By Arielle AltmanFor the Newburgh teens who attended Hoops Express Invitational Basketball Camp last week, basketball wasn’t the only thing on the agenda. While the kids worked on their ball skills, Coach Bill Bayno, the Assistant Coach of the NBA Portland Trailblazers, and Coach George Frazier, Executive Director of Hoops Express, were also educating them on life skills.
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We want to get our kids to envision positive things and consider where they might be in the future from both an educational and personal standpoint,” said Bayno. In one daily lunch-time lecture, he talked to the students about overcoming adversity and speaking to others about their problems rather than holding anger inside. The NBA coach then told them that education, and not basketball, will open up doors for them.
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When playing sports is said and done, these kids will be educated on how to be productive citizens,” Frazier said. “We teach them how to use sports to get further in life, whether it is by learning teamwork or by getting into college.” He said that all of the 28 junior high and high school kids invited to the camp are well-rounded with dreams of going to college.
Alexis Billups, 14, said that while the program has taught her a lot about basketball, she is also learning about respect and how to succeed in life. One of the few girls at the camp, she enjoys being challenged and was excited to work with Coach Bayno. “He’s a really good coach and he definitely knows what he’s talking about.”
Although Bayno encourages them, he does not go easy on them. Each of the three days included six hours of grueling practice and drills used in the NBA. But the coaches’ involvement with the students will not stop with the camp’s end. During the coming school year, they will be in touch with the school coaches and reward students who get good grades; some kids will even be flown out to Portland to meet the Trailblazers and watch a game.
Frazier and Bayno, who grew up playing basketball together in Newburgh, realize how important it is to have a community where kids are given the opportunity to succeed. Bayno says that when he was growing up in Goshen, he went to Newburgh to play basketball because that is where all of the best players lived. He was the only white person to play with Frazier and his friends, but they welcomed him like family. “Newburgh gave me all of my opportunities, and without it I wouldn’t be coaching,” Bayno said.
Frazier, who has run Hoops Express since its creation in 1998, is happy to instill the beliefs of his multi-layered program on his summer basketball camp, which began in 2000. Hoops Express offers after-school programs ranging from night gym, to computer lab, to nutrition, and strives to prepare kids for their future.
A not-for-profit program, Hoops Express Basketball Camp was made possible by sponsors from Dana Distributors and Quassaick Auto in Newburgh. Also, Newburgh Enlarged City School District gave them the use of Heritage Junior High School to hold the camp. Frazier says that Newburgh School District gives Hoops Express a great deal of support year round.
We want to get our kids to envision positive things and consider where they might be in the future from both an educational and personal standpoint,” said Bayno. In one daily lunch-time lecture, he talked to the students about overcoming adversity and speaking to others about their problems rather than holding anger inside. The NBA coach then told them that education, and not basketball, will open up doors for them.
“
When playing sports is said and done, these kids will be educated on how to be productive citizens,” Frazier said. “We teach them how to use sports to get further in life, whether it is by learning teamwork or by getting into college.” He said that all of the 28 junior high and high school kids invited to the camp are well-rounded with dreams of going to college.
Alexis Billups, 14, said that while the program has taught her a lot about basketball, she is also learning about respect and how to succeed in life. One of the few girls at the camp, she enjoys being challenged and was excited to work with Coach Bayno. “He’s a really good coach and he definitely knows what he’s talking about.”
Although Bayno encourages them, he does not go easy on them. Each of the three days included six hours of grueling practice and drills used in the NBA. But the coaches’ involvement with the students will not stop with the camp’s end. During the coming school year, they will be in touch with the school coaches and reward students who get good grades; some kids will even be flown out to Portland to meet the Trailblazers and watch a game.
Frazier and Bayno, who grew up playing basketball together in Newburgh, realize how important it is to have a community where kids are given the opportunity to succeed. Bayno says that when he was growing up in Goshen, he went to Newburgh to play basketball because that is where all of the best players lived. He was the only white person to play with Frazier and his friends, but they welcomed him like family. “Newburgh gave me all of my opportunities, and without it I wouldn’t be coaching,” Bayno said.
Frazier, who has run Hoops Express since its creation in 1998, is happy to instill the beliefs of his multi-layered program on his summer basketball camp, which began in 2000. Hoops Express offers after-school programs ranging from night gym, to computer lab, to nutrition, and strives to prepare kids for their future.
A not-for-profit program, Hoops Express Basketball Camp was made possible by sponsors from Dana Distributors and Quassaick Auto in Newburgh. Also, Newburgh Enlarged City School District gave them the use of Heritage Junior High School to hold the camp. Frazier says that Newburgh School District gives Hoops Express a great deal of support year round.
