew Dorsey and Eric Larkins.
James Weldon recently led the Irish team to victories over Estonia and Norway and is looking forward to the European Championship next summer. He is a FIBA Europe Coaching Certificate (FECC) approved basketball coach and one of Europe’s most qualified youth coaches. He is a former superleague player with St. Pauls Killarney and coached the St. Pauls ladies team through an impressive stint in the top flight before going on to enjoy incredible success with the all conquering UL Huskies superleague and national cup winning team. He coached UL to ten national titles in four seasons and was honoured with the Irish Basketball coach of the year award on three different occasions.
Scotts Lakers new signing Aaron Jackson is one of the most exciting Americans playing in Ireland this season. He played top flight NCAA division one basketball for University of Akron and has made an instant impression in the national league since his arrival in Killarney. He has played with and against some top players who have progressed to the NBA while he has also enjoyed the unique distinction of playing several scrimmage games in Akron with fellow Cleveland native and global superstar LeBron James.
Irish International Claire Rockall is the star player in the ladies superleague with Maree of Galway while she has played division one college ball in the USA with Iowa State University. Jim Hughes is well known in Kerry basketball circles with several years experience as a player and coach. Jim has also served as Assistant Coach to Irish international teams and has guided Scoil Phobail Sliabh Luachra to a number of All Ireland titles in recent years.
Dr Tim Rice is a former NCAA college coach and member of the Elite Performance committee for Basketball Ireland. Tim also leads the Doctor of Psychology program at Ashford University in San Diego and is the President of Basketball Mentoring, a service-oriented organization started as a way to help fellow coaches by providing a non-biased perspective for improved coaching, teaching, and evaluation. Erik Johnson spent 24 years coaching division I women’s basketball, most recently as the head coach at Boston College in the ACC. Drew Dorsey is the current director of operations at Springwood School in Alabama, an hour southwest of Atlanta, Georgia. Eric Larkins is the assistant boys’ basketball coach at The John Cooper School in Houston while Chris Corbett is the owner of Austin Youth Basketball.
These coaches will guide all participants through some challenging and very beneficial skills sessions. Young players will learn new skills and drills and gain a huge insight into the fundamentals of basketball that will help them improve their overall game.
Triple Threat is a basketball term where a player is in position to pass, dribble and shoot on offense. The Triple Threat Basketball Camp will have daily stations covering all the passing, shooting, dribbling and rebounding skills. Participants will also enjoy 3 versus 3 games and 5 versus 5 games and an NBA skills challenge.
A novel attraction at the camp will be the use of the HomeCourt mobile app that records and tracks basketball shots, makes, misses, and location.
Participants will be able to enjoy the magnificent facilities at Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre which boasts two full size indoor basketball courts. The wonderful indoor playing arena is sure to guarantee an enjoyable experience no matter what the weather is like outside.
Places at the camp are limited and have already been filling up very quickly in recent weeks. Further information about registration is available from weldonjames7@ hotmail.com or the Triple Threat Basketball facebook page or call or text 087 2907 455.