A week-long basketball camp brought kids from around the state to Powell High School last month. The camp, hosted by the Panther boys’ and Northwest College men’s coaches, drew athletes of all ages.

“We got a broad range of age groups, all different skill levels,” Northwest College men’s coach Andy Ward said.

Those different skill levels brought strong competition throughout the week, and Panther boys’ head coach Mike Heny noted the camp’s importance during the summer.

“Time in the gym is hard to replace, so getting those kids in, having a full week where we’re doing skills, playing 5-on-5, they’re going against different guys than an open gym. It’s a lot more competitive,” Heny said. “This week is one of the most important weeks that we have all summer.”

Throughout the June 24-27 event, the campers were able to continually improve their skills, while learning from Ward, Heny, Panther boys’ assistant coach Waleryan Wisniewski and Trapper players who helped make the camp fun.

“It’s always a great time in camp,” Ward said. “We have two goals for campers when they get here: number one is to have a great time and two is to improve their fundamental skills.”

“We try to mix that fundamental teaching with a lot of good, fun activities, games and competitions,” he said.

Younger athletes in fourth and fifth grade typically practice with both Heny and Wisniewski. Heny noted the importance of getting to coach those younger athletes and generate an interest in basketball.

“Wiz and I always take those younger kids, trying to develop and spark that interest early,” Heny said.

“We have that skills academy twice a week [in] the three weeks leading up to this,” he added. “We are trying to build from the ground up, getting as many kids interested in basketball and in the gym as fast as we can.”

As for the older group, Ward said it was important for his college athletes to interact with community youth.

“It was nice for them to have the opportunity to give back and work with the kids,” he said.

Those athletes included returners Tessi Thong and Carter Clark alongside incoming freshman Eli Patterson from Buffalo.

Heny, meanwhile, said it’s important for his high school athletes to learn from Ward.

“I love the week because my high school kids get to work with coach Ward and hear a different voice for a while, which is always a good thing,” Heny said. “He always does a good job of making sure they are working on things he would want his kids working on.”

“It’s really good for every level of kid that comes to this camp,” he added.

Having college athletes talk through the process of their game with the PHS players also added knowledge to a squad that is set to replace its starting lineup next year, Heny said.

“It pays a lot of dividends to have him [Ward], his staff and his players talk about their process, what they go through and the things they work on,” Heny said. “It really gives them a view into what the next level would look like.”

Both coaches hope all the campers had fun and learned something in the process.

“If they had a good time and learned some things about the game, learned some things about attitude and effort, then we accomplished a lot,” Ward said.