Foyle Basketball Camp comes to town

After operating on the Grenadine islands of Union Island, Canouan and Bequia in his two previous basketball camps, the Adonal Foyle Summer camp pitches tent on the mainland this year.

Holding good to a promise made last year, the camp has been extended to stints on either side of the mainland. The camp opens Monday, July 30 at the Keartons Hard Court, located on the north western side of the island.{{more}} The following day, the Calliaqua Hard Court about five miles east of capital Kingstown will get its share of Foyle and his entourage.

The camp heads to Bequia August 1, Union Island August 2 and concludes on Canouan August 3.

This will be Foyle’s biggest effort to date as the initial exercise in 2003 was confined to Union Island and Canouan, with Bequia added to the schedule in his second effort last year.

It is hoped that about 1000 children between the ages of 7 and 17, will get an opportunity to learn the fundamentals of basketball as well as participating in the healthy lifestyles programme, the educational component of the camp. Special emphasis will be placed on the spread and prevention of HIV/AIDS as well as the importance of reading.

The camps run from 10 am to 4 pm, except the Bequia leg which has a 3 pm to 9 pm schedule.

A 25 member team from the United States of America will be lending their talents to the nation’s basketball hopefuls. The team includes athletes and specialists, NBA players, sports psychologists, trainers, academic advisors, health professionals and consultants.

Several of the volunteers who were part of the world cup warm up matches here last March will get another occasion to utilise their knowledge as they will perform most of the clerical duties.

Foyle, this country’s first and only NBA player to date joined the Golden State Warriors in 1997 as the eighth place draft pick and has remained with them since. He renewed his contract in 2000 and 2004.

The 32 year old Foyle was spotted in Dominica in 1990 by two college professors while competing in the annual Windward Islands school games. Born on the Grenadine island of Canouan, Foyle moved to New York, USA and attended the Hamilton High School where he led the basketball team to their first two state championships, before enrolling with Colgate in 1994.

His 492 career blocks are an NCAA record and he is the third player in NCAA’s history to accumulate 1700 points, 1000 rebounds and 450 block shots in a college career.

Foyle holds the Warriors’ all time shot blocker record.

Apart from the annual camp, last year Foyle launched his innovative “Kerosene Lamp Foundation”, on Canouan.