The LaFollette Middle School boys basketball team hosted its annual youth basketball camp from June 9-11.
“I look forward to camp every year. You know that,” head coach Ken Weaver said. “Same thing I tell you every year, numbers are down a little bit this year, as far as elementary. Normally with third- through fifth-graders, we have quite a few kids. We normally have it the first week of June, but the high school teams now are starting to have their team camps the first week school is out, so we had to push our camp to this week. I don’t know if that hurt the numbers where other camps have been going on or what. Anyway, we got a good turnout, good group of kids. We have some good talent coming up.”
Campers have an action-packed schedule during their time with the LaFollette Owls.
“We start at 9,” Weaver said. “We get up at half-court at 9 o’clock, get a roll call and make sure everyone is onboard, and if anyone is not here, then we warm up and condition for five minutes, a little warmup drill. We get in stations. We do different fundamentals at four different stations, and usually it’s six. This year it’s been four stations, and we do that for 12 minutes and then we rotate. About an hour of fundamental work and then we play the gotcha and dribble knockout and then we do our 3-on-3 stuff. We try to take everything we worked on and incorporate it into 3-on-3 play.”
Campers also get a chance to work with former LaFollette Owls.
“I love the former players coming,” Weaver said. “This year, we got Hess. We got Brady Hatmaker, who just graduated high school. We’ve got two freshmen with us, that are freshmen now, Chase Suttles and Bentlee Lane. Jake was here yesterday. … I think that’s a good thing when they’re asking you to come help. To me I guess I’ve done something right along the way for them to come value putting on a camp this year. ‘Hey, can I come help?’ Yes, come on. That’s been every year I’ve been here. We’ve always had former players come in and help. I love that.”