Friday, July 7, 2023

Eagle Hoop Camp provides great opportunity for younger girls to learn skills from varsity players

By Matt Pascarella

The Windham varsity girls’ basketball team shared their knowledge of the game with 30 to 35 up-and-coming younger players during the Eagle Hoop Camp for grades 3 through 8 held at Windham High School during the week of June 26. The camp had a great turnout, and its numbers are growing every year.

Windham varsity girls' basketball coach Brody Artes
addresses a group of participants in the Eagle Hoop Camp 
at Windham High School on Thursday, June 29. The camp 
gave Windham varsity players an opportunity to teach
younger players about basketball.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA 
Windham sophomore Kendra Eubanks said the week went really well and she thought the girls have learned a lot from Windham varsity girls’ basketball coach Brody Artes and the varsity players. The goal of the camp was to bring the girls together to play basketball, to love the game, learn from the varsity players and have fun.

Eubanks said the younger players look at the varsity players as role models and the camp teaches how to be strong girls in basketball. Eubanks said they need more strong women to get out there and play basketball.

“Everything is designed for the high school kids to compete with the younger kids and participate in the drills,” said Artes. “A lot of the drills we do in the camp are drills we do in a high school practice. Good things for all basketball players to focus on as we progress and get better at the game.”

Artes said the varsity team does a really good job of helping with the camp and forming really good relationships with kids at a young age.

During the week, both the varsity girls and the younger camp participants work on a variety of skills. They worked on ball handling, passing, shooting form and making sure the participants understood what to look for before they take a shot, defensive positioning on the floor, and other basic skills that would be reiterated once they reach the high school level. Exposing younger kids to these skills and drills early is beneficial so it serves as more of a refresher once they reach high school, rather than brand new information.

Windham seventh grader Peyton McLean said the week shows that Windham Basketball has a really good future to come. McLean said she has learned how to get better at shooting by getting your arc up, dribbling and a bit about defense and how to guard correctly.

McLean would love to play on a college team some day and said she will achieve that through practice and getting better every day.

“The camp’s gone super well, it’s super fun,” said Windham senior Mallory Muse. “All the kids are super engaged and it’s really good for all of us to get to interact with them, [encourage] them to have fun so they keep playing. We’ve done a lot of drills, but also games that are fun. It’s fun to see a bunch of little girls who love to play basketball.”

Windham sixth grader Alexis Woodcock said practicing basketball is better for her team. The week has gone well, she’s been practicing a lot and has worked on layups and learned a lot of foot and shooting skills. If she gets better during her time at the Eagle Hoop Camp, she said it will help her team.

Artes said he could see a lot of desire and enthusiasm from the kids and that really brightens up the room for the high school players and they are such a positive impact on those kids, but he also thinks it goes both ways. The varsity players really get a lot out of being mentors and working hard with those little kids – it’s a good give-and-take on both ends.

He said it’s been great and a fun week.<
 


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