Maurice D. Williams 08/17/10
Hampton, Va. – The
men’s and women’s basketball program at Hampton University held a free
basketball camp on the campus of Hampton on Monday and Tuesday of this
week as a way to give back to the community. The camp was for just a
select few area kids and there were around 115 kids between the ages of
9-13. The camp that head coaches David Six (women) and Ed Joyner, Jr. (men) came up with as a way to give back to the Hampton community.
“The community here in Hampton has done so much for us (Hampton University) and we felt that it was time to give back,” said Pirates head coach Ed Joyner, Jr.
“Coach Joyner came to me with the idea of holding a free camp for the area youths and I was all over it,” said Lady Pirates head coach David Six. “We have to work on developing a great relationship with the community because as we support them they will support us.”
The camp which took place over a two-day span focused on basic fundamental skills for the campers. They worked on dribbling, passing, shooting and defensive positioning.
“This was a great idea,” said one parent. “A free camp for these kids was great right before they head back to school … Coach Six and Joyner are doing a great thing for the young people in the community.”
The free camp is something that Joyner and Six are looking at possible doing again in the future at Hampton University.
Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams will open up the 2010 in the preseason National Invitational Tournaments (NIT). The women will open up at James Madison on Nov. 12, while the men will travel to Winston-Salem, N.C., to face Wake Forest on Nov. 15.