WINTER BREAK CAMP TONES MINDS, BODIES

Basketball drills with multiplication? You bet, and kids are loving it.

A winter break basketball camp at a Gwinnett County recreation center is giving kids more than something to do to beat the outof-school doldrums.

Lead by former UCLA center Rodney Zimmerman, who also played for the NBA’s Detroit Pistons, the program provides leadership training while wearing shorts and sneakers.

The AJC attended a recent session, as about a dozen boys and

girls of various ages and skill levels abandoned their Christmas presents to condition their minds as well as their bodies.

Charles Dunbar said his 11-yearold son El practically eats, sleeps and breathes basketball.

“He watches the games on TV

and is constantly dribbling a ball — wherever he can, which is often in the house,” Dunbar said.

The Dunbars aren’t new to the Lucky Shoals Recreation Center. El has been playing basketball there for about five years. As his skills progressed, he moved on to a traveling league and now will be playing in the Gwinnett County Public Schools feeder program.

“It gives elementary and middle school kids a chance to play as a team before they get to high school,” said Dunbar.

As a fifth-grader, this is El’s first year. He attends Camp Creek Elementary, which feeds into

Parkview High.

“This is a good way to gain life skills,” said Dunbar. “Everything he’s learning here, he can apply to all aspects of life. He’s learning to focus and stick with something to get better at it.”

That’s why El became such a dribbling fanatic. He knew that he wouldn’t get better at it by sitting on the couch playing video games. It was something he wanted to master, so he put in the work.

Christel Alaimo agreed with Dunbar. Her 9-year-old son Carston loves having a ball in his hand, but Zimmerman makes Camp continued on B2

HYOSUB SHIN / HYOSUB.SHIN@AJC.COM As kids inevitably complain of boredom during their school break this time of year, former pro basketball player Rodney Zimmerman runs a youth development camp at Lucky Shoals Park’s Community Recreation Center in Norcross. The program, he says, is about more than physical activity. It’s also about teaching success and elevating how kids perceive their abilities.