Dozens of future Sand Devil hoop stars bounced into the Page High School gym on June 5 for the chance to upgrade their basketball acumen during a four-day basketball skills camp.

The basketball camp – which ran thru June 8 – started with 32 participants but quickly jumped to more than 50 as camp-goers told their friends about it. The camp was for PUSD students grades one thru eight. Sixteen students from Page High School served as the camp’s coaches.

The camp was organized and run by Justin Smith and Celeste Claw, Page High School’s head basketball coaches, as part of PUSD’s summer programming offerings. It was the first time PUSD has offered a summer basketball camp since the COVID pandemic.

The students in the camp were divided into three age groups: first thru third grade, fourth thru sixth grade, and seventh thru eighth grade, who practiced and trained in their group.

One of the core goals of the camp was for the athletes to improve on the fundamentals of the game, including proper passing, dribbling and defense techniques, Coach Claw said.

“It’s never too early for future basketball players to learn the fundamentals of the game,” she said. “We want to give them, and their future coaches, a strong platform of basketball IQ and skills to work from.” 

The other core goal of the camp was to instill a love for the game in a new generation of basketball players, Coach Smith said.

“The main idea is to get kids in the gym and excited about basketball, and discover their love for the game,” he said.     

The basketball camp is just one of dozens of programs PUSD is hosting during this year’s summer programming, with classes and clinics ranging from sports, arts, robotics, construction, math, reading and various science offerings. 

In addition to the basketball camp, PUSD’s summer programming is also offering running, football, tennis, volleyball, baseball, softball, soccer and golf.