By By Matthew Nascone
With basketball season comes the dribbling, the lay-ups and the free throws. These are just some of the techniques the Poarch gym will be teaching children this year.
"We will have a mini-camp to teach the children of the different age groups the basics of the game," Poarch Creek reservation athletic director Rodney Exum said.
To teach the children the skills needed to participate in the youth basketball program Exum said volunteers are needed desperately.
"We need some parents to come out and help coach these children," Exum said. "Parents can help with a wide variety of things, such as coaching, refereeing or scoring the games."
Techniques of the game will not be the only thing taught at the camps.
"We want to instill more of the rules of the game on the children because we feel we need to teach them before they try to play," Exum said.
The camps will be held during the second week in December, Exum said. After the camps are finished teams will be decided in each of the four age groups. Those age groups are 5- to 7-year-olds, 8- to 10-year-olds, 11- to 13-year-olds and 14- to 17-year-olds.
"We will use the camps to determine the skill level of the children and then try to make the teams as even as possible," Exum said.
There is always the one exception taken when deciding teams.
"But of course you have your brothers and sisters who will be on the same team," he said.
Exum said the deadline for applications is Dec. 3 and he said it is extremely important for parents to get the paperwork in to the gym on time. He said it is imperative that the deadline is met because if not then the entire program will be held up and that is never a good situation.
Trent Jackson is brand new to the athletic department at Poarch and will be helping Exum out as his activities director.
"I am just starting, but I am excited to work with the children," Jackson said. "I am ready to give back what I learned in sports through my teenage years."
Exum and Jackson have done everything they believe they can to get children to sign up for the program. They even went door to door passing out registration flyers.
"We have spread flyers to a larger area this year," Exum said. "We are also getting the information out earlier this year and next week there will be an announcement about our program at Huxford Elementary School."
One hurdle for the Poarch youth program this year was the introduction of a football program into the mix.
"We had to add an extra building onto the gym to house all the football equipment," Exum said. "It has been a fairly hectic time with the changeover."
Exum said he is hoping to double the 45 participants from last year in 2005-06.