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Boys learn skills and drills at Cardinal Camp
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.A Canfield High School basketball player instructed campers on the art of dribbling during the Canfield boys’ basketball coaching staff’s 28th annual Cardinal Camp on June 25.
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.A Canfield High School basketball player coached campers on defense during the Canfield boys’ basketball coaching staff’s 28th annual Cardinal Camp on June 25.
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.Todd Muckleroy, Canfield High School varsity basketball coach, addressed attendees of the Canfield boys’ basketball coaching staff’s 28th annual Cardinal Camp on June 25.
By ABBY SLANKER
The Canfield boys’ basketball coaching staff hosted its 28th annual Cardinal Camp for boys entering third- through eighth-grade June 24-26, with 105 registered campers.
The staff was assisted by the Canfield High School junior varsity and varsity basketball players.
“We have about 15 varsity and junior varsity players helping us out with the camp this year. The players coach the kids and referee the games. This is our players’ chance to give back to the youth of Canfield. Every player here was once a participant in this camp,” said Mike Merritt, varsity assistant coach.
Varsity coach Todd Muckleroy, seventh-grade coach Jim Harmon, Merritt, who also served as coordinator of the camp, and players set up stations for the campers, at which they worked on various basketball skills and drills.
The primary objective of the camp was instructing the fundamentals of the game, while blending competitive events and games to exhibit growth in basketball skills.
“We want to inspire future Canfield Cardinal basketball players with this camp. We want to create excitement about basketball for the young ones. In five or six years, it could be them as former camp attendees helping with the camp as junior varsity and varsity players,” Merritt said.
Awards and prizes, including cardinal towels, T-shirts and shorts, were given out daily to campers for best hustle, best defender, best rebounder, rookie awards for third-graders and sixth-graders, Communicator of the Day and Camper of the Week. The coaching staff and basketball players worked together to choose the award winners.
The winning three-on-three and five-on-five teams were also crowned champions and awarded cardinal basketball shorts.
On the last day of the camp, attendees participated in the Blizzard Bowl, which is like a basketball Olympics with eight to nine competitions for the teams of campers. The prize for each member of the winning team was certificates for Dairy Queen Blizzards.
All campers received a T-shirt and outdoor basketball for attending the camp.