Their resounding cheer echoed off the walls of the high school gym to close out the day’s session.
The Hoopnics Basketball Camp touched down at Barrhead Composite High School from July 4 to 7, bringing out 87 basketball players.
“All in all, we had 19 juniors, 35 intermediates and 32 seniors,” said BCHS basketball coach Lorna Hiemstra.
Despite talk that this could be the last basketball camp in Barrhead, the overall atmosphere was off the charts as Grande Prairie Regional College Men’s basketball coach Chris Nicol established a high level of output from the young players.
“There was fantastic energy and enthusiasm from everybody. It just keeps getting better every year. At least two-thirds of the kids have been to at least one Hoopnics camp before, and the tradition of fun and hard work just keeps building,” said Hiemstra.
Coach Nicol has talked about retiring from coaching after this year, but with the success of the 2011 installment of Hoopnics, there is a little bit of doubt concerning his retirement.
“I think the energy and enthusiasm of this camp could stave off coach Nicol’s retirement for one more year,” said Hiemstra.
Players from all over the division participated in Hoopnics, and that has the coaching staff at BCHS excited about the future of basketball in the district.
“The future of basketball in Pembina Hills looks good. We had players from all over the division (Neerlandia, Jarvie, Westlock) who will take these skills back to their teams and make our league more competitive,” said Hiemstra.
Nicol came to Hoopnics with two of his players from Grande Prairie. The presence of the college players was a treat for the young athletes and provided an opportunity to pass on more information that would benefit budding basketball stars in the making.
“The two players from GPRC were doing something special for the kids every chance they got. They brought extra enthusiasm, extra tips to improve, humourous stories, life lessons, the latest in fitness and skill innovations and a brand new offensive system for the high school group. They are high-level professional coaches,” said Hiemstra.
Nicol’s passion for basketball is evident in his coaching style and the way he communicates with the young players. He incorporates a cheer at camp that is identical to the one used by the United States Marine Corps, ‘hoooraaa,’ and it served as a rallying cry before and after drills, and to close out the session.
“He is a true professional. He is genuinely passionate about basketball and positive values in life. He’s great at motivating the kids to do their best and encourage their teammates to do the same. His three goals for camp were have fun, be coachable and be a good teammate. We definitely accomplished all three,” said Hiemstra.
