Suns Day Camp A Huge Success

By Dave Casadei, Jrsuns.com
Posted July 11, 2006

More than 350 Suns campers scattered Thunderbird High School’s gymnasiums July 3-7 as the record-breaking number of aspiring young basketball players experienced an exciting week of learning, instruction and competition during the 2006 Suns Day Camp.

The camp, headed up by Director Bill Frieder, offered kids the opportunity to gain hands-on coaching from experienced staff consisting of former college and high school basketball players.

Campers enjoyed the best of both worlds during the week, getting a chance to work on skill building drills designed to teach specific aspects of basketball in the morning, followed by competitive games in the afternoon.

During morning drills, the blend of beginner, intermediate and advanced players moved from station to station working with multiple coaches learning basic fundamentals like the proper way to make chest and bounce passes, rebounding, dribbling and shooting.

Campers also learned how to defend a player one-on-one and how to make lay-ups, and coaches offered tips on technique and positioning to successfully execute the skills.

Campers showed their true game faces everyday after lunch as they tested their improved skills in five-on-five games after randomly dividing into teams.

Adding to the week’s excitement were appearances from Suns players and alumni, including Eddie House, Raja Bell, Mark West, Connie “The Hawk” Hawkins, Cedric Ceballos and Mercury star Diana Taurasi.

Frieder said everyone enjoyed this year’s camp and he applauded the Suns for having as many Suns personnel available to interact with the kids.

“(The camp was) just a huge success,” Frieder said. “Our goal is to make sure they play a lot of basketball and have fun and they did.”

He added he hopes campers take their learned skills and work on them during their off-season so they can apply them during season play.

Frieder raved about the campers’ behavior and said their effort was outstanding.

“I was so impressed with this group,” Frieder said. “There was no horseplay and they were focused, attentive and they worked hard.”

Signs campers enjoyed the week were evident by the constant smiles that filled their faces when they checked in with their coaches and met up with their team every morning for registration.

Joey Rossi, a member of the Wildcats team, said he attended camp to meet new friends and have fun while working his skills.

“(I hoped to) learn how to rebound better because I’m a guard and I like to shoot and I think I could do a better job rebounding,” Joey said. “Better rebounding will help because my team can get more possessions and we can score a little bit more.”

He added camp was special for him because he rarely experiences opportunities to hang out with kids his age with similar interests.

“Since I don’t live in a place with a lot of kids, I meet new friends here,” Joey said. “I’ve had a great time.”

He added he left with a lasting impression – going undefeated in five-on-five play.

Camper Jack Bonacci explained how camp has already benefited his game. He said he has a better defensive understanding and he has become better shooting shots using the backboard since attending camp.

Jack said camp was filled with memorable moments, but his favorite was getting autographs from current and former Suns players, including his favorite, “The Hawk.”

One of the camp’s main benefits is the bonding that takes place between teammates and their coaches.

“I really like the coaches because they all have positive attitudes and instead of getting mad at us when we do something wrong they try to help us correct our mistakes,” said camper Mark Esslinger, a Cardinal team member. “That helps us learn better.”

Mark said he’s taking many memories home from camp, but one stands out the most.

“My favorite camp moment was when our coaches told us it didn’t matter if we won or lost as long as we play hard and have fun,” he said.

He added his coaches’ comments took pressure off of the team so the kids didn’t need to try and show off or do more than they can do.

Mark said his jump shot is already improved and he has a stronger idea of the value of teamwork.

Mark’s Cardinal teammate Matthew Thompson said he also learned the importance of teamwork.

“I used to be a ball hog,” Mark said. “I don’t do that any more because you can’t win like that.”

The intelligence of the young kids was apparent all week long and their thirst to improve weaker areas of their game proved their understanding of the importance of practicing to get better.

Wildcats team member Mark Bianchi showed his cerebral side saying he worked on his ball-handling skills during camp because he felt most of the campers were right-hander dribblers and he could gain an advantage by improving his dribbling abilities which would allow him to drive to the left better.

Cardinal team member Matt Collier said he made a big effort trying to improve his passing skills because he is happy with his offensive game.

“It’s important to be able to do both because the defense will come for me more and my teammates will be open to make more shots,” Matt said.

Second-year coach Wilson Bibleheimer had a great camp and explained how it can benefit kids looking to get better.

“It’s a lot of fun for the kids and everyone gets to play basketball,” Bibleheimer said. “Everybody gets equal amount of playing time so no one gets left out.”

He said equal participation is important because young kids need to understand they are capable of achieving whatever they want in life if they work hard.

“They’ve given a great effort,” Bibleheimer said. “They’ve done a wonderful job of playing hard and doing what I ask of them, and that’s all that matters.”

Campers received a special treat from Suns guard Raja Bell during closing ceremonies as he signed autographs, took photos and handed out awards.

Frieder summed up camp as a success and said he is pleased with the kids’ growth and maturity.

“I firmly believe campers left Friday better basketball players than they were coming into camp Monday,” Frieder said.

We had a great success with our camps this year and we’ll start planning for next year soon. Please give us a call late September or early October for dates and information.

Campers or kids 7-18 interested in getting more information about joining a Jr. Suns league can click Jr. Suns/Jr. Mercury Youth Basketball League, visit JRSUNS.COM or call (602) 462-HOOP.