Altha hosts Steve Days of Summer basketball camp

ALTHA, Fla. (WMBB) – Altha School is hosting its annual Steve Days of Summer basketball camp this week, with dozens of high school teams from three states participating.

The round-robin action tipped off at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday and was scheduled for games every hour in two separate gymnasiums until the final tip-off at 9:00 p.m., nearly 30 games in total.

High schools from all over the region were competing, with some even traveling down from Alabama and Georgia.

Local teams participating included Sneads, Graceville, Rutherford, Poplar Springs, Bay, Marianna, Mosley, Bethlehem, Blountstown and the host Altha.

There was a wide range of classifications represented and Altha Head Coach Jimmy Rogers said it was a fun and exciting week of competition.

“It sort of brings in a good aspect where we have a small school flavor with Poplar, Bethlehem, and some of us, and then we also bring the big schools in,” Rogers said. “So some of the kids that play at the smaller schools get an opportunity to say, if I want to go to the next level, I’ve got to be able to play with them.”

While the Wildcats’ summer basketball camp has been taking place for seven years now, it was not given the name Steve Days of Summer until last year.

The camp is named after Steve Mears, who was the father of a former Wildcats player and died in a plane crash in May of 2022.

Mears was well known for his involvement in the basketball community, feeding the coaches and players participating with his renowned smoked barbeque each summer.

Coach Rogers said the hospitality aspect of the camp is what they take pride in the most, with hopes to honor Mears’ legacy for many years to come.

“Steve did a lot for our school,” Rogers said. “And even as his dad loans us his cooker, his convection barbecue, so we’re still able to provide the same type of food that Steve gave And then the school makes, you know, decent profit over in the summer and helps our athletic programs, and its all still in his memory. Everything that we do on the Days of Summer are still about Steve.”

The Steve Days of Summer will run all week with four days of varsity action and two days for junior varsity teams.