Kids learn skills at Quaker Basketball Camp

The week-long campu allows children to learn basketball fundamentals from the Penn coaches and a few top players. Duncan Lloyd and Justin Goldman know their basketball camps. For these 14-year old students at Germantown Friends School, working on their hoops skills takes up a large portion of the summer -- so much so that each will attend five basketball camps this summer in preparation for the new season this winter. Although the University of Pennsylvania Quaker Basketball Camp is only one stop on their tour of camps, it represents a special opportunity for these young players. "[Penn men's basketball coach] Fran Dunphy comes in everyday," Lloyd, who will enter the ninth grade in the fall, said. "That makes people want to play better." "Every camp helps you, but this camp is unique, because you learn a lot from the Penn varsity players," eighth-grader Goldman said. Dunphy, his assistant coaches and several Penn players are currently taking part in the Quaker Basketball Camp, which will end its first week-long session tomorrow. A second four-day session will follow next week. The camp, which is organized mostly by the Penn men's basketball assistant coaches, runs each day from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. During that time, campers learn the fundamentals of the game in the morning before testing their skills in afternoon games and shooting contests. The camp, which is open to hoopsters between the ages of seven and 18 years old, is split into three divisions based on age. The oldest group plays at the Palestra, while the younger children compete in Hutchinson Gym and Weightman Hall. "Probably the biggest thing to get accomplished in this camp setting is to try to get some of those who are real focused on their own individual game to learn to play team basketball," Penn assistant coach David Hooks said. Like most athletes, the campers compete fiercely in the afternoon games, but emphasis is still placed on basketball fundamentals. One reason for this is the instruction the players receive not only from the coaches, but also from the Penn athletes who are helping with the camp. Penn players Michael Jordan, Matt Langel and Geoff Owens -- as well as incoming freshman Dan Solomito and Penn women's basketball standout Diana Caramanico -- help with the supervision and teaching of the young players. Jordan, Langel and Owens are taking a week off from their intense workouts with top college and professional players. "I have fun working with the kids who want to listen and want to learn," said Jordan, who ironically coaches the Pacers in the oldest age group. "Most of the kids I deal with are well-behaved and want to learn." In addition to helping young players hone their skills, the camp serves several other purposes. According to Hooks, the camp also serves as a child-sitting service for many University employees, an excellent way to promote Penn and a chance for Dunphy's assistants to make some extra money. Despite these added benefits, however, instruction is still the main goal of the camp. "For the quality of instruction, this is probably one of the best buys going in terms of basketball camps on the East Coast," Hooks said. The campers seem to agree with Hooks, as many return to the Quaker Basketball Camp year after year. Lloyd, who is currently playing in the oldest age group, is returning for his fourth summer this year. Although these campers may not become superstar basketball players, the skills learned this week should help their games. This improvement should, in turn, lead many of these players back to the Palestra next summer.

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