Kids dribble on Adonal’s court

More and more aspects continue to be added to the annual Adonal Foyle Youth Camp as it is enhanced each year.

From its start as a Basketball camp in 2003, the event has evolved into what is now known in 2009 as “The Athletics and Academics Island Youth Camp”.{{more}}

Founder of the Camp, this country’s first and lone NBA player, Adonal Foyle, outlined at a Press Conference last Sunday at the Administrative Centre at the Arnos Vale Playing Field some of the additions to this year’ s edition.

Foyle said that inclusion of “Academics” on the title brand and logo was deliberate, based on his personal experiences.

“There must be a blending of academics and sports,” Foyle said.

He said that it was out of his own frustrations, as he found it difficult to balance basketball and the regimen of study, when he was initiated to the US school system back in the early 1990’s.

As part of the whole thrust toward putting more weight on literacy, Foyle said that each participant of the camp will have a choice of two books of their liking, as a way of encouraging them to read.

In addition, Foyle disclosed that at the end of the local camp, fifty of the best players will be selected. He said that they will be followed up, tagged and their progress documented, with some other prospects still to be finalised.

Also, an added component to the camp, is a training of trainers workshops geared at equipping Physical Education teachers and other Basketball coaches, to ensure continuity of the sport after the camp ends.

And, if not done, a special Adonal All Stars Achievers (AAA) programme is slated to capture persons who are primarily school drop outs. But the main focus will be the males. This project will be done in conjunction with the Adult Education Unit in the Ministry of Education.

Foyle is a twelve year veteran of the NBA, having spent ten years with the Golden State Warriors and two years with beaten 2009 finalist, the Orlando Magic.

Born in Canouan, Foyle founded the Kerosene Lamp Foundation, which symbolizes his mission to brighten the futures of today’s youth.

He and his twenty-member team of psychologists, counsellors, retired NBA players, doctors, conditioning specialists, as well as current New Jersey Nets player Courtney Lee make up the impressive team which will be conducting the camp.

The camp started last Monday in Barrouallie at the Keartons Hard courts.

The morning sessions start at 9:00 with the registration process, and cater for children between the ages of 7 to 12 years. The afternoon to evening session begins at 2:30 for children between the ages of 13 to 17 years. This session will conclude at 6:30pm.

The camp moved to the Arnos Vale Netball Complex on Wednesday and it is the turn of Bequia, today, Friday.

Next Monday , youngsters on Union Island will get the opportunity at the Ashton Hard court. The camp concludes on Canouan Wednesday, 5th August. The camps on the two Southern Grenadine Islands run from 9 am to 2 pm.

The Camp is aimed at using Basketball as a catalyst to encourage youth to take ownership of their Health and Education.

Each camp offers eight learning stations covering a range of topics from basic Basketball skills to the importance of education, HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, Nutrition, and the basic tenets of Sports Psychology. Participating children are divided into groups according to age and then rotated through the stations during the period of about 4 hours. Each camp participant receives a free pair of Crocs, a t-shirt, other educational aids, a catered meal, as well as other camp paraphernalia.

At the 2009 NBA All-Star Game in Phoenix, Foyle was honored by the National Basketball Players Association with the Community Contribution Award for his outstanding work in communities both in the U.S. and abroad.