The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

AS the Jeff Rodgers Basketball Camp heads into its 27th edition, an emphasis on developing greater parental involvement will be placed on one of the summer’s marquee events.

The camp is scheduled to take place 9am-1pm June 30 to July 25 at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium, open to both boys and girls ages 5-19.

“What will be special this year is that the parents are going to be more involved in the fun night. They will be a part of some drills and a scrimmage game for themselves where parents will be playing against parents and parents will team up with their sons and daughters which should create some excitement,” Rodgers said.

“We want to get more parents involved and hopefully they can take a day off from work at some point just to spend a day at the camp because we always stress that we don’t want the focus to be just on basketball skills, but we want the focus to be on life skills and the parents should be a major part of that because we know there is more to life than just basketball. We are encouraged, the Lord has afforded us another opportunity to host this camp and we know it has a major impact on the lives of young people in our country.”

The camp is expected to host several icons of professional basketball. Leading the way will be point guard Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the 2012 NBA Rookie of the Year.

Other players making an appearance this year include Klay Thompson, the son of Bahamian sports icon Mychal Thompson and the 11th pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors.

Mychal Thompson, along with his son, Mychel Thompson, will also make an appearance alongside camp stalwarts Byron Scott, Scott Burell and Tyrone “Muggsy” Bogues.

In addition to the main venue at the Kendal Isaacs Gym, the camp will conduct five satellite camps running concurrently.

Selected areas include basketball parks at Pinewood, Kemp Road, Mason’s Addition, Christie Park, Carmichael, Elizabeth Estates, Hay Street, Fox Hill and Flamingo Gardens.

“I am pleased to announce that the Jeff Rodgers Basketball Camp has forged a partnership with the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture in leading this edition of the camp, held throughout Nassau and the Family Islands,” Rodgers said.

“As CEO of the camp, I wish to thank the (Minister of Sports) Dr Daniel Johnson for his interest and endorsement of this initiative and what I hope is the beginning of a mutually beneficial partnership.”

Rodgers said his group will conduct a series of clinics with ministry staff to adequately prepare camp instructors at the various sites. He added that parents should expect the standard of the Jeff Rodgers brand to be prevalent at all satellite camp sites. They will be strategically located to ensure maximum attendance and utilisation by community youth, both boys and girls between six to 18 years of age.“

Registration forms are now available online at www.jeffrodgersbasketballcamp.com and at the Seventh Day Adventist Conference on the Tonique Williams Darling Highway during working days from 9am-5pm.

Paul Scavella, president of the Bahamas’ Southwest Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists, said the close relationship with the camp is an integral part of his church’s community outreach.

“The church has an obligation and responsibility to help to guide the youth of our country and we find this a very effective means of helping to put, in the minds of hundreds of young people, principles of life skills that will help them to manage other young people,” he said. “It also provides a structure in terms of the development of their mind and their bodies. So the church through this means is able to make an impact on the community.”

Camp sponsors this year include BTC, Bahamas Southwest Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists, the Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture, Scotiabank, Colina, JS Johnson, Royal Bank of Canada, Bahamas Business Solutions, ZNS, the Ministry of Tourism, Colombian Emeralds, Sapodilla Restaurant, Caribbean Bottling, Baha Mar, Atlantis, Jewel’s Party Supplies and Nautilus Water.