Calera Basketball Camp creates memories for another year – Shelby County Reporter

By TYLER RALEY | Special to the Reporter 

CALERA – The kids of the Calera community took part in an exciting week of fun and games when the Calera Eagles basketball program hosted the Calera Basketball Camp at Calera High School June 10-13.

About 60 kids attended this year’s festivities to develop their skills and learn about how to be successful in the game from Calera boys basketball head coach George Drake, his coaching staff and his players.

Each day, the kids learned various fundamentals of the game from the basics of ball handling to specifics that the players need to know based on their level of skill. The campers were divided into three divisions based on age group–SEC (ages 5-7), ACC ( 8-9) and NBA (10-12).

“We’ve given them an opportunity to get in there and just play,” said Calera boys basketball head coach George Drake. “That’s the best time to learn and explore is when you get to play and the kids like to get out there and compete and play against each other.”

The camp was not only a time for the kids to learn and get better at the game but to compete with each other as well.

The sessions culminated on the last day with the annual Championship Thursday, where the campers got to compete and show off the skills that they learned. For Drake, that is typically his favorite part of what happens each year.

“The kids know that it’s an opportunity for them to compete to win awards or challenges that we’ve set,” Drake said. “They work hard throughout the week to make it to Championship Thursday and be in the top of whatever game, whether if it’s knockout, whether if it’s hot-shot contest or 3-point, they have opportunities to go home with some prizes.” 

The camp was another great success for all of those who were involved, and it helped to leave an impact on the game of basketball in Calera.

Drake knows that this event is a special event for kids each summer, one that touches the lives of both his entire basketball program and the kids that are the future of the sport in Calera.

“It’s very important,” Drake said. “It’s my chance for me and my coaching staff to get in front of the kids, not so much just the impression upon them to just play basketball, but for them to see me and my coaching and just an opportunity to give back, but then also an opportunity for some of the kids, it’s introducing the game of basketball at a very early age.”