B-ballers hoop it up in the gym
The sounds of bouncing basketballs could be heard as players shot baskets from various spots during a summer camp in the college gymnasium.
OCCC basketball camps are designed to teach interested kids the basic rules and fundamentals of basketball.
More than 30 campers, ages 9 to 14, were on hand to learn about the game of basketball.
Christian Caswell, 9, attended OCCC’s baseball camp last year and is attending basketball camp for the first time.
Caswell was struggling with shooting drills.
“I haven’t been making very many shots,” Caswell said.
Tyler Brown, 11, has played basketball on an organized team and looked for the camp to help hone his skills.
“I have played with the Sonics before,” Brown said.
“Hopefully, I will be able to play better after this week,” said Brown.
Tim Price is the coach for the basketball camp this year.
Last year Price taught the girls camp while his older brother Jay Price taught the boys camp.
“My brother [Jay Price] wasn’t able to coach the boys team this year so I took his place this time,” Price said.
Price has taught basketball camps for three years at OCCC but this will be his first year coaching the boys.
He said he is ready to help the campers learn some skills that they can take with them to either the driveway or their respective leagues.
“We are going to basically focus on all the fundamental parts of basketball,” Price said.
“We are going to work on ball handling, dribbling, passing and shooting.”
Along with the drills campers have a chance to play Hot Shot and scrimmage against each other, he said.
Price said, even though the campers work on drills all week, that is simply not enough to become a great player.
“One of the first things I told the campers is that if every kid [who] went to camp this summer turned into a great player after five days, then everybody could be great players,” Price said.
“They are going to have to take what they have learned and practice it themselves.”
OCCC host several different sport camps. Brochures are outside of the Recreation and Community Services office.
For more information on other sports camps, contact Community Education and Health Coordinator Jack Perkins at 405-682-1611, ext. 7205.
Staff Writer John Savage can be reached at StaffWriter2@occc.edu.
