featured-image

Chris Paul Holds Youth Camp At UCSD

Rowan Kavner

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Whether on or off the court, Chris Paul only knows how to go all out.

So when he holds a camp in the summer, he’s not just going to put his name on it. He’s going to be there, devoting himself fully to the campers.

Paul’s West Coast Youth Camp this week at the University of California, San Diego was no exception.

“I’ve been knowing Chris for some time now, but I’ve been directing his camp for eight, nine years now,” said Herman “Tree” Harried, CP3 West Coast Youth Camp director. “I’ve always liked him as a player, but I respect him more as a person than a basketball player for the quality of human he is to do these kinds of things to young people.

“The time he gives – a lot of players have these events, but they may not be here – he’s here and he’s involved and it’s unbelievable to see that kind of commitment.”

Kids aged 7-17 had the opportunity to join two different sessions, the first from June 20-23 and the second from June 23-26, each session built to improve the campers’ skills around the clock. There were overnight campers, who were boarded at residence halls on campus, as well as day campers, who reported at 8:45 a.m. and went until 9 p.m. each day with meal breaks in between.

Paul called the camp “one of the best times of the summer,” and said about 500 total campers were in attendance between the two sessions.

“We teach a lot of the fundamentals of the game,” Paul said. “But we also talk about life and being on time and being respectful. I think the most fun thing about these kids is that they’re unfiltered. They ask questions. Anything they want to know the answer to, we try to tell them. The biggest thing is that we always try to teach them too, this is a game, and treat it as such.”

Paul stuck to his word.

Anything the campers asked, he did his best to answer, from Clippers questions to questions about his idols growing up (Michael Jordan was at the top of that list).

But the main purpose of the camp was to help the players’ basketball skills, and Paul and his instructors worked diligently to make that happen, having the campers go through drills before playing in games.

Harried, who coaches at Lake Clifton in Baltimore and was a former Syracuse basketball player, said he hopes the campers learn discipline and how to follow directions. He sees the Clippers gaining basketball knowledge from Paul, but he also said it’s an opportunity for the campers to see Paul as a human being in addition to a basketball player.

“A normal day is very long,” Harried said. “A lot of skill work for young players to improve their skills, stations, basketball games. Chris does an outstanding job spending time with his campers. I’ve never seen anything like it before. The quality of time he puts in at his camp is amazing.”

Every camper received basketball instruction, meals, a camp T-shirt, Chris Paul wristbands, a photo with Paul, an autograph, an evaluation, and medical care and supervision.

In attendance among the many campers were some familiar faces, including Paul’s son, Matt Barnes’ twin sons and Jack Gallagher, whose story last season made a mark on Paul. Every camper in attendance appreciated the advice they got from the Clippers superstar.

“My favorite part has been meeting Chris Paul and asking him questions,” said 11-year-old Joshua Cox, who took part in the camp wearing a Paul jersey. “I can’t even explain how much fun I’m having. It’s a blast.”