BUCKHANNON, W.Va. (WBOY) — Young basketball players around West Virginia have made their way to Buckhannon and are getting the opportunity over the next three days to improve their skills with the help of professional basketball players.
Buckhannon-Upshur alum Tanner McGrew hosts an individual skills camp every summer in his hometown gym. He, and many other high-level players from West Virginia, enjoy this camp as an opportunity to give back to the area where they grew up.
“Buckhannon is kind of central to West Virginia and we don’t get a lot of high-level players coming through here, so I felt like it was an opportunity and maybe a responsibility to bring high-level players into this area. And let these kids get this opportunity because I didn’t really have it growing up and that was a thing that I could do,” McGrew said.
McGrew is helped by other players who feel just as passionately about this as he does, including former West Virginia University point guard Juwan Staten.
“It’s important. This is the grassroots. Like you said there are not that many grassroots programs around and so it puts a lot of emphasis on these camps and on the players who have made it out of these parts of the country and give back and that’s what Tanner’s doing. That’s what I try to do a little bit in Morgantown and so it’s a group effort,” Staten said.
The participants at the camp are elementary to high school age and they spend the week improving their individual skills and culminating with a scrimmage.
For the coaches, the best part of the camp is watching the kids’ skills and love for the game grow.
“They come in a bit maybe shy and timid but by the end of it they feel confident with what they are doing and that’s huge. That’s why we are here. We aren’t going to teach them to be professionals in three days but if they find just a little bit of love for the game and maybe take a ball home and dribble it a little bit then that’s a step in the right direction and that is huge for us,” McGrew said.
Staten added that the best part of camp for him is seeing “all the smiles” and that its refreshing given his typical experience with older players.
“I deal with a lot of older players and a lot of men and so everybody is always stone faced and serious about what they are doing. But you get a chance to come out and help the kids and they smile a lot. They’re goofy, and they trip and fall and so it brings the life back into you a little bit and remember to have fun with the game,” Staten said.
The camp began on June 18 and will wrap up with the scrimmage for each age group on the morning of June 20. You can learn more about the camp here.