HESPERIA — Hesperia girls basketball coach Ty Elenbaas has said before that the Panthers’ main obstacle to major success is less about a lack of talent and more about a lack of enthusiasm from students for basketball, which suppresses turnout. He aimed to help fix that last week when the middle school gym played host to a youth basketball camp supervised by both Elenbaas and new Hesperia boys coach Jason Price.
The camp brought in players, both boys and girls, entering grades 3-8. Turnout was solid for the middle school group, but Elenbaas said it was even better for the younger set, which practically filled the gym. Varsity players from both the boys and girls teams helped run some of the skill drills during the three-day camp.
“(That) is not just great for the high schoolers, but it’s great for the kids to see someone older to look up to and have those connections with,” Elenbaas said.
The focus was working on skills that students could take home with them and work on throughout the summer, like dribbling and shooting. The program, like many other basketball programs in the area, will host open gyms in the summer so current and aspiring players can get into the gym and work on their skills.
The camp wasn’t just about getting better through skill work, though, but also about having fun through games and competition. Full-court scrimmages were plentiful during the camp. At the end of Friday’s session, the middle school campers were divided into two teams for a layup competition. The rules were simple; starting at midcourt, one player from each team drove to their assigned hoop and tried to make a layup before their counterpart. The players enjoyed it so much - and the competitions were so close - that it became a best-of-3 affair.
“For me, the number one thing is try to get kids to fall in love with basketball,” Elenbaas said. “If you can get kids to fall in love with basketball, they’ll go get better at basketball. Just trying to make everything we do fun, high-energy, excitement, and then give them some things to take home with them.”
As an additional treat, local businesses donated some prizes, including gift cards, for the campers to enjoy this summer.
“Across the board, from community support to the kids being here, it was perfect. It was really good,” Elenbaas said.
