CHULA — With the sound of school bells getting nearer, Tiftarea Academy squeezed in one last athletic camp to wrap up July. The Amy Strenth Memorial Basketball Camp was held the week starting July 24.
Pre-planning begins at Tiftarea on Aug. 7, giving the school just enough time to squeeze in one last camp before its coaches have to get back to business. Though late in the summer, Harbort said 45 campers in grades 5-8 attended.
Coaches Harbort and Rob Flick ran the camp, and with plenty help. A number of past and present Tiftarea varsity basketball players served as coaches, including alumni Shaunteria Taylor, Tay Mallory, Livi Mullis and two of Amy Strenth’s daughters, Carlie Strenth and Ali Strenth. Far from being just instructors, coaches were just as active as the campers. Flick and Mallory even captained teams in a full-court scrimmage.
Besides the scrimmages, Harbort said they focused on all aspects of basketball, with a schedule of set times and activities. The slate included set stations for jump shooting, free throws, passing and dribbling. Even those were further broken down into more specialized skills.
Dribbling, for example, saw the Panthers campers switch hands, practice crossovers, go between their legs, dribble for speed and for protecting the ball. Passing covered chest, bounce and overhead as well as weave-type drills, moving up and down the floor without dribbling. Even the competitions took various forms from the traditional style of play to hot spots to a type of tag where coaches passed around the floor while trying to tag the energetic campers.