Coach Rob Davis and his staff held their annual Girls Basketball Camp from May 23-25 at North Adams High School. Photo by Mark Carpenter.
Coach Rob Davis and his staff held their annual Girls Basketball Camp from May 23-25 at North Adams High School. Photo by Mark Carpenter.

Combining basketball and community service

By Mark Carpenter –

The summer basketball camp season has rolled around once more and it began from May 23-25 at North Adams High School as Lady Devils head coach Rob Davis and his staff welcomed 45 young ladies to the gymnasium for three days of fun and fundamental instruction, with this time a does of community service tossed in as the campers brought in items to donate to the auction that was held for 11-year old Drew Reid last Friday night.

Kindergarten and first grade girls had two days of camp, while second through eighth grades enjoyed three days of instruction.

“We have this camp to get the little ones interested,” said Coach Davis. “We’ve got junior high kids here too so we can see what we have coming up. It keeps the girls interested in North Adams basketball and this year we are trying to show the girls there is more than just basketball here and that they can help the community so all the girls chipped in to put a basket together for Drew Reid to have auctioned off. We want our girls to not only be good teammates but good people in the community.”

“It takes a lot of help to make this camp run smooth, from my assistant coaches, to the high school girl, to my wife Jo who handles all the important snack duties.”

Each day the campers were instructed in ball handling, defense, passing, shooting, and rebounding, all fundamental concepts of the game of basketball. Competitive games such as Knock-Out and Dribble Knock-out kept things interesting and the “team” concept was stressed at all time by Coach Davis and his staff, which included JV Coach Tony Williams, and junior high coach Taylor Jodrey, plus a group of helpers from the Lady Devils’ high school program.

One of those high school helpers was senior-to-be Caitlin Young. “I like working at this camp because this is the next generation of North Adams basketball,” said Young. “It’s really important that they learn the fundamentals and we put a lot of emphasis on defense. They’re learning how to do things right early because it’s hard to break habits when you get to high school. Hopefully the kids take what they learn here and practice it at home every day and they’ll be ready to go when they get my age.”

“These younger girls look up to us and we try to be good role models for them.”

Karissa Buttelwerth, who will be in eighth grade, was one of the campers who spent three nights in the gym. “It’s just having fun, learning more, and helping you to get better,” said Buttelwerth. “I’ve definitely gotten better at passing and playing defense.”

Also having three nights at camp was eighth grader-to be Braylie Jones. “I enjoy the ball handling and just learning more about the game,” said Jones.

Following is a list of the girls who attended the 2016 Lady Devils Basketball Camp: Saxony Burns, Kennedi Campbell, Jacee Davis, Johnie Edwards, Elizabeth Easterling, Tatum Grooms, Lexi Hayslip, Karlie Kennedy, Ava Pistole, Layna Pistole, Emma Pistole, Natalie Ragan, Elizabeth Raines, Morgan Wheeler, Olivia Wilson, Chloe Baker, Katelynn Boerger, Hunter Grooms, Hannah Hesler, Destiny Hurt, Kenlie Jones, Lydia Maddox, Jaida Mason, Aubrey Meade, Kendal Sullivan, Elaina Wallace, Karissa Buttelwerth, Calee Campbell, Kaitlyn Davis, Mona Edwards, Sydney Figgins, Makenzie Fischer, Kayden Francis, Lizzie Gill, Ainsly Grooms, Paige Harrison, Laura Hesler, Sierra Kendall, Alyssa Mays, Molly Purcell, Abigail Roades, Alexa Rowe, Morgan Shupert, Myla Toole, and Braylie Jones.