|
Hoops camp challenges players Main goal of three-day session wa By RON SMITH Sports Editor
That was the idea behind the three-day basketball at St. Mary Separate High School in Brockville this week. Operated by former Queen's University's men's coach Scott Meeson, the camp attracted 41 players for the morning session for Grades 3 to 6 and 44 players from Grade 7 to Grade 12 for the afternoon session. "We're not trying to produce all-stars. We just tried to take them and have them learn new things," said Meeson after camp ended. "That's all I was doing it for. We were just trying to get them to perform at a higher level." There was some good young basketball talent on the court from not only Brockville but Prescott, Kemptville, Iroquois, Athens and Ingleside. "I learned how to do a proper postup move instead of just trying to get in front of my guy," said Kemptville's Marcus Krock. "I'd like to improve a lot on my game, especially around the perimeter and inside game." The talented six foot, five inch 15-year-old was also joined at the camp by his sister Mallory and younger brother Robert, one of the best players at the Leeds and Grenville elementary school championships last week. "I expect myself to be a good all-around player," noted Krock. "I learned things from the coaches and the older players, things I can do against my opponent, on a one-on-one basis, things that they were doing against me." The camp concentrated on offensive moves, beating a defender off the dribble and getting open for a good shot at the basket. "I learned a lot of new ways to get open," noted Meredith Clarey, the talented Grade Nine player from St. Mary. "They showed me a lot of new moves offensively that I hadn't learned before. Hopefully, I'll be able to work on them and use them in a game." Clarey was asked to be the point guard for the senior girls Crusaders basketball team last season and did a good job as a first-year junior playing at the higher level. She knows she has to get better. She wants to get bettter. "A lot of people can be shut down if they have just one move. If you know different things, you can use them instead," said Clarey. "Definitely the step-back, where you dribble up and step back, pull up for the jumpshot. I didn't know how to do that before. Now I know." That's what the camp was about. Meeson was working on teaching the players to use their right hand and left hand effectively, along with being able to move right and left. "If all you can do is go right, you'll be pretty easy to stop," said Meeson. "You have to do a number of things well if you want to be consistent." Meeson noted the goal of the camp was to challenge players, teach them new things and give them the confidence to raise the bar of their talent level. He saw a lot of good young talent at the camp.
|