Curry supports women’s game by hosting girls camps
Just like Steph, seventhgrader Amanda Kerner stood before a big crowd and knocked down shot after shot from five different spots on the court: 20 makes in 21⁄2 minutes, complete with a buzzer-beater.
For one afternoon, Stephen Curry ensured that 200 girls in his camp had as real a chance as possible to try to be a little bit like him, down to the fancy dribbling work and competitive shooting drills he does daily alongside Kevin Durant throughout the season.
Curry went nuts for Kerner’s success. Her summer? Absolutely made.
“It was the best thing in my life that ever happened,” the 12-year-old said. “He was jumping around afterward. He seemed really excited. He slammed the ball on the floor. He’s the best shooter in the world and I want to be like him, so to see him supporting girls, it’s really cool.”
For the first time, Curry hosted all girls for a free, Warriorsrun camp Monday and Tuesday at Walnut Creek’s Ultimate Fieldhouse. Last week at the same facility that he also has chosen in recent years, the Warriors’ guard held his Under Armour “Stephen Curry Select Camp” with two of the nation’s top high school girls playing with the best boys.
The two-time MVP and father of two young daughters has made it his mission to better support the girls’ game. He asked longtime Warriors camp director Jeff Addiego to plan an all-girls session this summer.
That gesture goes a long way with everyone Curry influences as he takes a giving approach off the court in the offseason. After two straight NBA titles and three in four years, Curry easily could be spending more time at home with newborn son, Canon, working on his own skills, or even improving his golf game.
“Anytime you have a guy of Steph’s notoriety, his caliber of play, everything that he has going, to take the time to do this and do it for all girls, it just speaks volumes,” said Olympic gold medalist and former Stanford and WNBA guard Jennifer Azzi, who was the head coach at USF and is now the NBA’s global director of special initiatives. “In my experience with the guys around the NBA, they’re very supportive of women, but for him to go the extra mile and do this, I think it means the world to young girls to see that caliber of NBA male is taking an interest in them.”
After Kerner’s remarkable shooting performance, Curry brought her in front of the other campers to talk about the triumph and then signed a pair of his custom shoes for her on the spot.
“It was special,” Curry said. “Amanda got up, she made her first four practice shots. I was worried she wasted all her makes in the practice, so when the actual competition started, the timer started, she made it around to the left wing and got a little cold and the time started ticking. It was kind of one of those photo finishes. She made eight in a row to finish off the last four spots and the last one was at the buzzer . ...
“And for Amanda, I know that’s probably a highlight that she’ll remember for a long time.”
When someone of Curry’s stature insists your shot is topnotch, it means everything.
So imagine how high school players Azzi Fudd and Cameron Brink felt about the high praise when they took part in Curry’s select camp as the first females to ever participate.
“It’s really cool that he’s saying that because he’s definitely one of the best shooters at least in my generation, and I’ve grown up watching him play,” said Fudd, who will be a high school sophomore at St. John’s in Washington, D.C.
Brink described herself as “completely humbled.”
It wasn’t only the point guard noticing the girls’ shooting touch, either — Curry’s father, Dell, who is Brink’s godfather, and Warriors development coach Bruce Fraser, who works with Curry daily, mentioned them as two of the best.
Curry takes pride in having a Bay Area presence “to reach out to the next generation of basketball players from all different ages, all different skill levels, boys and girls.” His two daughters, Riley and Ryan, are impressed with the girls.
“For me, I have two daughters that are excited just to find what they’re passionate about, what they’re interested in,” Curry said. “So hopefully, they’ll get inspired in that sense to see those girls that are a little older, a little bit more developed that enjoy playing the game and have such high skill levels.” Janie McCauley is an Associated Press writer.