550 pizzas. Over 2000 burgers. 40 gallons of Gatorade. These are just some of the numbers compiled at MVP Basketball Camp this summer. However, we take greater pride in the following: 1012 campers participated in basketball camp activities during our six weeks of camp. For the 24th year, MVP Basketball Camp has served the families throughout Westchester County to provide fun and quality basketball instruction for children from 6-16.
Our summer started on June 23rd with split camps at our Rye and White Plains sites. Resurrection School, in Rye, hosted our Juniors, Girls (9-13 years old) and Boys 1 (9/10 year olds) divisions. Our Boys 2 (11/12 year olds) and Boys 3 (13-15 year olds) worked out of the Eastview School in White Plains. The campers in Rye took advantage of the two air-conditioned gymnasiums as they rotated through one outdoor court. Rye High School Boys Varsity Basketball Coach Jon Aquilar spoke to our campers about his basketball experiences and took them through some varsity drills. In White Plains, our older boys worked through the heat (though indoors) to improve their games, while making new friends. Ronnie Nunn, a long-time friend to MVP, addressed the campers about his basketball experiences refereeing in the NBA for over 20 years.
During the 4th of July week, MVP held an intimate camper experience by holding two, two-day clinics. The first clinic emphasized individual skills that each player could develop to make themselves better. During the last two days, campers worked on team play as they worked on the two-man pick and roll and team defenses.
On July 9th, our entire camp moved to the Eastview School in White Plains. [We were displaced from our “home”, the Highlands School, because of renovations in the district.] The Eastview School has two large gyms and outdoor courts that we were able to modify to fit our camp needs. We added three outdoor courts to the existing two permanent structures. In our four weeks in White Plains, we managed one heat wave with two days of temperatures in the mid 90s. Our trainer, Amanda, carefully surveyed our campers and advised us of mandatory shade breaks and constant water breaks. Although many campers wanted to keep playing (where do they find the energy?), we limited our playing time. Often, rain and thunderstorms broke the summer heat. While we enjoyed a reprieve from the heat, we were limited to two gyms and had to be creative with our scheduling to try to maximize playing time. Luckily, we were able to find another gym at the School of the Holy Child. During the days that forecasted continuous rain, we bused campers down the road four miles to this site. There, campers enjoyed continuous playing time. This also opened up space at the Eastview School for the rest of the camp.
We have three goals for our campers each week: have fun, be safe, get better at basketball. We hope we provided an atmosphere where this was attainable. Thanks for being part of our summer. We look forward to seeing you again either in Rye or White Plains (Highlands School) in 2019 as we celebrate 25 years of camp!
