The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AFTER spending the past month hosting his 28th annual basketball camp at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium, Jeff Rodgers returned to Exuma this week for the third consecutive year to provide an opportunity for the young people on the island to experience the same type of environment to learn the game.

Rodgers, along with about six of his instructors, were joined by Byron Scott - coach of the Los Angeles Lakers - as they began their sessions Monday night. The camp is scheduled to wrap up on Saturday with a family fun night on the Georgetown basketball court.

“Things are going great here. The island is very excited about having Byron Scott in town,” Rodgers said.

“I didn’t realise that he was so popular down here. He brought some remarks, not only to kids who participated in the camp, but to the whole community, who came out to support the camp.

“Everybody was excited, but our challenge now is we don’t know where we will put all of the kids because we hear that there will be even more than we had on the first night. We heard that the whole community is coming out. We already have over 100 kids. So things are great. The town is booming.”

While the message from the camp in Nassau to the camp in Exuma is the same - building healthy bodies with a positive mind - Rodgers said he has discovered that there is not sufficient positive opportunities for the young people to engage in on a year-round basis and not just during the summer months.

“They are looking,” he said. “I’m not one of those persons who call kids bad. I just feel that young people are looking for outlets with people who they can look up to, people who can give them directions for their lives. The Jeff Rodgers Camp is all about character building.

“We talk about the challenges young people face in drugs, alcohol, stealing, lying and all of the other things that are out there. We try to show them how to walk away, how to practice being honest, all of the basic things that parents will give their young people. These are the things we look forward to instilling in them.”

Making the trek from Nassau to assist Rodgers at the camp in Exuma were instructors Quentin Demeritte, Tehran Cox, Torrington Cox, Scott Farrington, George Zonicle and a female from the United States.

Businessman Julian Marshall, who has coordinated the activities in Exuma, along with Glen Davis, is also one of the camp instructors.

Pastor Daniel Clarke is representing the Bahamas Seventh Day Adventists, the Christian denomination that Rodgers is affiliated with.

“We’ve having such a great time that Byron Scott has already made the announcement that he will be back next year,” Rodgers said.

“He intends to come back with one or two players from the Lakers. The problem is that we only have one basketball court to work with, so we can’t handle the demand of having too many instructors to work the camp here.”

The camp, sponsored by Sandals Resorts and Peace and Plenty in Exuma, is held nightly, which allows the community to come out in Georgetown to be entertained by the campers and the instructors, including Scott.