By Angie Ledbetter
A basketball camp was held at North Delta School for four days starting on May 19 for boys in grades fifth through ninth.

Twenty-four boys attended the camp, which lasted from 1 to 4 p.m., working on drills such as free throws, hot shots and speed dribbling. Head boys basketball Coach Brad Wilson conducted the camp with assistance from varsity team members Jim Tom Copeland, Geri Lamm and Taylor Herron.

The camp was sponsored by local businesses without which the camp would not have been possible, Wilson said.

“It’s been a real good week,” said Wilson. “I am happy with their effort. The younger kids have come here and learned important drills that will help them in the future with the game of basketball. I’m excited about them and they care about basketball. The ones that have been doing these drills for three or four years are just getting better. I’ve seen more team attitude this week than I have ever seen. The kids cheered each other on during the competition drills.”

Wilson talked to the kids about competition, saying it is not always about winning or losing.

“Winning is fun but it’s about how you treat your friends, your teammates, and your opponents and that is a lot more important than winning or losing,” he said.

He also talked to them about giving their best in everything they do whether it’s in the classroom or whether it’s helping mom and dad out around the house.

The camp emphasized the basic fundamentals of shooting form, proper dribbling form and defensive positioning.

“I introduced a couple of drills that we do in varsity practice just to give them the taste of what it’s like in junior varsity and varsity practice,” Wilson said.

They kept up with points during the week in free throws made, points were scored off of hot shots and time in speed dribbling.

There was also a one-on-one tournament with everyone at the camp with two different divisions, eighth and ninth graders and fifth, sixth, and seventh graders.  There was also a three-on-three tournament for just the junior high kids which were divided up with one freshman, one eight grader, and one seventh grader on each team.

Wilson’s wife, Gracie, did a lot of behind the scene working to get the sponsors and his three helpers and took a lot of pressure off of him during the week.

All first place winners received a medallion in hot shots, speed dribbling and free throws. Each camper received a t-shirt and a certificate.

The first place winners were as follows”

Free Throw (8th-9th grade)  Bailey Guckert, 33 of 40;

Free Throw (5th-7th grade) Ridge Simmerman, 23 of 40;

Speed Dribble (8th-9th grade) Bailey Guckert-8.0 seconds;

Speed Dribble (5th-7th grade) Ridge Simmerman-8.3 seconds;

Hot Shot (8th-9th grade) Hunt Howell, 87 points;

Hot Shot (5th-7th grade) Sam Copeland, 51 points;

1-on-1 (8th-9th grade) Hunt Howell;

1-on-1 (5th-7th grade) Bradley Booth; and

3-vs.-3 (Team Champions) Jonathan Mackey, Neal Patel, Timothy Polk.