PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) – Dozens of youth athletes ages 9-15 are participating in the annual Nike Basketball Camp at Arnold High School this week.
Many campers are local to the area but Camp Director and Bay District Schools Athletic Director Josh Laatsch said some are just stopping by while on vacation.
“We have kids from South Carolina, we have kids from Tennessee, from Alabama, from Georgia, all down here on vacation,” Laatsch said. “And they’re here choosing to be in the gym getting better instead of out on the beach.
From 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. the young athletes go through Nike’s structured camp format that focuses on teamwork, fundamentals and in-depth classroom sessions.
University Academy rising seventh grader, James Siegel said he’s taking time out of his summer to improve his skills.
“I’ve loved basketball since I was like three years old,” Siegel said. “And I just wanted to improve and play the game because I like it.”
Other athletes like South Walton High School rising freshman, Christian Maldonado said he’s working to improve his game before team tryouts later this year.
“Later during school, I need to make the team,” Maldonado said. “And if I don’t make the team, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t want to play video games the whole time.”
Coaches and athletes from a handful of Bay County high schools helped facilitate the camp, including Mosley rising senior, Andrew Moseley, who participated in the Nike camp when it first began five years ago.
“I like giving back to the community,” Moseley said. “I was born and raised here. It’s just really cool to see these kids who will be in my shoes one day playing for a local high school, hopefully. And, you know, it’s just really cool teaching those kids as they’re young.”
The three-day Nike Basketball Camp began on Monday and will wrap up on Wednesday afternoon.