THE HEIGHT OF FAB FUN!
Young basketball players Reach for the Skies at fun Stonelaw event
Youngsters enjoyed a sports camp recently - and felt it was a real slam dunk.
Reach For The Sky basketball held a two day camp at Stonelaw Community Sports Centre and over 60 youngsters were in attendance.
The first day was for under-12s and the second day was for 12-year-olds and over.
Among the activities on the days were skills stations, where the campers were challenged by the coaches to improve their shooting, defence, passing and dribbling.
Next up was a camp favourite called, the hot shot shooting competition, which saw three cones put out at set distances from the basket, with the closest worth two points, the middle cone worth three points and the furthest one four.
The campers were given one minute to score as many points as possible and the top six went through to the hotshot final to battle it out.
The overall winner of the hotshot competition for the under- 12s was Millie Tulleth from Cambuslang with a score of 23, and the winner on the second day was Alfie Memmott from Strathaven with a score of 28.
Millie and Alfie were also awarded the MVP (Most Valuable Players) for their age groups.
The over-12s also took part in a skills challenge; which is made up to test each individual on all aspects of the game.
It involves layups, dribbling, shooting, chest and bounce passes and quickness.
The winner of the skills challenge this year was Cambuslang’s Tom Milligan, who completed the course in 28.99 seconds with a perfect score.
Professional basketball player Gareth Murray, who’s played for the Glasgow Rocks team, was a guest coach for both days, and the camp had a special visitor in John Smith, from Queen’s New York.
He currently plays for the Harlem Wizards and spoke to the campers about all the countries he has played basketball in as well as giving a positive message about the importance of staying away from drugs.
He said: “Camps like this are very important to the youth these days because they need someone to look up to, someone to lead the way and someone to provide an opportunity for them that they couldn’t get anywhere else. Growing up in New York I always had one place I could go to play basketball or if I had a problem.
“Without that programme, who knows where I would have ended up?
“What Reach for the Sky has done in the past and the work they will continue to do in the future is so important and has such a positive impact on the youth.”
Gareth added: “I had a great time coaching at the camp, both days the kids gave a 100 per cent effort and showed great potential for the future.
“These camps are great for developing players skills outside of team practices.
“Grass roots basketball is excellent for growing the level of basketball in Scotland, teaching kids how to work as a team, meeting new friends in their community and teaching them valuable information on being healthy and how to be successful.”
More information on Reach For The Sky can be found by visiting www. reachfortheskybasketball.com