Basketball Camp

[CRUSHER92]

Can anybody tell me a good local basketball camp to send my 1st grade son to? Thanks.

[Lemmy]

I think your son would be better served with a nice family vacation. Worry about basketball camps around 4th, 5th, or 6th grade. Have some fun together!

[I Told You So]

I completely agree! Take him outside to play and run around.

[colonelsanders]

What if he is McCort's next child prodigy?

[bluejay84]

My son will be turning nine this summer, and last year he went to the Bishop McCort b-ball camp, the Mt. Aloysius camp, and the Loya Camp of Aggression at Richland H.S. All of them were good, but for a very young player I think they really should have at least one season on an organized team before going to a camp. If not, they might be in over their heads a little. This year he will be going to the Dave Roman camp as well, and I've heard nothing but great things about that one, but I don't know if first grade is a bit too soon to go to any of them.

[WilsonJet]

I am baffled by this camp stuff. I cannot believe parents pay money to send a seven year old kid to a basketball camp. Put a hoop in your yard and practice!!! Dad throw him passes and teach him. It's easy and fun this way. If your not sure get on the internet and look up the basic shooting form. You will be an expert in know time. I know this because my kids play in leagues with all the new experts who sit and watch there Lil' All Star get coached up by someone fattening up there wallets. A fool and there money are soon parted. Dads play catch and throw balls to your kids when they are little and they will develop nicely for free. And you will find it a nice way to play catch and have a nice talk with him, quality time! I do this every night and you couldn't differentiate my kid on the court or field from the ones who our camp goers.

I appreciate these instructors sharing there experience but like I said it is not rocket science.

[CRUSHER92]

Well any instruction either of my children have received in sports has come directly from me. My son has already practiced up 2 grades and has playing a full year of organized basketball. I wasn't necessarily looking much for instruction because I plan on sticking with him at least the whole way through grade school. I was looking more in to the interaction with other kids and a chance to play with/against kids other than those he sees all of the time.

[WilsonJet]

I understand Crusher92 and that is fine. I just see some parents who send there kid to a three day hoops camp or a couple session baseball clinic and think that is the answer. I love nothing better than to be out in the yard with my kids in a classic wiffleball game, playing catch or having homerun derby competition. We do it daily (well unless it is raining and we all know about the rain) and the results are amazing. I played organized sports ever since they were offered to me. The unorganized sports are what is missing today. Just go down the field with a bunch of buddies and pick up a game.

In my college days I used to come home and there was a young boy who would shoot in an alley by my parents house. Foul shots, drive to the hoop, some dribbling drills....he was there all the time. A lot of times by himself and a fair amount of times his Dad was feeding him passes. The boy's shot was unorthodox but as I watched him weekend after weekend I thought this kid is really getting good. No camps, no instructors just a young boy and a crappy hoop in an alley way. He finished his high school career with nearly 2,000 points and played a few years of college basketball. Hard work paying off is beautiful, doing it on your own is priceless. Loving to practice.

[bluejay84]

I agree with crusher92's reasoning for sending our youngsters to the b-ball camps. I take him to the playground as much as I can, but there's not a whole lot of kids close to his age in our neighborhood that play basketball. All the individual shooting, ballhandling, and passing drills we do together can't simulate a game situation and the interaction with other kids. Also in the summer, his days are spent either in day care or with babysitters since we both work, which costs money anyway. Since he loves basketball so much, if he can spend the equivalent of a week or two playing the game for a per-day cost not much more than good day care, I consider it money well spent. Basketball is his passion, and he just loves being around anything to do with the game. I also think the camps help me with what I try to work on with him, since he sees the "boring stuff" like crossover dribbles, bounce passes, etc. are things that other coaches will require him to do as he continues his organized b-ball career.