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Summertime is annually loaded with basketball camps that aim to teach the sport’s fundamentals and basics to youth.
The camps are often useful, according to coaches. But they can also be pricey – sometimes costing upwards of several hundreds of dollars to attend.
But for kids who live in the south Lafourche Parish community, a weekly summer basketball school exists that has a price that can’t be beat. It’s free. It’s also helping to raise the sport’s popularity in that community, as well.
The Drill’em Basketball Camp took place on most Thursday nights throughout the summer at the Cut Off Youth Center. Started by veteran coach Greg Curole and supported by several coaches throughout the community, the camp was routinely attended by 20-30 kids on an average session. On the busiest night, Curole said he had more than 100 kids attend – something he said he never envisioned when making his idea a reality in 2014.
“This is a slow process in the development of kids,” Curole said. “But as we see every year, the kids who attend on a consistent basis show signs of improvement because of the work that they did with us over the summer. The old saying goes that hard work will pay off in the end, and kids that continue to work hard at any sport will prosper over those who don’t put in the time.”
The idea for the camp is one that was in Curole’s mind long before it ever officially became a reality.
Curole said that when he took over as the girls’ basketball coach at South Lafourche High School several seasons ago, he started thinking about doing the camp as a way of molding younger players and getting them ready for school ball.
“I really thought that it would ease somewhat the teaching process at the high school level if the kids would understand basic fundamentals of the game,” Curole said. “That would let the coaches concentrate more on advanced things that need to be taught at the high school level.”
With that seed in his mind, Curole said that he and fellow veteran coach Glenda Curole started doing private group training sessions about eight years.
Curole said his numbers were low at those initial private sessions, but the kids who attended were loyal and progressively got better.
When Curole stepped aside from high school basketball and got involved in the South Lafourche Biddy Basketball Organization in 2014, that’s when he had the idea to take his camp and make it one that would be open to the public – free of charge.
The support he received from the public was “amazing,” Curole said. That community outreach is why the camp is able to thrive – two summers running.
Curole said he wanted to thank his wife Toni and his employer ANS Engines for supporting his efforts – each allowing him the opportunity to dedicate hours to his craft. The coach said he also wanted to thank all of the volunteers who routinely help out either by coaching or donating supplies.
“The Cut Off Youth Center and South Lafourche Biddy Basketball have been such a blessing to the Drill’em Camp,” Curole said. “Both staffs have been supportive to all our needs and have given me the green light on anything that I need. There’s so many people I can thank. Dustan Adams has supplied Gatorade for the kids to drink. Many coaches have dedicated their time to this.”
The Drill’em Basketball Camp is teaching the sport to the children of the south Lafourche community. Coached by Greg Curole (top row in center), the camp features several sessions each Thursday.
