METRO EAST: Jets camp helps kids to focus on fundamentals
The Southwestern Illinois Jets Basketball Club held its third annual skills camp June 14. The event, for boys and girls in grades 3-8, featured seven college coaches.
"Our first two coaches today were Lennox Forrester, the head men's coach at SIU (Southern Illinois University)-Edwardsville, and Chris Pilz, the head men's coach at the University of Missouri-St. Louis," Jets program director Todd Hill said. "Next we have Amanda Levens, who is the new head women's coach at SIUE, and Dana Eikenberg, the head women's coach at SIU (Southern Illinois University)-Carbondale. We also have Harry Statham, the head men's coach at McKendree (University). After lunch we've got Shimmy Gray-Miller, the head women's coach from St. Louis University, and her assistant, Tony Francis."Each coach teaches a different skill and they cover everything from ballhandling to rebounding to boxing out and moving without the ball. It gives kids a chance to interact with people that they read about in the newspaper and see on TV. The coaches could be recruiting some of these kids someday, so it breaks down that barrier and the kids see can that they have some attainable goals."
The camp has grown steadily since it started in 2006 at Wolf Branch School in Swansea.
"Part of the purpose was that we want to stress the role of the student-athlete in the Jets program," Hill said. "We ask all of our players to bring their report cards because we want to see what their grades are. Bringing in the college coaches, they tell the kids what it takes to reach that level. Basketball skills are not enough.
"We also bring in a student-athlete to speak to the kids. This year we have Alisha Goodwin, who is a great example. She had a great high school career (at Althoff) and she's going to St. Louis U. Last year we had Kevin and Theresa Lisch (Althoff/SLU). They can talk about what it's like to be recruited by a Division I school.
"The first year we had about 80 kids and last year at O'Fallon High School we had 110 kids. This year we have 127 kids. We have a total of 200 kids in the club and we're growing. This is our first year here in the Sportsplex and we went from having 15 teams to having 27 teams. We're adding more shooting camps and clinics and we're talking about putting in some more courts. We're also looking to bring in more high-profile tournaments."
Forrester, entering his second season at SIUE, talked to the campers about ballhandling.
"That's something very important and you can't be too young to start on it," Forrester said. "The earlier you start, the better you're going to be down the line. Even though some guys may think they're going to be a center or a power forward, ballhandling is still important. Every single day before you start your workout, you've got to do it just to keep getting better.
"Camps like this are very important because you've got great camaraderie and great competition. The kids are hearing from different coaches, which is awesome. Coaches may have different philosophies as far as X's and O's, but when it comes to fundamentals, we all teach it the same.
"With the older kids, we discussed a little more of the advanced ballhandling skills. With the younger kids, you've got to make it fun and keep it simple."
Pilz, going into his sixth season at UMSL, talked about the importance of free throws.
"We've got a lot of kids here today and if they can leave here with eight or 10 things they've learned from myself and the other coaches, they've had a great day," Pilz said. "I was trying to drive home that you need to get a routine when you go to that free throw line. It's attitude and being able to challenge yourself. I showed them a few games they can play that I used to play to become a better free throw shooter. This isn't rocket science-they can come up with different games that they want to play.
"It's good they've got a program like the Jets club here. They have a lot of good coaches working with them. The kids that want to do some extra work, they've got a little edge. I told the kids 'if you're here today, you've got an opportunity to gain an advantage on your opponent.'"
Statham, meanwhile, is preparing for his 43rd season as head coach at McKendree. With 965 career wins, he ranks first in men's college basketball history at the four-year level. At the Jets camp, he discussed passing with the younger players and post play with the older athletes.
"Passing is one of the most overlooked fundamentals in the game-a lot of players don't pass very well any more," Statham said. "We talk about moving the ball and getting the ball inside. A lot of kids assume they can pass, but if you can't get the ball to somebody, they can't score.
"For the bigger kids, we talk about some basic post moves in the middle and how to score from the inside. We discuss positioning, posting up and how to drop-step and get to the basket from the baseline side.
"Getting the fundamentals like these kids are getting at an early age helps them a lot. They learn how to play the game correctly and you have don't have to break bad habits later on. It's very different for me working with the younger kids, but I enjoy it."
Defense was the chosen topic for Eikenberg, entering her fifth season at SIU-Carbondale.
"One of the things that's so important about defense is that everybody has the opportunity to play it," Eikenberg said. "It doesn't require height or great skill-it just requires a work ethic. When you get the steal in the last minute of the game, there's no glory for it, but every coach needs those type of solid players to win championships.
"A camp like this is so important in building kids' skills and it's a credit to coach Hill and what he's done. It makes it easier for us at the next level, the fact that it allows people to have better fundamentals."
For Levens, a former assistant coach at the University of Nevada-Reno, the camp gave her a chance to get a feel for the area.
"It's one of our goals to go out in the community as much as possible, to give back and to identify local prospects that can help build our program," Levens said.
"Teaching the fundamentals at a young age is huge. It's hard to break habits when they're older, so if they learn the fundamentals early, especially before junior high, it makes a big difference."
Levens' presentation focused on footwork.
"Kids need to know about establishing a pivot foot," Levens said. "You see kids with bad habits and a lot of times they travel a lot because they're in a hurry. It's not necessarily about being quick-it's about angles and setting your moves up.
"Look at Larry Bird. Was he the quickest guy? No, but he was smart and he set things up. You look at Michael Jordan later in his career. Was he quicker than a lot of those guys anymore? No, but he sets things up and that's what we want to teach the kids. You don't have to the be the best athlete to be a great scorer or a great player, but you've got to be smart and you have to understand the game.
"I love camps and I love working with kids. They're like sponges-they want to learn and they want to play and they have so much energy."
