Over 100 campers shine at Tipp basketball camp

Summer camp is over for the youth of Tipp City. Over 100 future athletes filled Pat Wampler Gymnasium this month to compete in the annual Red Devils basketball camps. For coach Brock Moon, it is a time to not only have his high school players in to work with the younger players, but it is also a chance to teach the game to the future potential standouts for the Red Devils.

“Summer is always a struggle with the kids getting pulled in a million different directions, but camp was great,” Moon said. “We had a youth camp for grades 2-5 with roughly 70 kids. Then we had a middle school (6-7-8th grade) camp that finished up this week with 30 kids, so we had roughly 100 kids through the program. Along with a freshman camp where we integrate what we do offensively and defensively to get them ready for what high school basketball is going to be about.” Moon stated for the youngest group, it is all about letting them fall in love with basketball, having them do a lot of simple fundamental skills (ball handling, footwork, pivots, guarding the ball, boxing out). For the middle school camp, they start to put in some offense and defense to use when they take the group over to Ohio Dominican for a shootout, which was held last week. “They also learn how to guard the ball at the high school level and what rotations look like from a defensive standpoint,” Moon said about middle school camp.

While it is difficult to project how good any of these younger kids could become, Moon said it is about developing the players for a chance to shine once they get older. “You always see kids who are more developed from a skills standpoint or a physical standpoint, but I just continue to push for everyone to get better,” the Tipp coach said. “You look back at some of the kids we used to have, like Stanley Clyne, who was a great player for us. He was not a very good player as a youth player, but he just continued to develop. I just challenge the kids that it doesn’t matter where you are now, good or bad, you have plenty of time to change. Kids will catch up to you or pass you if you don’t continue to work.” “They have to have passion for the sport, or no matter what advantage they have at a young age, it isn’t going to stick. The guys who don’t have an advantage but do have a passion right now and continue to work, are going to pass those kids up.”

*As for the high school players, the Red Devils have enjoyed some practices and scrimmages, meaning a very busy month of June for Tippecanoe basketball. “This is probably the most challenging June I have put together since I have been here,” Moon said. “We have two all-state back with a young nucleus who is ready to be challenged, so I ramped them up.” 

This past weekend, the Red Devils traveled to Lexington, Kentucky for the KABC event during the college live weekend. They will then participate in Midwest Live at Cedar Point, the top summer event hosted by the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association, the last weekend in June. Tipp has also scrimmages at Versailles and Wapakoneta and participated in an event at Ohio Dominican. 

“It has been a good summer, and we are hoping to cap it off in the next couple of weeks.”