Today was the first day of the Nike/Elite Hoops Coed Elite Basketball Camp at Greater Atlanta Christian. With a total of 54 campers signed up for the week to build upon their knowledge of basketball. Boys and girls are intermixed into groups based on age and skill level. Campers flew through stations this morning, and were taught by Camp Director, Lee Miller, to "never mistake activity for achievement." The coaches want to see if each camper can push themselves and try their very best every minute at every task. It was explained to them that though you are physically moving and performing an act it doesn't necessarily mean that you are getting any better, or reaching achievement status yet. By the end of stations, most of the campers were able to achieve the drill in front of them. Stations included drills from perimeter moves to team defense. Two fundamental skills that coaches emphasized greatly on today were ballhandling and proper layup form. Every camper has promised to become one percent better each day.
In the Ballhandling Station, players were taught stationary drills specifically to help them gain a comfortable feel for the basketball. Ballhandling is a fundamental skill in the game that cannot be overlooked early on.
In the Shooting Station, coaches went over the proper layup form known as the "Mikan Drill." This drill is an easy layup drill that focuses on technique and form. Players were to make sure to have their
"right hand, right knee in the air," when performing a right handed layup and the make to have their "left hand, left knee in the air," when performing their left handed layup. While beginner players are told to work on form more then speed normally, this camp has older, more elite players ranging from ages 12 to 16, making speed a priority to most of the players. This encourages them to develop quicker foot work in between layups.
We have a tremendous staff this week with college players and well known high school coaches from Atlanta. Coaches see high skill in this group and look forward to a successful week.