At the beginning of the summer, Chateauguay Valley Regional High School (CVR) hosted a basketball camp for students from grades 5 through 8, and 58 campers showed up “ready to work hard and have fun,” according to one of the organizers, CVR teacher Enrico Savastano.
The annual camp was launched a few years ago by former CVR students Taylor Faille, Annabelle Vaudrin, Michelle Frost, Duncan McIntyre, Caitlin Frost and Maeve McIntyre, and they are still involved with its organization. Savastano explains that the camp was designed by the students to encourage community and mentorship: “The founders of the camp model the teaching to our helpers, and we gradually have our helpers [older students] take the reins and begin teaching the campers on their own.”
Drills, relays, and stations are used to hone campers’ skills, and then each day ends with some game play.
This year, Savastano says the camp gave 100 per cent of proceeds to the campers and helpers in the form of prizes, shirts, basketballs, sports bags, jerseys, basketball shoes, and more. “It is difficult to describe just how important this camp is for many of our students. For me, it is the sound of 70-80 basketballs pounding on the gym floor” as the kids work up a sweat, play the game they love, and have fun together. It is hoped that these campers will one day be mentors to the next round of players.
