By Jensyn Hartzell
Sports Section Editor
The Washington College’s Men’s Basketball team conducted a three-hour Elite Skills Camp for high school players interested in attending and playing at WC on Saturday, Oct. 17.
The camp was run by WC men’s basketball head coach, Aaron Goodman, along with the Assistant Coach, Cody Joyce. Junior captain Tray Wright also attended to help.
The camp included around 20 high school players, allowing coaches to spend individual time with players to help and get to know.
Players had the chance to sign up or were invited to come by the WC men’s basketball coaches. Recruitment camps are mostly used to put a name to a face on high school athletes. Coaches also get to see personality and reactions from players to get to know them better.
These camps also allow the high schoolers to get to know the coaches and understand their coaching style, which helps them decide whether they would like to come play at WC.
Before the pandemic, recruitment camps would include the entire WC men’s basketball team in attendance, but only a few are allowed to come to keep the number of people down.
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, everyone involved was required to wear a mask unless in gameplay. Temperatures were also taken upon arrival, hand sanitizer was readily available, and all equipment and balls used were sanitized after the camp.
The high schoolers were taken through several drills, demonstrated by Wright, to improve themselves and show off their own skills to a potential future coach.
The drills focused on shooting, dribbling, and some defensive work. This allowed players to show off multiple skills to the coaches.
“I believe it’s important for players to be versatile offensively and to be able to play multiple positions,” Coach Goodman said. “When we are recruiting potential student-athletes, that versatility is an important trait.”
“I really think the kids enjoyed their time there and learned new things, even though some were a little nervous,” Wright said. “Improvement comes from pushing yourself to do things you might not want to do and the players did that during the camp.”
The camp ended with a few minutes dedicated to a question and answer session. This allowed the high schoolers to ask the coaches or Wright questions about the College, the basketball program, being a collegiate student-athlete, and anything else they wanted to know.
Players also had the chance to walk around campus to get to know the College better as well.
“I love hosting these elite camps because we can showcase our campus, college, and basketball program to an ever expanding, talented audience,” Coach Goodman said . “It allows us to connect with potential recruits and their families on a more personal level.”
The men’s basketball coaching staff at WC plans to do another Elite Skills Camps for potential recruits in the future, most likely in the spring. If interested or if you have any questions, you can contact Coach Goodman by email, agoodman4@washcoll.edu.