The boys and girls swapped spots 10 a.m. Saturday at Arlington High School.
Boys in yellow basketball camp T-shirts left the school's gyms for the morning as 84 girls in kindergarten through eighth grade made their ways in. Altogether, about 150 youngsters are taking part in Saturday morning basketball camp sessions with the Eagles' coaches this month before the official start of AHS' preseason practices on Nov. 18.
“Yes, this isn't where some people would like to be on their Saturdays,” senior Britt Nielsen said. “But we always enjoy coming in, especially when we have little kids here. They like to listen to us and we have so much fun with them.”
The grades 9-12 Eagles had important jobs last Saturday, which was the second of three-straight Saturdays all of the hoopers will get together.
“Our coaches are kind of the main coaches, but we're the backups,” Nielsen explained. “We'll help with form. If they have a question, we can mostly answer them.”
The AHS basketball players also do a lot of demonstrations, showing the kiddos how it's all done.
“They do a wonderful job of helping the campers,” said varsity girls coach Tashia Wolf. “They love working with the kids.”
Arlington coaches have worked with young, kindergarten through third-grade basketball players exclusively in past years at this time, but, this year, they opened the opportunity up to more future Eagles.
“(We're) just getting basketball kicked off, getting kids excited and ready to go,” Wolf said. “Getting them a shirt so they can come in and support the basketball team.”
She explained how camps are a great way to meet more of the kids, too, as well as a good way to get the high school girls more motivated for the start of their season.
“We just like to be together,” Nielsen noted, giving the players' perspective. “We're a very close team.”
While the Eagles have one more camp morning ahead of them, she believes her squad is ready to buckle in and start working toward game No. 1 on the schedule.
“I just know that we're all ready to work hard and do even better than last season,” the senior said.
The AHS girls reached the Class C1 district finals last winter, finishing a single win shy of the state tournament.
