Close to 120 students between the ages of 12 and 16 will complete three days of an intense Athletics and Academics Camp today, Friday, July 22, put on by the Kerosene Lamp Foundation, of which this country’s lone NBA player Adonal Foyle, of Canouan, is the founder.{{more}}

The live in camp at the Belair Government School ran from 10 am to 2 pm daily. Thereafter, from 3 to 6:30 pm, the baskeballers headed for the Arnos Vale Netball Complex for the practical sessions.

The sessions at the school involved healthy lifestyle sessions with personnel from the local chapter of the Caribbean Healthy Lifestyles Programme. Special emphasis was placed on HIV/ AIDS.

Among the technical skills that were enhanced were the participants’ dribbling, passing, rebounding and shooting.

As part of each day’s practical activities, four on four and half court games were played among the various age groups.

Dubbed an All Star Camp, the first of its kind since Foyle began such undertaking in 2003 here, the participants were the best, drawn from previous local camps.

Among the participants were twenty two from Bequia, thirteen from Union Island, ten from Canouan, three from Mayreau, along with those from the mainland, with the bulk coming from the Greiggs community.

All participants were given t-shirts, bags, other goodies and a book.

Foyle explained that he insisted on a book, which was to encourage the students to read. He also drew on his personal experiences to illustrate the importance of reading.

He pointed to the logo on the t-shirts, which depicts a player holding a book in his left hand and the basketball in the right hand.Foyle impressed upon the participants that both academics and athletics go hand in hand.

The camp pitches tent on Foyle’s native Canouan on Monday, where the usual camp for beginners from Canouan and Mayreau will take place.

Four communities will benefit from the provision of four Basketball hoops, compliments the Kerosene Lamp Foundation.

Foyle, along with Donnie Arey, Graham Betchart, Michael De Grazia, Brad Johnson, Glenroy Jones, Jennifer Sandy, Jamila Veasley, Allan Willington, Wendy Wiginton, and Shiyana Valentine, were the main staffers of the camp.

Foyle served the professional Basketball circuit from 1997 to 2010. He spent ten years with the Golden State Warriors, ten days with the Memphis Grizzles and three years with the Orlando Magic.

Since retiring last August, Foyle has become the Orlando Magic’s Director of Player Development. (RT)