B-ball camp helps participants become independent

FARMINGTON

Aaliah Tsosie has been to a handful of basketball camps, but none quite like the Rising Stars camp.

A first-year camper at the Rising Stars camp, held June 20-24 at Navajo Preparatory School, Tsosie, 14, said she wasn’t used to various aspects of the camp, but was glad she experienced them.

“This one just really brings you together as a team. I feel like other camps, they just kind of put you through drills and if you don’t do them right, they kind of don’t care about that,” she said. “Here, they want you to do it right and they care about your future, they care about where you’re going, and what you’re going to do.”

The camp coordinators and coaches also teach the campers how to be more responsible by putting them up in dormitories for the entirety of the camp.

The experience was something knew for Tsosie, and many other campers.

“I’ve never had dorm experience, just hotels. Cleaning, I’m not used to cleaning every day,” she said. “It’s weird because I’m still in middle school, so it’s kind of getting a high school experience. It definitely adds to it, it kind of makes you feel more independent.”

Tsosie was one of 45 campers, 10 more than what the camp is used to, which also prompted the need to open another dormitory.

In the four-day camp, campers learned the fundamentals of the game, experienced dormitory life, bonded with pizza parties and bowling, and sat in on workshop sessions that focused on the importance of being student-athletes.

Risings Stars Coordinator Rainy Crisp said the camp was organized based on what trends coaches see with their own players.

She said the content of the camp is a reflection of the needs of current players.

“I see I through my own kids (as a coach) and even when I was younger and growing up, you just go to the gym and you play basketball, that’s what we do,” she said. “But after college or going through college, I learned that there was a lot more to basketball than just going to gym and play. It’s important for basketball players to know what to do.”

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